Themes in Akeelah and the Bee

Culture Conflict and Fitting In

Akeelah Anderson doesn’t feel comfortable in her neighborhood and school; she is a smart girl in an environment that doesn’t prize academic intellect. She is in Erikson’s (Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. 2012) stage of Identity vs. Role Confusion, unsure about how she, a smart girl, fits into Crenshaw Middle School, a place where students, who are predominantly African-American, view school as a White-man’s game; if you’re doing well at school, you must be playing the White-man’s game. Akeelah wants to fit in to her community so she plays the anti-intellect game. According to Vygotsky (Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. 2012), Akeelah has internalized the tools and signs of her culture; unfortunately, they conflict with her academic-self. Through the tutelage and mediation of a “smart” African-American man, she finds the bridge to her true self and ultimately success in both worlds.

                                                              
Loss and Connection Akeelah and Mr. Larabee both come to their relationship with the burden of loss; Akeelah has lost her father to neighborhood violence and Mr. Larabee has lost his daughter to illness. They are joined by their love of words; both find comfort in words. Akeelah loves words because they represent a connection to her dead father; Mr. Larabee loves literature and teaches college English. Their connection provides some relief from the pain of their personal loss, allowing each to see a new way to the future. In Akeelah’s case, Mr. Larabee serves as a mediator, according to Vygotsky (Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. 2012), who helps Akeelah to reinterpret some of the information in her environment, thus allowing for self-reflection and re-imaginged possibilites.

                                               

Family and Community Akeelah’s family, like most, represents both pain and comfort. Her father’s death is an open wound within the family. For Akeelah, his death represents not only the loss of a parent, a caregiver, but also a similar soul with whom to connect, a fellow lover of words. Likewise, her community represents familiarity but also conflict, especially with her “self.” Ultimately her family and community put aside their own pain and prejudices and come together to support Akeelah in her bid to win the National Spelling Bee; in doing so, they help to build a stronger family and community. In their new supportive roles, Akeelah’s family and community become Vygotsky’s mediators again (Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. 2012), helping Akeelah to resolve her identity confusion.
                                             

Fulfilling Your Potential and Working Hard Despite her internal conflicts, Akeelah is resigned to play the game of school failure that is evident in her neighborhood, skipping class and missing assignments. Her journey to the National Spelling Bee and the mentorship of an intellectually successful African-American enable her to see other possibilities for her future. Despite her innate affinity for words, success requires hard work, a message that Mr. Larabee drives homes through his strict and unrelenting practice schedule. According to Vygotsky, Mr. Larabee is helping Akeelah internalize the culture of hard-work and perseverance (Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. 2012). After Mr. Larabee steps out of the picture, forcing Akeelah to practice on her own, she continues her hard work, with the support of family and community, and finds ultimate success by winning the Bee.
                                 

  
                                           

Friendship and Culture While Akeelah recognizes the realities of the culture divide, she is open to people despite their apparent differences. She accepts people for who they are, not what they are, and thus finds deep friendships based on kindness and shared interests. According to Nodding (Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. 2012), Akeelah is fulfilling the human desire for goodness. For Akeelah, like most adolescents, friendships are a sustaining force in her life and thus aid her on the journey to autonomy and eventually adulthood.