The movie, “October Sky”, is about a teenager named Homer Hickam, who has a dream of being a rocket scientist and going to space. Unfortunately, Homer lives in Coalwood, where their main jobs are mining coal.Without the support of his family, Homer finds three friends (Quentin, Roy Lee, and O’dell) and they work on building rocketships together!
Change is Constant The first High Five Principal is “Change is Constant”. Change happens all the time in real life, whether it’s friends, jobs, etc. There will always be an obstacle in your way, and changes are always gonna arise, but you need to find away to get back on track and focus on your original goal. In the film, Homer and his friends (also known as “The Rocket Boys”) are faced with a few changes that make it difficult to achieve their goal. Firstly, when the the boys shoot one of their first rockets, and it lands near the mines, Homer’s father forbids them from working on the mining companies grounds. The boys needed to discover a new place to work, and they did! They found a huge open space that was 8 miles away from company ground, and worked there everyday. Another example of change is when The Rocket Boys needed help structuring their rocketship, so they asked Bykovsky, who worked in a machine shop. Bykovsky always made the perfect shaped and perfect sized parts, using the certain type of metal the boys needed. When Homer’s father, who is the mine’s superintendent, finds out about this, he fires Bykovsky from the machine shop and forces him to work in the mines. This requires the boys to adapt and find somebody new to help construct the parts. Also, a huge change that affected The Rocket Boys was when Homer’s father got severely injured in one eye in the mines and Homer had to drop out of school to work underground and help his family. This shut down the boys opportunities to work on the rocket! Finally, another change that The Rocket Boys went through was support within the community. When they first started creating rocketships, no one was interested. In fact, they got bullied and Homer’s own brother was apart of the bullying! But, once the community of Coalwood started to notice that The Rocket Boys were succeeding and making really cool rocketships, they started to support them! This form of change was a positive one, and The Rocket Boys made everyone in the town believe that anything was possible.
Learning is Ongoing The second High Five Principle is; Learning is Ongoing. This is very true in real life. Every single day you learn something new, and it doesn’t just have to be in school or at work, you can learn new things about people, places, etc. In the movie, Homer and his friends are constantly learning new things. The Rocket Boys needed to know the mechanics of a typical rocketship. They had to learn how to make the rocketships aerodynamic and the parts that needed for it, so they all studied the mathematics and watched millions of videos on how to build them. Also, when Homer and his friends get blamed for starting a fire, they studied night and day to be able to prove that they had nothing to do with it! Learning was definitely ongoing in this film, because The Rocket Boys had to keep studying to improve their rocketships and make them the best that they can be.
Focus on the Journey The third High Five Principal is; Focus on the Journey. This means that we should always pay attention to our final goal, and not worry about how tough or complicated the process to get there is! In the film, there is an obvious example of The Rocket Boys focusing on their journey to the National Science Fair. The boys, and Homer especially, experience many challenges, but they do not let it stop them from reaching their goal. Many things go wrong, Homer’s father is the most unsupportive of the rocketships. He doesn’t let them work on them in his basement or on company grounds, but the boys don’t let this affect their journey, they just find a new spot to work and not bother anyone. Also, when the boys were accused of starting the fire and were not allowed to work on rockets, they didn’t let it stop them from getting to the National Science Fair. They worked really hard and proved that they had nothing to do with it. Lastly, when Homer had to work in the mines, he eventually quit, and stayed devoted to making rocketships. Focusing on the journey, rather than the barriers that you could stop you from achieving your main goal is important. The Rocket Boys had many hurdles that could’ve stopped them, but they never gave up and focused on the journey! They made it to the National Science Fair, and won it!
Follow your Heart The fourth High Five Principal is; Follow your Heart. This means that you should stick to what you love doing, and excell at it, regardless of what it is. In the movie, Homer and his friends really show this. Although Homer gets bullied by his peers and his family, including his father and his brother, he doesn’t let it affect him. Homer’s dad was never supportive of the rockets, and he was disappointed that Homer did not want to work in the mines or play football. They argued all the time, and Homer was told by his father that he should drop out of school to work in the mines! This is where Homer’s desire for rocketships flourishes. He stands up to his father, and tells him; “Coal mining is your life. Not mine.” Homer wanted to do something different, and he wouldn’t let anyone stop him! Another example of Homer following his dreams is when The Rocket Boys made it to the National Science Fair, and Homer went alone as a representative for their rocketship. Homer knew he could achieve the gold, and once it was his turn to talk, he came out with great confidence! The Rocket Boys ended up winning the National Science Fair, all because they didn’t stop following their heart.
Access Your Allies The final High Five Principal is; Access Your Allies. This means that if you know someone that could help, you should ask them because it is always good to have someone teach you new things. In the movie, The Rocket Boys access their allies in a few different ways. In the beginning on the film, Homer asked a “nerd” named Quentin to aid him, and build and design his rockets, even though he knew that he would get made fun of for it. Homer, Roy Lee, O’dell and Quentin actually end up becoming really close buddies in the end because of their passion for the rockets. Another way the boys accessed their allies was by asking Bykovsky, a worker at a machine shop for the mines, to assist them in making a few parts for their rocket ships. The boys knew he was a good welder, so they took advantage of it! Finally, The Rocket Boys asked their teacher, Ms. Riley for help whenever they needed. She even gave them a book, which helped them significantly. If Homer and the boys hadn’t asked anyone for help along the way, they wouldn’t be able to accomplish what they did.