Running head: CRITICAL MOVIE REVIEW

Critical Movie Review: Love and Basketball
Katherine M. Knight
Loyola University Chicago

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Critical Movie Review

Directed and written by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2000), Love and Basketball

simultaneously depicts the life journey of two main characters, Quincy and Monica, as they
attempt to make meaning of the world on and off the basketball court (Davis, Guidry, Lee, Stern,
Kitt & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). Set in the 1980s through the early 1990s, Love and Basketball
details the journey of Quincy and Monica from when Monica moves in next door to Quincy in
elementary school, all the way to early adulthood. This journey, however, is not without
tribulations, triumph, and a multitude of development. Quincy and Monica experience
development closely aligned with Bems (1981) Gender Schema Theory in addition to
Worthington, Savoy, Dillon, and Vernaglias Heterosexual Identity Development Theory (2002).
Following a brief introduction of both character story lines, Quincy and Monica are taken
through Bems (1981) and Worthington et al.s (2002) developmental theories. After both
theories are highlighted as well as critiqued, the positionality for the choice of this film and
theories is highlighted. Finally, applications of Bem (1981) and Worthington et al.s (2002)
theories in regards to practice, specifically focused on college student leadership development,
are discussed.
Character Introduction
With a father in the NBA, a young, Black Quincy McCall grew up loving basketball. As
a child, he dreamed of playing for the Los Angeles Clippers just like his father. Split into four
quarters, similar to the game of basketball Love and Basketball begins with a young Quincy
playing basketball with a group of young boys (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). A
young, Black girl named Monica Wright suddenly interrupts the boys. Monica just moved into
the house next door to Quincy and jumps right into their basketball game and quickly befriends

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the boys after showing off her impressive basketball skills. The second quarter of the movie
jumps to high school, with scenes of both Quincy and Monica as starting players for the mens
and womens basketball teams. Though Monica and Quincy do not appear to be close with each
other, they bond over the stress of impressing college basketball recruits at the back end of their
senior year.
Quarter three of Love and Basketball is set at the University of Southern California,
where both Monica and Quincy attend (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). Throughout
most of this quarter, Monica and Quincy are in a relationship while attempting to balance the
commitment of school and collegiate basketball fame. Finally, in the fourth quarter, Quincy and
Monica have gone their separate ways Monica to Spain to play professional basketball, and
Quincy to the NBA as an injured member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The movie concludes with
Monica and Quincy coming to terms with their relationship throughout the years, which is
determined by one final game of basketball. Throughout all four quarters of Love and Basketball
Monica and Quincy both witness challenged gender roles while they attempt to figure out the
various facets of their ongoing heterosexual relationship. Bems (1981) Gender Schema Theory
in addition to Worthington et al.s (2002) Theory of Heterosexual Identity Development help in
highlighting the growth both Quincy and Monica experience throughout the fi.
Gender Schema Theory

Sandra Bem (1981) took aspects of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and epistemological

development to create a theory on how individuals process individual gender schemas with
schema defined as a cognitive structure, a network of associations that organizes and guides an
individual's perception (p. 355). Bems (1981) Gender Schema Theory is teased out in three
separate components: observation, recognition and organization, and construction of self-

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concept. As individuals experience observation, they watch and learn how society defines what
it means to be male or female. Individuals gain a lot of their information on gender from
external influences including, but not limited to, the roles those close to them play at home, at
work, and in relation to anatomy.
Monicas gender schema observation process is evidenced in the fourth quarter of the
film during an altercation with her mother. In this scene, Monicas mother accuses Monica of
looking down on her for perpetuating the stereotypical female gender roles while Monica was a
female superstar athlete (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 1:38:40). Monicas mother blames
their distant relationship on these gender role conflicts, while Monica expresses how
disappointed she was when her mother did not support her in attendance at basketball games. As
a child, Monica observed and developed gender schema from her parents and the roles they
played at home, but later chose not to subscribe to how her mother presented the female gender.
Next, Bems (1981) recognition and organization process builds upon the information
obtained in observation. Individuals use information on gender gained from external sources and
begin to place things, ideas, and people into gender-based categories. By categorizing such
items, individuals are placing gender in a more central role for everything from colors (e.g. blue
and pink) to hobbies (e.g. sports and theater).
In the opening scene of Love and Basketball, Quincy McCall quickly demonstrates his
place in the gender schema development process (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000).
Immediately after Monica appears on his backyard basketball court to show off her skills as the
new neighbor, Quincy does not hesitate to comment Man! Girls dont play no ball! I ball better
than you (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 1:57). This view on stereotypical male and
female gender roles is again evidenced in his follow up comment on her dreams to become a

