friday night lights essay

Friday Night Lights

Buzz bissinger, everything you need for every book you read..

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Friday Night Lights: Introduction

Friday night lights: plot summary, friday night lights: detailed summary & analysis, friday night lights: themes, friday night lights: quotes, friday night lights: characters, friday night lights: symbols, friday night lights: theme wheel, brief biography of buzz bissinger.

Historical Context of Friday Night Lights

Other books related to friday night lights.

• Full Title: Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, a Dream
• When Written: 1988-89
• Where Written: Odessa and Philadelphia
• When Published: 1990
• Literary Period: Contemporary non-fiction
• Genre: Non-fiction; sports; social criticism
• Setting: Odessa, in West Texas
• Climax: The Permian Panthers lose a close came to Carter High School, in Austin, during the state semifinals of the 1988 football season.
• Point of View: Third-person omniscient

Extra Credit for Friday Night Lights

Adaptations. Friday Night Lights has been made into two separate TV series—in the 1990s and the 2000s—and a movie. The movie and second (NBC) TV show received a great deal of critical attention and largely positive reviews.

Friday Night Lights

69 pages • 2 hours read

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface-Chapter 1

Chapters 2-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapter 16 and Epilogue

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

As an outsider to Odessa, how does Bissinger demonstrate the town’s fanatical devotion to the Permian Panthers football team? Consider and discuss both positive and negative actions by the townspeople that illustrate their commitment to the team.

A central theme in Bissinger’s work is how football is a valuable prism for analyzing anti-Black racism in America. From what Bissinger describes, to what extent do you think the Permian Panthers football program helped or hindered true social integration in Odessa?

By the time Bissinger conducted his research, Odessa had been legally desegregated for six years, and a small percentage of Permian High school students were Black or Mexican. Bissinger argues that Black students were valued by the white school board officials and coaching staff primarily for their athletic potential, and he suggests the dynamic between the white authorities and Black students was exploitative. What evidence does he provide to make this argument? Use specific examples from the text.

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Ready to dive in?

Get unlimited access to SuperSummary for only $ 0.70 /week

Featured Collections

View Collection

Creative Nonfiction

Teams & gangs.

ESSAY SAUCE

FOR STUDENTS : ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD ESSAY

Essay: Friday Night Lights

Essay details and download:.

• Subject area(s): Literature essays
• Reading time: 5 minutes
• Price: Free download
• Published: 7 January 2019*
• File format: Text
• Words: 1,232 (approx)
• Number of pages: 5 (approx)

Text preview of this essay:

This page of the essay has 1,232 words. Download the full version above.

The first complaint was from a parent of a sixth grader at Odom Academy, in Beaumont, Texas, due to the language and racism. This caused Beaumont School District librarians to question whether or not they should carry Friday Night Lights. With this complaint from a single parent, almost two decades after the book was published, schools in the surrounding areas started to question whether or not this book should be in their library for children to read.

The complaints made are varied, in the reasoning on why young kids should not read this book, however, in all of the complaints, they all had three main points: offensive language, sexual content, and racism. Many feel as if, “Kids today often grow up too fast and are exposed to things their young minds can’t handle. It’s unfortunate, but it certainly shouldn’t happen in a public school classroom.” (Beaumont Enterprise). However some feel different. For instance, Timglase responded to the banning by saying,

“Yes, it does contain some profanity and references to sex and racism. How about that? Three things that are present in life itself. It doesn’t help to shield students from these realities. It helps to educate them so they can deal with life’s challenges. In fact, students in some classes at West Brook study this book without any apparent problems.”

These complaints caused Beaumont School District to question whether they should carry Friday Night Lights in their library. These also caused the Texas Prison to ban Friday Night Lights.

A main complaint made was the explicit language throughout the book. On the second page of the book, “[the game] was against Midland Lee – Permian’s arch rivals – the rebels, those no-good son of a bitch bastard rebels…” Then, during the first scrimmage, a player from the opposing team tells the main character, star running back Boobie Miles, “You ain’t nothin’ but a pussy, a Goddamn pussy! … Com’on, Boobie, you tough mother fucker, com’on, let’s see how tough you really are!” Parents of youth had complained about this vulgar language. All throughout the book these teenageres cuss left and right, and parents do not want their children reading this. Especially with the harsh name calling. “Fuck you… you motherfucking bitch.” (Bissinger 334).

