MovieChat Forums > October Sky (1999) Discussion > Miss Riley ignoring Homer

Miss Riley ignoring Homer

posted 11 years ago by SquirrelBot3000
4 replies | jump to latest

The only thing I always wondered is why Miss Riley completely ignored Homer after he signed up with the coal mine and was packing his things up at school.

Clearly she was angry, but was it justified in pretending he didn't even exist anymore?

Believe me when I say I understand that she simply wanted the best for Homer and his friends--once Homer finds out she has Hodgkin's Disease and goes to visit her at her home and she confesses she wants her life to mean something by having the boys succeed thanks to her gentle encouragement. But her disappointment in Homer leaving school earlier seems unfounded--surely she must know that there's no source of income now for the Hickam family since John (Homer Sr.) is out of commission for some time and could possibly lose his job (and their home, since the mine company owns it).
I would think given her understanding of everyone's situations that she mentors she would have been more sympathetic to Homer's situation.

[–] rabbitmoon 11 years ago

I don't know if she'd have ignored him outright - but a moment like that portrayed in the film could have easily been caused by confusion and conflict on Miss Riley's part. Sometimes people just do things like that when they aren't sure how to approach something. She was hurt, and her whole agenda for teaching was threatened right there, so she had her own emotional turmoils to work through as well. I'm sure the book probably sheds more light on what happened there.

[–] Czotie 11 years ago

She was so upset, probably crying or on the verge of tears. Most people, especially women, don't like to confront situations like these unless you force them to in which they break down. After she thought it over she realized it was a rotten thing to do and calls him over to her house. She just couldn't handle the conversation at the time, probably would have broke down in the hallway t school.

"Tickets Please..."

[–] ericbrooking 10 years ago

I found a copy of the rocket science book that Ms Riley gave to Homer and I met Homer at Rovket Boys Day in Coalwood, and he told me that the studio rewrote everything into a Bad News Bears kind of a thing and that a he struggled hard to bring it back closer to reality. They never stole things to make their launch pad and he did not drop out of school to work in the coal mine. He did work in it during college but a lot of it was Hollywood. They also did not hand out scholarships at the Science Fair. Read for book for a closer look at reality.

[–] MCorpsShredder 9 years ago

Yeah, that makes sense. I was going to reply to the OP and just say, "drama" because that was what this movie basically was. Dad belittling his son and encouraging him to give up on being a rocket scientist to go work in a coal mine? Really? Teacher giving up on him because he chose the wrong career path in a moment of weakness? Really? Just found the whole movie too "Hollywood" than "based on a true story."