By now, everyone has seen or heard about the 2022 OscarAwards debacle that occurred between actor Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock.

Now, humorously referred to as ‘The Slap’ by social media users, the event has become a worldwide debate and, of course, as so many major pop culture events do, has become a meme forever imbedded in the infinite universe of internet comedy.

This event was clearly astonishing to the public and took a majority of media attention away from the Oscar’s itself. Left in the Mount Everest-sized shadow of the event, along with so many other amazing films, actors, directors and crew being honored that night was the movie King Richard.

King Richard was nominated for Best Picture and Will Smith, the actor who played the star of the film; Richard Williams, won the Oscar for Best Actor.

King Richard is the story of the famous tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams’ upbringing and how their father coached them to get to where they are today. The movie opens with Richard describing his youth and how tennis became a focus of his.

One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is how we see Richard’s manifestations for the future of his daughters come true.

In the first few moments of the film, Richard is speaking about how he purposely had two more daughters with the intentions to shape them into tennis all-stars. He even created a 78-page-plan for their future before they were even born.

This movie also gives viewers a look at the struggles of a working class family living in Compton, California.

The Williams family comes in contact with gang-members who try to start trouble with one of the eldest daughters; this event showed how Richard’s drive to create a better life for his family began with how dangerous their surroundings were and howdesperately he wanted to get them out of Compton.

I believe the director, Reinaldo Marcus Green, did an amazing job of showcasing how the family created their own bubble amongst the dangers around them. It showed how having the right mindset can drive you into making a dream your reality.

As the film progresses and Venus plays in prominenttournaments, we also take a look at the prejudice and racism that existed in the predominately white sport at the time and how even through adversity, the girls were still able to become the best in tennis.

The thing I find most inspiring about the film is the way that Richard never doubts that his daughters will become successful. There is never a glimmer of uncertainty that the plans he had made could fall through.

Not only does Richard manifest the ideas that he has for his girls, but he also does everything possible to make it happen. Showing up uninvited to private pro-tennis matches hoping to recruit a coach is just one of the many unorthodox initiatives Richard took to make his plan come to fruition.

I think this sends a positive message that you can’t just wish for the things you want in life, but you must go out and make them happen for yourself.

During the adolescence of Venus and Serena, we see Venus excel and the focus of the story being primarily on her. She starts to win big at tournaments and fame begins to surround her. Serena, the younger of the two, watches Venus’ success from the stands, which builds a fire inside her.

The most fascinating parts of the film is toward the end when Richard is explaining to Serena that her feeling of being second-best to Venus was all a part of his plan to have her become better.

He continues by saying that he knew it would drive her to compete more passionately, which in-turn would make her excel past all competitors she faces in the future.

One of the many messages Richard taught his daughters was to stay humble. I believe this a big contribution to why Venus and Serena have had longevity in an industry where it is easy to have an ego.

I think the film was rightfully nominated for best picture and shows an inspiring tale of perseverance and manifestation of one’s future.

Having said that, I do find that the film places all credit on Richard for the success of Venus and Serena’s careers while in reality their personal determination, talent, and hard work is largely what got them to where they are today.

While Richard was an incredible father and coach, I wish there could have been a bigger focus on the contribution each of the girls had to their personal celebrity.

I think displaying the accomplishments of two young women solely on their father’s dream for them sends an inaccurate message of the story to young girls when watching this movie.

It was up to Venus and Serena to take the teaching of their father and actually achieve success with their own ambition.

I recommend this movie to anyone looking to watch a feel-good, victory story about perseverance and hard work. Viewers are sure to take away a personal message from the story that will help them on their own journey to success.