A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (Chris Waitt, 2008) and Undefeated (Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin, 2011)

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (Chris Waitt, 2008) is a British documentary that focuses on filmmaker Chris Waitt and his journey to find out why all of his romantic relationships have never worked out.

Undefeated (Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin, 2011) is a documentary that follows the struggles of a high school football team, the Manassas Tigers of Memphis, as they attempt to win a season after years of losing. The team is turned around by Coach Bill Courtney who turns them into an academic and athletic team.

Both films show the theme of class. In Undefeated this is shown from the contrasting shots between the neighbourhoods. The white neighbourhoods are clear to be seen as very big and rich, with huge houses and neatly cut grass whereas the black neighbourhoods are very run down and the audience can infer that there is a lot of crime as their living conditions are different and more stressful. This emphasises the difference between the lives of the coach and of the team. In A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, class is shown through the use of visiting the different houses/apartments. Chris' apartment is shown as quite small, dirty and very messy, whereas the houses of his ex-girlfriends are clean and big. This could represent how they have moved on with their lives and have become successful but yet Chris is still the same.

Both films make the audience feel empathy towards the main protagonists. In ACHOMSF, this is shown when Chris takes an overdose on viagra. This infers to the audience that he must be at a low point in his life, as he walks around the city with his trousers below his waist begging for someone to have sex with him. This shows someone who is mentally and physically unstable and therefore they feel sorry for him. And in Undefeated the majority of the film makes the audience feel empathy as you feel for the team players. As the film develops each of them are facing their own problems that wont get better, until it ends with a happy ending so you can relate and feel happy with them.

The film Undefeated explores the themes of unity and relationships. This is evident in the bond between the team and the Coach to team relationship in the film. The director uses quotes in the film to highlight this. One example of this is the 'Put the team first'. Another example of this, is the quote, "The character of a man is not measured in how he handles his wins, but what he does with his failures" that Coach Bill Courtney uses numerous times throughout the film. This is effective as it highlights Coach Bill Courtney's positive influence on the boys on his team and his father figure role. The quote itself is also important as it emphasises the quote "football saves lives" expressed throughout the film.