Word: cadets
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Leading the Harvard charge was senior All-American Howard Sands, who polished off Cadet Chris Wilson 6-2, 6-2, at first singles. The rest of the Harvard ranks followed suit, dispatching their opponents with similar ease...
...among the young gentlemen. So creaky is this convention that there is no attempt to make this story contemporary; it is set in 1964. Some novelties have been added: the rottenest hazers are a secret society leagued with the customarily bonkers commandant; their chief victim is the only black cadet in the corps. Otherwise it is business as usual. The Lords of Discipline is a stiff, improbable movie, full of characters everyone has seen marching in this parade before...
...doesn't take long to realize that we are going to spend this night at the movies watching noble Will convert a 1964 racist, Southern military academy into accepting its first Black cadet. We learn early on in the film that Will and his small band of roommate-disciples will have to battle a secret and unpleasant group of cadets called The Ten. It doesn't take long to guess that the good guys will...
Perhaps for consistency, the cinematography manages to be every bit as heavy-handed as the script. Will's most lofty discussions about protecting Pierce inevitably occur with a hymn-singing cadet choir in the background. Another crucial discussion is framed by the outline of an enormous replica of the Institute's gold class ring. All that's missing are the haloes...
...movie's end. Will has done his job. Good has triumphed, and the white racists have learned a few lessons about loving their neighbor. In a closing scene, a crusty old officer hands Will his cadet ring and tells him he has really earned it, because he has finally learned what it is to be a man. It's hard not to think, though, that he should have instead handed the young man a good, cold beer...