Field of Dreams (1989) directed by Phil Alden Robinson is a glaringly idyllic rendition of the arguably overtaxed notion of "follow your dreams." While deeper themes such as faith and references to a nascent national mythology in the form of baseball were constants in the narrative, such concepts are easily overshadowed by the consistent attempt to specifically appeal toward the sentimentalities of the film's contemporaneous target audience. Besides this, Field of Dreams may have accomplished little beyond eliciting the fleeting goosebump and momentary bout of fondness from the lay viewer who exists only on the uttermost peripheral of the American pastime, or those who are hardly familiar with the history of baseball required to truly appreciate the exclusive …show more content…
The voice, although exclusively concerned with commanding Kinsella to appease the spirits of long-dead baseball players, equally likely personifies the impulsiveness and spontaneity of Kinsella and Mann or God, the very moral progenitor of the impulse to be selfless. As a narrative device, the voice acts as the driving force behind the progress between different segments of the narrative. Simply put, Kinsella himself was never in control of his pilgrimage nor understood its purpose; simply deferring himself to the painfully vague directives revealed to him. Fueled by an incessant fear that he'll never succeed in pursuing his dreams and leading a repeat of his father's life, his compliance with the voice represents his faith in baseball and its pantheon of deceased greats. Coupled with its personal significance to both he and his father in his youth, his compulsive faith in the sport superseded his rationality and better