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professional basketball player when he states No, Im gonna be in the NBA, youll be my
cheerleader (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 3:31). Even though Quincy is at a young
age in this scene, it appears that he begins this film in Bems (1981) recognition and
organization process of gender identity development. After observing his fathers role as a very
masculine professional basketball star, and his mothers role as a stay at home caretaker, he
begins to categorize hobbies based on the gender schema and gender-based categories he has
observed and created at home. These gender roles are reinforced with early comments from
Quincys father including When you say cant you aint a man (Davis et al. & PrinceBythewood, 2000, 5:07) in reference to Quincys negative attitude toward school.
Monicas early gender schema development is shown in her ability to defy societal
gender norms perpetuated by Quincy early in the film. During Monicas first scene, she arrives
at Quincys backyard basketball game in a hat with her hair pulled back, attempting to disguise
herself to gain respect of the boys. She eventually takes her hat off to play basketball, and is
determined to show the boys that, despite what they think of her gender and gender norms, she
can play basketball just as well as they can. Monica appears to be moving through Bems
observation process into recognition and organization and it is apparent through her parents
comments on how she is reacting to the gender norms played out around her. During the
basketball game in the opening scene, Quincy becomes frustrated that he cannot outplay her, and
pushes her to the ground, injuring her face. Her parents reactions to her basketball injuries are
polar opposite, with her father stating How you feelin munchkin? Yeah you are tough (Davis
et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 3:05) to her mothers comment She needs to stop running
around like a little boy (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 3:07). This contradiction
aside, Monicas gender schema development mirrors more of her fathers comment, specifically

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when she addresses Quincys offer to give her a ride on his bike to school, and she refuses
stating I dont have to do what you say (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 11:39)
Quincys gender schema development appears to hover in the recognition and
organization process well into high school. Quincy has become a star on the high school mens
basketball team, and though he is not in a current relationship with Monica, he attends the
womens basketball games to watch her play. However, Quincy is still placing her in his
previously constructed gender-based categories when he criticizes her fire and passion on the
court, and tells her to act more like lady so she will stop getting benched. After high school,
Quincy attends the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship, and is in a
relationship with Monica. Quincy has more instant success than Monica on the mens basketball
team, and during an intimate scene in Quincys dorm room, he assures Monica that she will have
greater success as Quincy McCalls woman (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 53:59)
than she would in the NBA, reinforcing the organization and recognition of gender schema and
gender-based categories established earlier in the film.
Finally, individuals begin to construct a self-concept of gender by attempting to place
themselves into the gender-based categories they have previously created. Once they have
placed themselves into these categories, they do not necessarily have to remain where they have
placed themselves. Later in life, individuals may reflect and reassess on how they continue, or
do not continue, to conform to those gender-based categories they initially created (Bem, 1981).
Monicas gender schema development appears to progress quicker than Quincys when
they reach high school in the second quarter of the film. Monica exhibits characteristics of
Bems (1981) construction of self-concept process as she becomes more confident in her
identities on and off of the basketball court. This development is evident in conversations with

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Monicas mother, where Monica states, I dont know why you think Im going to grow out of
this tomboy thing (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 15:15). Here, Monica is confident
in her choice to not subscribe to stereotypically feminine gender roles, and is embracing her
gender as a part of her overall self-concept. Entering college at the University of Southern
California (USC), Monica carries her self-concept of gender with her as a member of the USC
womens basketball team and Quincys girlfriend. Following Quincys comment on her
challenging start to college basketball, Monica overcomes adversity and Quincys perceived
gender roles in order to succeed as a starting player of the team by the end of the semester (Bem,
1981).
Quincy begins to question the gender roles and existing categories he has developed after
his father comes to him with news of a paternity suit from a woman who claimed to have a child
with Quincys father during his early NBA years (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000).
Though Quincys father assures this woman is lying, Quincy later finds out from his mother that
his father was involved with another woman. Quincy experiences a moment of crisis, as the man
who has so strongly influenced his views on gender is no longer the person Quincy thought he
was. The fourth quarter of the film cuts to Quincys struggle in the NBA, and his injury that
prevents him from playing. In this quarter he is now engaged to a woman, and has had to give
up a lot of the masculinity he once had on the court to begin his family, depicting his
developmental progress towards a constructed self-concept of gender schemas (Bem, 1981).
The final scene of the movie cuts to Monica and Quincys relationship a few years down
the road (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). Monica continues her career as a professional
basketball player, and Quincy is at her game taking care of their first-born child. In this moment,
both Monica and Quincy have fully placed themselves into the gender-based categories that have