Another reason for the banning, is constant prejudice. Prejudice is, in this case, intolerance of or dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc. This is shown throughout the book. For instance, on page twenty-four, the football players feel as if they are superior to everyone else in the school because they play football. They also believe that football is more important than their school work. Boobie says that football is the only way he can get into college, so, “… he couldn’t be bothered with classes.” (Bissinger 1)

Racism is a huge part of this banning. All throughout the book, Caucasians felt superior to the African-American and Hispanic populations. African-Americans and Mexicans, races of a lower standard at this time, lived on the opposite side of town, referred to as “nxxxxx town”. Where all the Caucasians lived on the other, nicer, side of town. On page three, Boobie, a teenage African-American, “Felt good as he made his way out of the Southside part of town, the place where the low-income blacks and Mexicans lived, and crossed the railroad tracks as he headed for Permain over on the northeast side of town, the fancy side of town, the white side of town.” (Bissinger 3). Throughout the whole book, Caucasians were separated from African-Americans. Throughout the book, the word “nxxxxx” was used constantly in a harsh contex. Boobie was often referred to as a, “‘Big ol’ dumb nxxxxx.’” (Bssinger 67). This rural town, in southern Texas, did not acknowledge segregation until they had to. Therefore, Caucasians did not have to even associate with the other minorities for a long time.

Contant stereotype, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, is all throughout the book. “… before thousands of fans who had once anointed him the chosen son but now mostly thought of him as just another nxxxxx.” (Bissinger 1). The idea of one having to fit a certain standard of what they are thought of is constantly shown. The football players are stereotyped throughout the book. “He fit every stereotype of a dumb jock, all of which went to show how meaningless stereotypes should be,” (Bissinger 127). Females, the pepettes mainly, were also stereotyped in numerous occasions. Urban Ministry says, the pepettes spent as much as one hundred dollars on posters for their player; they also had to bring their player “a sweet” before every game.

The final reason for the banning is the constant sexual references. After one football practice, in the locker room, the players were comparing their pepettes sexually. Urban Ministry later tells that every pepette fully devotes themselves to their player. The football players could fully use their pepettes, along with any other girl in the school, in any way they wanted.

Friday Night Lights is only banned in two places, both happen to be in texas. “… while prisoners are not allowed to read the Texas football classic Friday Night Lights because of a single ‘nxxxxx’ reference, any one of them can request a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.” (John Bonazzo). This book is also banned in Beaumont School District due to one complaint made by a mom of a sixth grader. The complaint said, “The book is not appropriate for that age.” (Beaumont Enterprise).

Friday Night Lights, certainly has upset some feelings. The intention of the story was to tell about a high school football team in southern, rural, Texas. In reality, the book’s explicit language, mature sexual references, and constant racism overpowered the author’s desired message.

...(download the rest of the essay above)

About this essay:

If you use part of this page in your own work, you need to provide a citation, as follows:

Essay Sauce, Friday Night Lights . Available from:<https://www.essaysauce.com/literature-essays/friday-night-lights/> [Accessed 31-03-24].

These Literature essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies.

* This essay may have been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date.

Essay Categories:

• Accounting essays
• Architecture essays
• Business essays
• Computer science essays
• Criminology essays
• Economics essays
• Education essays
• Engineering essays
• English language essays
• Environmental studies essays
• Essay examples
• Finance essays
• Geography essays
• Health essays
• History essays
• Hospitality and tourism essays
• Human rights essays
• Information technology essays
• International relations
• Leadership essays
• Linguistics essays
• Literature essays
• Management essays
• Marketing essays
• Mathematics essays
• Media essays
• Medicine essays
• Military essays
• Miscellaneous essays
• Music Essays
• Nursing essays
• Philosophy essays
• Photography and arts essays
• Politics essays
• Project management essays
• Psychology essays
• Religious studies and theology essays
• Sample essays
• Science essays
• Social work essays
• Sociology essays
• Sports essays
• Types of essay
• Zoology essays

Dodger Thoughts

Jon weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the los angeles dodgers, baseball and life.

