"The ultimate human work is the shaping of a soul."
— David Whyte

The process of shaping a soul begins in childhood as we listen to the voices inside us and cautiously pay attention to the words and deeds of our parents. We heed the imperatives of play and pleasure as we reach out to experience a wider world. Values and visions are tested, and we begin to express our own singular nature in a variety of ways.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) is based on a 1984 book of the same title about a seven-year-old chess prodigy, Josh Waitzkin. Written and directed by Steven Zaillian, this engaging drama offers a behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating world of chess tournaments and the widespread yearning within this community for a successor to appear on the scene with the genius, flair, and intensity of American champion Bobby Fischer. For our review of the film and a plot synopsis, click here.

Looking for Bobby Fischer is a perfect film for youth groups. The questions and exercises in this guide revolve around themes such as watching things closely, parenting, winning, victory and defeat, inner femininity, and caring for the soul.

Searching for Bobby Fischer runs 111 minutes and is rated PG.

1. Chess

"What is chess, do you think?" chess coach Bruce Pandolfini asks Fred Waitzkin. "Those who play for fun or not at all dismiss it as a game. The ones who devote their lives to it, for the most part, insist that it is a science. It is neither. Bobby Fischer got underneath it like no one else before him and found at its center — art."

• What first attracts seven-year-old Josh to chess? What natural talents and gifts make him a child chess prodigy?
• Share your responses to the news clips about chess superstar Bobby Fischer used throughout the film. Why do you think chess devotees latched onto him as their hero? What positive or negative impact has he had upon chess?

2. Watching Things Very Closely

"As children, we learned to watch things very closely," Wayne Muller writes in Legacy of the Heart. "We scrutinized whatever was happening around us. . . . We would always watch for anything unusual, for the precise moment to advance or retreat, for the right thing to say or do. We trained ourselves in the art of observation, vigilant in noting the smallest details, receptive to the slightest shifts in the family atmosphere."

• Josh watches everything very closely and is concerned about doing the right thing. What sides of his soul are shown in his first game of chess with his father and the way he treats an opponent at a chess club?
• Do you identify with Wayne Muller's description of watching things closely as a child? Why or why not? What does this facility have to do with living a spiritual life?

3. Parenting

"Good parents protect, but not overprotect; they love, empathize and care but frustrate appropriately; they actively control but also passively withdraw in order to encourage the child's activity and growth," Sidney Cornelia Callahan has written.

• What is the main difference in the parenting style of Fred and Bonnie Waitzkin? How do they differ in their attitudes toward Josh’s wizardry in chess and the competition circuit?
• What one scene in the film says the most to you about the art of good parenting? Discuss the implications of the following quote from the film said by a chess coach: "It's unsettling isn't it? When you realize there are only so many things you can teach a child and, finally, they are what they are."

4. Winning

Josh's coach, Bruce, frustrated with the boy's slump, says to him, "You have to have contempt for your opponents. You have to hate them." Josh responds, "But I don't." "They hate you." "I don't hate them." "Bobby Fischer held the world in contempt." "I'm not him."

• Why does Bruce decide to take Josh as a student? What qualities make him a good teacher?
• What do you think influences Bruce to abuse Josh with this lecture on contempt?
• Who first schooled you in the ethic of winning? What did you learn? Have you changed your views since then? If so, in what ways?

5. Victory and Defeat

"Somewhere in the world there is defeat for everyone," John Steinbeck wrote in The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. "Some are destroyed by defeat and some are made small and mean by victory. Greatness lies in the one who triumphs equally over defeat and victory."

• Were you surprised by Fred's hostile treatment of Josh after the boy's first loss? What clue to his feelings was Josh giving him when he said prior to the competition, "Maybe it's better not to be the best. Then you can lose and it's ok"?
• Discuss your responses to the scene where Fred and Bonnie talk about Josh's fear of losing his father's love.
• Have you ever known anyone who was made small and mean by victory? What was the situation? What spiritual perspective has helped you to move beyond both defeat and victory as ends in themselves?

6. Your Inner Feminine Nature

"Few men understand how important femininity is in their lives, both inner and outer," Jungian analyst Robert A. Johnson writes in Lying with the Heavenly Woman. "Almost all of a man's sense of value, worth, safety, joy, contentment, belongedness and happiness derive from his inner feminine nature."

• Early in the film, Josh's mother tells him, "You have a good heart and that's the most important thing in the world." In what other ways does she affirm and celebrate his inner feminine nature?
• • How have parents, mentors, friends, and lovers affirmed and celebrated your inner feminine nature? How does this dimension of your being express itself?

7. Caring for the Soul

In Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore writes: "We care for the soul by honoring its expressions, by giving it time and opportunity to reveal itself, and by living life in a way that fosters the depth, interiority, and quality in which it flourishes."

• In what ways does Josh's soul work — his trying to incorporate the lessons from Bruce, Vinnie, and his parents — show itself in the championship competition? What has two weeks of fishing done for his spirit?
• What has Searching for Bobby Fischer taught you about caring for your soul in relationship to self-expression?

This guide is one in a series of more than 200 Values & Visions Guides written by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Text copyright 2001 by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. This guide is posted as a service to visitors to www.SpiritualityandPractice.com. It may not be photocopied, reprinted, or distributed electronically without permission from Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat -- except it may be duplicated for use by groups participating in the e-course “Going to the Movies as a Spiritual Practice.” For other uses and for a list of guides in the Values & Visions series and ordering information, email your name and mailing address to: brussat@spiritualrx.com.