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been ever changing throughout the film in a truly constructed self-concept (Bem, 1981). Both
Quincy McCall and Monica Wright process gender schema, however, their processes look
entirely different at various points of life that the film Love and Basketball illustrates.
Heterosexual Identity Development Theory
Upon discovering a gap in sexual identity development theories, Worthington, Savoy,
Dillon, and Vernaglia (2002) created a theory focused solely on heterosexual identity
development. After defining the sexual orientation identity as the individual and social
processes by which heterosexually identified persons acknowledge and define their sexual needs,
values, sexual expression, and characteristics of sexual partners (p. 497), Worthington et al.
(2002) identified five different heterosexual identity development statuses: unexplored
commitment, active exploration, diffusion, deepening and commitment, and synthesis.
Individuals who exhibit characteristics of the unexplored commitment status have not
given much thought to their sexual identity, and the thoughts they have are influenced greatly by
those around them. At times, many negative emotions and attitudes towards people who do not
identify as heterosexual are present. In the active exploration status, individuals begin to think
deeper about their sexual identity and as a result of this exploration sexual identity development
can progress in two different ways (Worthington et al., 2002). One potential developmental
result of active exploration is diffusion. Individuals experiencing diffusion do not commit to a
specific sexual identity, and many times this is a result of a crisis. In addition, individuals may
act upon different behaviors without considering any consequences of their behavior. A second
developmental route caused by active exploration is deepening and commitment. In this status,
individuals become extensively aware of their sexual identity and how that identity fits into both
individual and group contexts. Feelings toward those who do not identify as heterosexual are not

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necessarily positive or negative, but are formed with more careful and intentional thought
(Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010).
At the start of Love and Basketball, Quincy asks Monica to be his girlfriend, and the
nonchalant atmosphere and reference to parental behaviors is evidence that neither character has
questioned their sexual identity and exhibit characteristics in the unexplored commitment status
of development (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). Monica displays characteristics of
unexplored commitment related to negative attitudes towards those who do not identify as
heterosexual when in conversations with her mother she states, Im a lesbian, thats what you
think right? Because Id rather wear a jersey than an apron (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood,
2000,15:15). Monica and Quincy do not date throughout high school, but their sexual encounter
after the high school dance sparked both a sexual and emotional relationship between the two
characters, and also marked their development towards the active exploration status (Evans et al.,
2010).
Upon entering college as a couple, Monica and Quincy take two different paths of
development as a result of Quincys fathers paternity suit crisis. As Quincy withdrew from the
relationship with Monica, he began to party excessively and sleep with other women without
consideration of consequences, all of which are characteristics of the diffusion status
(Worthington et al., 2002). While Quincy is experiencing diffusion, Monica becomes more
comfortable with her sexual identity as she develops independently from Quincy. This
development is evident when Monicas final words at the end of their college relationship were,
Whatever I did, we can fix this (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000, 1:21:49) showing her
deepening commitment to their relationship at a time when Quincy was experiencing diffusion.

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Throughout the synthesis status, individuals own sexual identity as well as views on the
sexual identities of others combines into one overall self-concept, and sexual identity is seen in
congruence with various other identities (Worthington et al. 2002). Reaching the synthesis status
does not necessarily mean development is complete as the statuses are structured for more fluid
movement whenever beliefs and thoughts are challenged.
The first half of the fourth quarter of the film chronicles Quincy and Monicas lives after
their college break up. While Monica is in Spain and Quincy is grappling with his injury in the
NBA, both characters begin to see their heterosexual identity integrated with various other
identities, but do so in very different ways. Monica begins to resent her career in professional
basketball as she realized it is not as fun and does not make her as happy without the compliment
of her relationship with Quincy. Quincy commits to a heterosexual relationship with one woman
whom he meets in his basketball travels, and becomes comfortable with his relationship in
combination with his career and gender identity. The movie in combination with both
characters heterosexual identity development comes to synthesis at the end of the film with
Monica and Quincy committing to lifelong relationship with each other in addition with being
comfortable with gender roles and their careers. Love and Basketball chronicles the ups and
downs of the ongoing heterosexual relationship between Quincy and Monica, and both
characters experience development in multiple statuses of Worthington et al.s (2002)
Heterosexual Identity Development theory (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000).
Positionality
Love and Basketball has always been one of my favorite films, but I chose to critique this
movie for various other reasons as well (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). I intentionally
wanted to write about a film where the main characters shared some of the similar salient