• Entertainment
• Brothers in Arms

Tyra’s college application essay on ‘Friday Night Lights’

By Jon Weisman

On February 13, 2013

In Entertainment , Life

“Two years ago, I was afraid of wanting anything. I figured wanting would lead to trying and trying would lead to failure. But now I find I can’t stop wanting. I want to fly somewhere on first class. I want to travel to Europe on a business trip. I want to get invited to the White House. I want to learn about the world. I want to surprise myself. I want to be important. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to define myself instead of having others define me. I want to win and have people be happy for me. I want to lose and get over it. I want to not be afraid of the unknown. I want to grow up and be generous and big hearted, the way people have been with me. I want an interesting and surprising life. It’s not that I think I’m going to get all these things, I just want the possibility of getting them. College represents possibility. The possibility that things are going to change. I can’t wait.”

Ceci n’est pas une bench

My favorite films of 2012, 15 comments.

Wow, 25 years after college and Tyra and I still have many of the same desires.

Yet another reminder of how great the show was but also what a disservice the writers did to Landry.

LOL. I had forgotten the Lance reference and had to look it up.

Jon Weisman

 Other than the killing, the writers did great by Landry.

Turned on to FNL by Jon.  Now watching season 4 with my wife, who loves it despite the football.

Remember the time when Landry killed the guy that raped Tyra and they dumped the body in the river?

That was awesome.

One of the best shows ever, along with Scrubs, Freaks and Geeks, and The Wonder Years.

“I want to be on a show that lasts two episodes!”

 Two more than “Wonder Woman.”

Jack Dawkins

Did Vin Scully kill that contract too?

Saturday morning, watching FA Cup, let me check in with Dodger Thoughts … YES!  (no pressure but thanks Jon!)

Haven’t really been a Laker fan since Magic, Kareem, and Worthy, but I am very saddened at passing of Dr. Buss.  True hero in both sports and life.

I am gong to pass this along to my daughter to help her step back and ponder a bit when compasing her own essay.

Comments are closed.

Buy ‘The Catch: A novel’

What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.

Click here to order  The Catch  in paperback.

Click here to order  The Catch  on Kindle.

Buy ‘Brothers in Arms’

• Triumph Books
• Barnes & Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Click here to learn more!

‘Brothers in Arms’ coverage

• Previews of every section and more/ Dodger Thoughts
• Review by Tom Hoffarth/ Farther Off the Wall
• Interview with Eric Stephen/ True Blue L.A.  podcast
• Interview with Houston Mitchell/ Los Angeles Times
• Review by Alex Campos/ Dodgers Digest
• Excerpt (Sandy Koufax)/ The Athletic
• Interview with Justin McGuire/ Baseball by the Book
• Interview with Mary McCoy/ LAPL Blog
• Excerpt (Fernando Valenzuela)/ The Postgame
• AMA (Ask Me Anything)/Reddit
• Interview with Dustin Nosler and Jared Massey/ Dugout Blues
• Interview with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky/ESPN
• Interview with Rowan Kavner and Jessica Rosales/ Dodger Insider Facebook Live
• Review by Phil Gurnee/ Dodgers, Yesterday and Today
• Excerpt (Zack Greinke)/ Dodgers Nation
• Excerpt (Ralph Branca)/Barnes & Noble
• Interview with Chris Russo/MLB Network High Heat
• Interview with Larry Mantle/KPCC 89.3  AirTalk
• Interview with Álex Soto, Desiree García and Matt Barrero/Pantone 294
• Interview with David Vassegh/AM 570
• Interview with Jim Alexander/ Riverside Press Enterprise

Recent posts

Catch ‘The Catch,’ the new novel by Jon Weisman!

