
Back to our Psych movies! Season 1, episode 2, the one about the spelling bee. Again, no references, so I decided to rewatch Akeelah and the Bee. I saw it when I was younger, so there weren't any big surprises, but it is a fun, feel-good movie that's good for a second watch.
And it's always interesting to rewatch a movie from your childhood to see if you feel differently about it. I think in this case, I appreciate the storytelling elements more and I admire Keke Palmer's performance more, especially knowing how young she was.
But we'll get into that. Let's get started.
Briefly, and Without Spoilers
Young Akeelah (Keke Palmer) is gifted with a knack for words, inspired by her late father's love of language. But she's hesitant to openly share her gifts for fear of ridicule from the other students. When some of the adults encourage her to join local and regional spelling bees, she must not only learn the tricks of the competition, but how to accept herself and her talents in a community that doesn't always praise studiousness.
Happy Ever After (Spoilers Ahead!!)

Akeelah and the Bee fits pretty solidly in the family-friendly category. It's warm and fuzzy, there are kids around, we're supposed to learn something, and it has a happy ending where everybody wins. It pretty much checks all the boxes, plus the strong black cast is pretty top tier. Keke Palmer is extremely good in this. Her performance is very believable, even though she would have been twelve or thirteen at the time. And of course Lawrence Fishburne and Angela Bassett are very good as well.
A big part of this movie is the community they live in. They live in a rougher Los Angeles neighborhood that isn't necessarily set up to receive a lot of state funding, if you know what I mean.
The consequences of modern segregation. That's what I mean.
It's worth mentioning that I grew up white, middle class, and the city I grew up in certainly had its problems, but I wouldn't call it dangerous by any means, so I can't speak on the authenticity of this LA suburb. But it seemed like there were certain aspects of childhood they did a good job of representing. The issue of how much you frame yourself as a "nerd" certainly is a type of universal experience. And this is a phenomenon that plagues a lot of young kids.
And there are other universal experiences, like hyper independence in a chaotic household, interpersonal conflict with single parents, and struggling with the pressures that a more mature world places on gifted students. There's clearly a cultural framing around the black community, but there are also plenty of shared experiences portrayed in this movie.
Keep in mind, this is a classic family-friendly movie. There are cliches and predictable plot points and nobody is brutally murdered on screen. And I know there are plenty of people who no longer enjoy that kind of movie, which is fine. This movie definitely isn't for you if you fall into that category. But if you're looking for a movie that ends on a good note, if you need to see the underdog win, if you're looking for a fun family movie night movie, Akeelah and the Bee is a good choice.
Your Friendly Neighborhood...
I keep going back to this idea of community. It's such a huge part of the movie, and presents itself in many iterations. It shows that communities can be very small, and very large. It can have a good influence on you, and a bad one.
Akeelah's idea of community seems to change over the course of the movie. At the beginning, she's fairly isolated and allows what she thinks the community thinks of her to dictate her behaviors. Then her idea of communities begins to change. She goes from focusing on her local community to the community related to her passion, including Dr. Larabee (Lawrence Fishburne) and the other spelling bee contestants. Which then transforms into a much bigger community when she turns to her neighborhood for help with studying for the national competition.
I think a big part of this movie isn't just about the community around you, but also about the openness of embracing different communities. Akeelah's biggest hang-up at the beginning was not wanting to be rejected and ridiculed by her peers. But she started to flourish when she opened herself up to communities within the spheres that shared a passion with her. And once she grew more confident in herself, she was able to share that enthusiasm with the community she once feared would reject her.
I think that these bridges between communities can be very important, especially when they're introduced in a way that doesn't ask anyone to strip parts of their identity. Like in the world of academia and how beneficial it can be for different fields to work together. It don't think it's that dissimilar. That we all have our own identities and communities, but that we can benefit from the people willing to dip their toes into foreign waters. I think we can all learn from one another, and these bridges we make can be a big part of that experience.
Being the Community You Want to See in the World
We also have to go back to Akeelah's initial trepidations around openly expressing her intellect. I think community can also have it's negative moments. We can harken back to Talk to Me and the peer pressure displayed in that movie. Sometimes, your community doesn't work to lift you up, only tear you down. Or you create a version of yourself in order to meet their expectations of you.

Sometimes these are communities you can leave fairly easily, like friend groups. Some of them aren't, like the school you attend or the family you live with.
In this sense, I think there's a parallel between Akeelah and her older brother Terrence (Julito McCullum). Both have moments where they adjust their behaviors to appease a particular community. Akeelah tries to fit in at her school and with the other spelling bee contestants. Ultimately, she finds herself and grows more confident.
As an adult, I have more sympathy for Terrance. He also adjusted his behaviors to fit into a community. He seems to be the classic case of a young man who lost his father figure and doesn't have a parental influence, so he goes looking for acceptance and guidance elsewhere, and finds himself joining a gang. A group of kids who will pay attention to him when no one else will. And then he becomes the kid who "doesn't have anything to offer." He's framed as the dumb punk who doesn't have the smarts or ambition to be anything more than a deadbeat. And that's just it. No one reaches out to and supports Terrance the way they support Akeelah because they don't believe he has anything to offer them. So he's stuck finding his own way, which unfortunately leads him to a community that has a very skewed idea of looking out for one another. And he represents so many young men just like him. Surrounded by people the wrong people and too stubborn to admit he's in over his head. And much like the hinted at trajectory for Terrance, many of them often end up in jail or worse.
I think the Terrances of the world deserve just as much encouragement and safe space as the Akeelahs.
The Real Heroes of the Movie
GET YOURSELF A SISTER LIKE KIANA AND A FRIEND LIKE GEORGIA! These absolute QUEENS deserve a special shoutout. I think Kiana's supposed to highlight the cultural divide between Akeelah and the other contestants, with the whole baby thing, but she spends the whole movie loving her sister and lifting her up and calling out shenanigans and frankly, she's the greatest sister in cinema. Everyone deserves a sister like Kiana, who will drive you around wherever you need to go and call out shitty white people.
And Georgia also deserves a special shoutout. I know she has her moments of feeling like she was left behind, but she was supportive of Akeelah from the very beginning and always believed in her no matter how much Akeelah downplayed her skills.
Honestly, Kiana and Georgia are the real heroes of the story and are the epitome of women supporting women. The world would be a much better place if we were all like Kiana and Georgia.
Family Fun and Good for the Soul
Like I said, it's a good, family-friendly movie. We definitely deserved more Angela Bassett, but there are so many great elements in this movie that if this kind of genre is your vibe, I'd definitely recommend. It's a good choice for when you're not feeling good about yourself and just want a win. Or if you just want a fun movie night. It's worth putting on the list of things to watch.
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