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identities that I hold, but I also wanted the characters to hold different identities than my own.
Though both Monica and Quincy appear to identify as heterosexual, an identity I share, they both
identify as Black as do many of the characters in the film, which is an identity I do not share. I
considered taking both Monica and Quincy through a theory related to Black identity
development, but found it difficult to place both characters in these theories. The difficulty in
making these connections could be a result of my White identity and the privilege that comes
along with it.
In deciding what theories to take the Quincy and Monica through, my immediate thought
went to Bems (1981) Gender Schema Theory based solely on the multiple ways Monica defies
the stereotypical female gender roles. I find myself often frustrated with the societal gender roles
established for women specifically, as that is a salient identity that I hold. I see my gender
schema development aligning closely with that of Monicas, especially in her childhood years.
Choosing Worthington et al.s (2002) Heterosexual Identity development theory seemed like an
obvious second choice, as the overall plot of the movie follows the on-again, off-again
heterosexual relationship between Monica and Quincy. However, looking at these theories as a
pair did not come without challenge. For example, many times throughout the course of
semester, our class discussed the importance in understanding the difference between sex and
gender. These conversations often times concluded with the acknowledgement that though
sexual identity and gender identity are very separate, they also greatly influence each other.
There were several times throughout the analysis of Love and Basketball where I had to stop and
intentionally think about whether I was observing Quincy or Monicas development of gender
identity or sexual orientation identity (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood, 2000). Similar to the

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privilege granted to me by my White identity, this sexual identity and gender confusion could
also be a result of my shared heterosexual identity and the heterosexual privilege I hold.
Applications for Student Leaders and Theory Critiques
Understanding how students develop regarding gender schema and sexual identity is
essential, especially when working with student leaders. For example, gender identity
development may affect a students leadership style in addition to how others perceive student
leaders based on the gender they identify with. For some students, involvement in student
organizations and leadership roles can be completely influenced by Bems (1981) gender-based
categories created at an early age. Some students may be reluctant to see themselves as leaders
due to the gender schema they have seen and developed up until college. As a student affairs
professional, it is important to recognize how you perceive gender and how that differs from that
of students of all different backgrounds in order to develop and facilitate leadership training that
breaks down how gender intersects with student leadership.
Additionally, Worthington et al.s (2002) Heterosexual Identity Development can play a
role in how students process the leadership styles of others. A student who is in the unexplored
commitment phase of development could have negative attitudes towards student leaders who do
not identify as heterosexual. These attitudes could impact how those student leaders are
perceived and respected by students who have not yet had to acknowledge their heterosexual
identity and coinciding heterosexual privilege. Student affairs professionals should also be
aware of their own sexual identity development process, heterosexual or any other sexual
identity, so they can better understand the development of their students in order to cultivate
more inclusive student leaders.

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One limitation to using both Worthington et al.s (2002) and Bems (1981) identity
development theories relates to amount of internal processing and development that occurs.
Though Love and Basketball highlighted this internal development through various movie
quotes, applying these theories to practice may prove to be difficult due to the amount of internal
processing and development that students may not directly exhibit (Davis et al. & PrinceBythewood, 2000). A second limitation of using both theories in practice is the lack of
intersectionality considered in the original theory development. While it was easier to connect
heterosexual identity with gender schema development for Quincy and Monica, it was difficult to
weave in their other salient identities that many students can hold including race, religion, and
socioeconomic status.
Conclusion
Love and Basketball is a film that chronicled the development of Quincy McCall and
Monica Wright from early childhood to early adulthood (Davis et al. & Prince-Bythewood,
2000). With the help of Bem (1981) and Worthington et al. (2002), both characters explored and
grew in both their heterosexual identity development and their development of gender schema
identity. These theories do not come without their limitations, but it is easy to see how these two
theories are beneficial in realm of student affairs, specifically in the development of college
student leaders. In conclusion, student development theories, including but not limited to Bem
(1981) and Worthington et al. (2002), are useful tools in helping students in higher education
navigate their unique developmental journeys.

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References

Bem, S.L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological
Review, 88(4). 354-364.
Davis, A., Guidry, C., Lee, S., Stern, J., Kitt, S. (Producers), & Prince-Bythewood, G. (Director).
(2000). Love and basketball [Motion Picture]. United States: New Line Cinema.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Student development in
college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd Edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Worthington, R. L., Savoy, H. B., Dillon, F. R., & Vernaglia, E. R. (2002). Heterosexual identity
development: A multidimensional model of individual and social identity. The
Counseling Psychologist, 30, 496-531.