November 1, 2023

A new beginning with the Dodgers

August 31, 2023

Fernando Valenzuela: Ranking the games that defined the legend

August 7, 2023

Interview: Ken Gurnick on Ron Cey and writing about the Dodgers

June 25, 2023

Interview: Ron Cey talks about the experiences that led to his new memoir, Penguin Power

June 22, 2023

Other writing by Jon

• 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die
• Baseball Toaster archive
• Dodger Insider
• ESPNLosAngeles.com
• Hardball Times
• Internet Movie Database credits
• SI.com archive
• The Best of Dodger Thoughts
• Variety archive
• November 2023
• August 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• January 2021
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• October 2019
• September 2019
• August 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• September 2018
• August 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• November 2017
• October 2017
• August 2017
• February 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• February 2016
• January 2016
• December 2015
• November 2015
• October 2015
• September 2015
• August 2015
• February 2015
• January 2015
• December 2014
• November 2014
• October 2014
• September 2014
• August 2014
• February 2014
• January 2014
• December 2013
• November 2013
• October 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• February 2010
• December 2009

Commenting guidelines

Thank You For Not ... 1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity 2) personally attacking other commenters 3) baiting other commenters 4) arguing for the sake of arguing 5) discussing politics 6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice 7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively 8) making the same point over and over again 9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress 10) being annoyed by the existence of this list 11) commenting under the obvious influence 12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with

1991-2013 Dodgers at home: 1,028-812 (.558695) When Jon attended: 338-267 (.558677)* When Jon didn’t: 695-554 (.556) * includes road games attended

2013 Dodgers at home: 51-35 (.593) When Jon attended: 5-2 (.714) When Jon didn’t: 46-33 (.582)

Note: I got so busy working for the Dodgers that in 2014, I stopped keeping track, much to my regret. 

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

Improving writing skills since 2002

(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Friday night lights.

• Word Count: 318
• Approx Pages: 1
• View my Saved Essays
• Downloads: 24
• Grade level: High School
• Problems? Flag this paper!

                          People's perception of small town Texas is generally an area consumed by high school football and racism. H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights is the story of one man's experience with both segregation and football at Permian High School in Odessa, Texas. Bissinger's novel describes the lengths that a high school football team and it surrounding community went through to eventually abandon their pro-segregation ideals for the good of their football team. .              The novel is set in what is described to be an average Texas town during the time of the Civil Rights movements. Bissinger describes Odessa as being a segregated town where the whites reside on one side of the town and the non-whites naturally on the other. This town even happen to be split by the railroad tracks, which made what side you were on abundantly clear. True to form, there was a nice high school and a not as nice high school, and up until the late 1900's, when the state and federal governments created desegregation mandates to receive funding, only white students attended the nicer Permian High. The story goes on to detail what history tells us to be the normal reaction from parents and students; the parents went to school boards and town meetings while the students made it their goal in life to get the non-whites to drop out of the school that they didn't belong in. True to form, redistricting and racial percentages started to equal out and the once clear class distinction as dictated by the railroad tracks began to blur. .              Like many southern towns during the civil rights movement, the whites were up in arms and now racial tension in Odessa was beginning to peak. This is until both races found they had something in common, other than being human, it was their love of high school football.             

• Page 1 of 1

Essays Related to Friday Night Lights

1. friday night.

Friday Night Lights, H.G. ... But Friday Night Lights also described the dark side of Permian football, the craziness that gripped Odessa citizens in pursuit of state championships. ... Bissinger, who has just released a new edition of Friday Night Lights, stands by the book. ... And when asked if he's ever read Friday Night Lights, he reaches into his desk drawer and pulls out a dog-eared hard copy. ... The 1988 season, the one Friday Night Lights recounts, was not one of the Panthers' best. ...

• Word Count: 2172
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

2. Critique of Friday Night Light

Critique of Friday Night Lights By H.G. Bissinger Friday Night Lights: A team, a town, a dream is the story of the 1988 Permian High School football team in Odessa, Texas. The book covers a year in the life of the team, from the ending of the 1987 season through the conclusion of the 1988 seas...

• Word Count: 567
• Approx Pages: 2

3. Night and Fun

The book Friday Night Lights, is a true story of the 1988 Permian High School football team in Odessa, Texas. ... Despite these reasons, the Permian Panthers played on Friday nights in front of crowds that grew up to 20,000 fans. ... Friday Night Lights was written on the account of the teams success during Panthers 1988 football season, and their successful attempt to qualify for a place in the play-offs for the state championship. However there season was cut short, on a rainy night, they were finally beaten in a semi-final game by the Carter Cowboys...

