History Film / FieldOfDreams

%% ZCE * AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Terence Mann. Either that, or he got to see Ebbets Field again -- though the film implies both are the same thing.

* SecretMessageWink: Former baseball player Moonlight Graham tells Ray his one wish: if he ever got to bat in the major leagues, to stare down the pitcher and wink, "making him think you know something he doesn't." Later, his son Archie bats at his first game and gives a wink to the pitcher. Thinking Archie knows something he doesn't, the pitcher throws extra hard, nearly knocking Archie out.

* ArcWords: "If you build it, he will come." "Ease his pain" and "Go the distance" are secondary arc words, but just as important.

* AdaptationExpansion: There was no book banning scene in the book. The entire scene was created to give Amy Madigan's character something to do.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Terence Mann. Either that, or he got to see Ebbets Field again -- though the film implies both are the same thing.
-->'''Annie:''' Far out.
* TheAtoner: Ray.
-->'''Terence:''' ''(smiling)'' This is your penance.
* AwkwardFatherSonBondingActivity: Baseball, for Ray and his dad.

* FingerGun: Ray tries this to get Terence Mann to come to Iowa. It doesn't work, but he's able to convince Terence, anyways.
** Later becomes a OnceDoneNeverForgotten for Ray.
--->'''Terrence:''' You said your ''finger'' was a ''gun''.

* HeroicSacrifice: Graham steps off the field to save Karin's life, at the cost of being able to play on the field again.

* {{Irony}}: Moonlight's sacrifice fly means he ''still'' hasn't gotten an official at bat against major leaguers, but hey, he got an RBI and a plate appearance.
** You could also read it as God doing a bit of psychotherapy to help Moonlight come to terms with his one major regret.

** The entire PTA book banning scene was invented for the film to give Annie some characterization, and also to establish Terrance Mann as a radical author from the 1960's whose work was offensive to some.

* PutMeInCoach: Moonlight Graham.

* SignificantBackgroundEvent: IMBD users have pointed out that if you watch closely, you can see Terrence Mann stiffen up and react to the name "Moonlight Graham" appearing on the scoreboard at Fenway, hinting that his claims of not seeing anything are false.
* StrawmanPolitical: The MoralGuardians, who are depicted as racist and authoritarian as well as prudish. (One of the books? ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''.)

** UsefulNotes/TyCobb is also described offhandedly as so unlikable a character, no one wanted to play with him and that being the reason he's not among the ghosts of other greats. While that's not entirely true (his teammates generally tolerated him at least), he was indeed roundly disliked around the league for such things as sharpening his spikes, the better to injure anyone trying to tag him out on a close play. He also had numerous unpleasant off-field run-ins with Blacks over trivial incidents that resulted in fisticuffs, and once went into the stands to beat the tar out of a crippled fan who had heckled him. Plus, he as well as UsefulNotes/TrisSpeaker and UsefulNotes/SmokyJoeWood were caught trying to fix and bet on a September 25, 1919 game; incredibly, the same UsefulNotes/KenesawMountainLandis who banned Jackson and seven other Black Sox for life, did nothing to punish Cobb, Wood, and Speaker.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Ray is seeking the approval of his father.
** The reverse is also true. The phrase "Ease his Pain" refers to John Kinsella's ghost being a WellDoneDadGuy and needing his son's forgiveness.

* StrawmanPolitical: The MoralGuardians, who are depicted as racist and authoritarian as well as prudish.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Along with the film ''Film/EightMenOut'', this film and the book that inspired it have been instrumental in sparking attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of UsefulNotes/ShoelessJoeJackson. The film presents Jackson as a misunderstood and tortured soul with regard to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. This whitewashing ignores several facts, which get conveniently ignored. First, Jackson admitted via grand jury testimony (dated September 29, 1920) under oath that he accepted money to throw the Series, something court transcripts delineate plainly. Some observers point to Jackson's glowingly good stats in that World Series as proof that he wasn't actually participating in throwing games -- but this ignores that he only played well in games that were "on the level" (not every game in the 1919 Series was fixed) or in fixed games after a loss was assured. Inning-by-inning analysis of thrown games and perusal of "clean" games shows this clearly.

** Ty Cobb is also described offhandedly as so unlikable a character, no one wanted to play with him and that being the reason he's not among the ghosts of other greats. This interpretation is more in line with the public's conception of Ty Cobb from a sensationalized biography about him than his actual self.

** The degree of Shoeless Joe Jackson's culpability in the Black Sox Scandal remains controversial to this day. It is known that he attended meetings of the fixers and that he took the money.

''Field of Dreams'' has a very strange concept, but what it carries is an underlying metaphor of faith and redemption. It is one of Costner's most well-known films and also one of James Earl Jones' most famous roles outside of voicing [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] and [[Disney/TheLionKing Mufasa]].

* TheScapegoat: PlayedForLaughs when Ray reveals that he stopped playing catch with his father because he read Terrence Mann's ''The Boat Rocker.'' Mann complains that people have always blamed his writing for their problems: "That's the sort of crap people are always trying to lay on me. It's ''not'' my fault you wouldn't play catch with your father!"

* PetTheDog: After the newspaper editor reads the obit she wrote for Graham in 1972, Mann tells her, "You're a good writer." She smiles and replies, "So are you."

** Later becomes an InUniverse NeverLiveItDown for Ray.

A 1989 fantasy film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, starring Creator/KevinCostner, Amy Madigan, Creator/JamesEarlJones, Creator/RayLiotta, and Creator/BurtLancaster.

--> '''Ray Kinsella:''' So, what do you want?\\
'''Terence Mann:''' I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy.\\
'''Ray Kinsella:''' I mean, what do you want? [Gestures toward concession stand.]\\
'''Terence Mann:''' Oh. A dog and a beer.\\
'''Ray Kinsella:''' Two.
%% * GameOfNerds: Terence Mann. Moonlight Graham also applies, he is a doctor after all.

* PapaWolf: Ray's a pretty laid-back guy, but when Mark grabs at Karin towards the end of the film, he ''immediately'' loses his cool and starts physically attacking him.

!!! "Field of Tropes":

''Field of Dreams'' has a very strange concept, but what it carries is an underlying metaphor of faith and redemption. It is one of Costner's most well-known films and also one of James Earl Jones' most famous roles outside of voicing [[StarWars Darth Vader]] and [[Disney/TheLionKing Mufasa]].

** Also, unlike what both this movie and the previous year's ''EightMenOut'' claim, after he was expelled, he never played under "a made up name in some 12th rate league".

----> Cobb: Don't you know me Joe?

''Field of Dreams'' has a very strange concept, but what it carries is an underlying metaphor of faith and redemption, along with the simple joy of a father and son playing catch. It is one of Costner's most well-known films and also one of James Earl Jones' most famous roles outside of voicing [[StarWars Darth Vader]] and [[Disney/TheLionKing Mufasa]].

Adapted from the 1982 novel ''Shoeless Joe'' by Creator/WPKinsella, the film is built on a unique story idea about an Iowa farmer who decides on a whim to build an expensive baseball field.