Cheer, II

Clare has been on my case the past few weeks for not being able to keep up with her. I don’t know, she must be getting up in the middle of the night—gosh, with a six-month old, ya’ think?—to watch season two of Cheer on Netflix. Well, as of yesterday, I’m caught up. And a little depressed. Unlike the first season focusing on a Texas community college where cheer is a de facto major, this second season comes off as so sad. Part of it has to do with Jerry Harris, one of the stars to come out of season one. Only now, it looks as though that winning personality was a front or a tool, enabling Harris to prey on minors. Harris, in jail since September 2020, pleaded guilty in early February to federal sex-crime charges. I also kept thinking of an adage that usually applies to academia, that the politics are so vicious because the stakes are so small. Team members and coaches both treat this extracurricular activity as life and death. There were any number of times where twenty-somethings in costume looked as though they were trying to channel their inner Tom Hanks addressing his men as they were ready to hit the beach at Normandy. Only I didn’t see the same kind of enemy in school fieldhouses that manned the pillboxes on D-Day. In addition, my daughter brought up a good point—isn’t everyone supposed to be preparing for a career? There’s no sense of guidance coming from the coaches or administration. Instead, the documentary followed one coach who worked multiple jobs and lived with the family of a friend. This person was forty if he was a day, and he didn’t have a place to call his own. Or a person to share his life with. By all accounts, a decent person but, still, a less than ideal role model. Part of this unease may be the result of filmmakers’ intent. Nobody wants to spend nine episodes watching a bunch of happy kids go through their routines, all the while encouraged by lovable coaches. That said, the two Texas community colleges that were the focus of this season look to draw from a very working-class population. Those are the very people who need a support system to move to the next level, which has to include more than flying through the air or launching them there. I would have liked to know more about graduation rates for members of the cheer team. Where are they in four years, or six? Bodies fall back to earth, no matter how much time went into the pursuit. When it’s over, then what? “Cheer” didn’t say, which makes me think there’s not a bright future for most of these young people.