• Word Count: 299

4. Friday Night Lights

The name of the author who wrote this very interesting book, "Friday Night Lights," is H. G. Bissinger. Bissinger was a newspaper editor in Philadelphia, after a while he went to Oddessa to meet the members of the 1988 Permian Panther football team. Incredibly enough for the next four months he wa...

• Word Count: 1448
• Approx Pages: 6

5. Descriptive Essay on Friday Night Atmospher of Football (10/24/01)

The sun comes up, the sun goes down, to some this Friday is an ordinary day, but to me it is the night for football. ... The halogen lights shinning from all four corners of the field and cheering crowds is the best part. The lights bring a stream down through the fog filled sky onto the dew-covered grass. ... The game will end and so will life but the memories from the sport on Friday night will be a legacy in every individual high school player's mind....

• Word Count: 922
• Approx Pages: 4

6. My Attempt to Stop Procrastinating

This year our practice schedule was changed from beginning at 6 to starting at 8 o clock under the lights at our complex. ... October 30, 2013 Tonight was not the night to start trying not to procrastinate. ... The previous weekend we had state and we took Thursday and Friday off from school which put me behind in school. ... Since tonight was Halloween and I had just gotten grounded, tonight was the perfect night to start. ... I was planning on going to Utah Friday after school with Robert, and Noah but that plan was shut down on Thursday night. ...

• Word Count: 1208
• Approx Pages: 5

7. Football Game

Atmosphere in a Way You Will Never Forget The sun comes up, the sun goes down, to some this Friday is an ordinary day, but to me it is the night for football. ... The halogen lights shinning from all four corners of the field and cheering crowds is the best part. The lights bring a stream down through the fog filled sky onto the dew-covered grass. ... The game will end and so will life but the memories from the sport on Friday night will be a legacy in every individual high school player's mind....

• Word Count: 903

8. Journalistic Essay - North Coast Music Festival

After I got inside, the first thing that caught my eye was the lights. ... Below is a picture of the lights on the first night. One thing that surprised me was on Friday because of how dirty the park already was after only one day. ... The park was trashed on Friday, but they did a fantastic job cleaning it because it was spotless. ... The lights were crazy, smoke machines going off, and even fireworks throughout the performance. ...

• Word Count: 919

9. The Sanctuary, as Known to High School Football Players

On Fridays in the fall, all day the school's football team grinds out another day of school as they look forward to there action filled night. ... There are always stories that come around about high school games, known as "Friday nights under the lights!". ... The weather always seems to be just right on game night. The team comes out for there pre-game warm up, the sun is setting, while the lights are being turned on. ... They see as their friends are coming onto the field, preparing for their own adventurous night, because they know that on this night they are meant to be here, on ...

• Word Count: 1136

Northern lights and a cheese ceremony: photos of the day – Friday

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email

The Guardian’s picture editors select some of the most powerful photos from around the world

Fri 29 Mar 2024 13.54 GMT Last modified on Fri 29 Mar 2024 21.04 GMT

Alkmaar, the Netherlands

Photograph: Remko de Waal/EPA

Durban, South Africa

Photograph: Rogan Ward/Reuters

Maghazi, Gaza

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Jurm, Afghanistan

Photograph: Omer Abrar/AFP/Getty Images

Srinagar, India

Photograph: Farooq Khan/EPA

Naivasha, Kenya

Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images

Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Mexico City, Mexico

Photograph: Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Milan, Italy

Photograph: Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty Images

Istanbul, Turkey

Bhaktapur, Nepal

Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

Komotini, Greece

Guwahati, India

Photograph: Anupam Nath/AP

Taizhou, China

Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Afar, Ethiopia

Photograph: Michele Spatari/AFP/Getty Images

Havana, Cuba

Photograph: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

Infanta, Philippines

Photograph: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

New York, US

Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

Photograph: Andrea Renault/Zuma/Shutterstock

Photograph: Alex Kent/Getty Images

Massapequa, US

Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Irpin, Ukraine

Photograph: Ukrinform/Rex/Shutterstock

Ciudád Juarez, Mexico

Frankfurt, Germany

Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Straumur, Iceland

Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

• Photography
• Photos of the day

More galleries

Most popular.