LEAD October 2021 | Page 44

The Optics of

Dodgeball by Rob Singleton

I know of few games better designed to shred a kid ’ s self-esteem than dodgeball . I mean , unless you are one of those rare ones who had muscles at 11 or , if you were a boy , could grow a full beard by age 12 .
In case you have never had the joy — or heartache — of playing dodgeball , let me break it down for you . Two teams line up opposite each other , each with a number of rubber balls . The goal is to hit the members of the other team with the balls . If you are hit , you are out . The first team to get out every member of the other team wins . If this sounds fascinating , you can see it in action in the old Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn film creatively named Dodgeball .
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