I, Tonya

essence_of_soy said:
The Tuna Can Arena?
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:confused: I don't know what you mean.

Harding's ex told authorities that she called the Tony Kent Arena, where Kerrigan practiced in Michigan, to find out her schedule to help coordinate an attack. Harding denied his accusation when asked about it by the FBI. Gillooly even gave the FBI a scrap piece of paper with the name of the arena jotted down, saying Harding had written it. The FBI tested the handwriting and determined that some of the writing was Harding's but that other portions were Gillooly's.
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http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/news/a47332/tonya-harding-nancy-kerrigan-facts/
 
essence_of_soy said:
That was apparently the name of the rink Tonya wrote down. It is actually called The Tony Kent Arena.
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It wasn't that off. Here is a photo of what she wrote.

https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https://peopledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/tonya-harding-2.jpg&w=1100&q=85

It is interesting to the note that, to my untrained eye, it all looks like the same person's writing but written at several different times, so it is really something else for the FBI to say some of it was Jeff's writing.
 
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Can someone remind me....was that restaurant owner digging through the trash when she found that?
 
skatesindreams said:
The "general public" may give Tonya the sympathy she is after.
I suspect it has already happened; since the film was made, and she will gain even more attention, if it wins awards.

I don't believe this is a positive development.
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I doubt many people will actually care. Also, there was a sponsored article that came up in my Facebook feed about if Tonya deserved redemption. A lot of people commenting remembered the whack as worse than it actually was - Nancy's kneecaps were broke, her career was ruined forever, etc.
 
meggonzo said:
I doubt many people will actually care.
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Also, there are people who believe Tonya got a raw deal even before the movie. And it's not like what they believe changes anything. Tonya is still banned from USFS for life. She still served her sentence. Her pro career is gone.

None of that is going to change just because some people watch that movie and feel sorry for her or believe her side of the story.
 
This movie is only getting the publicity because 1/ Margot Robbie is in it and 2/ Apparently it is very good, well made, has great performances and is funny.

At the end of the day, that is what most people will remember about it.
 
meggonzo said:
I doubt many people will actually care. Also, there was a sponsored article that came up in my Facebook feed about if Tonya deserved redemption. A lot of people commenting remembered the whack as worse than it actually was - Nancy's kneecaps were broke, her career was ruined forever, etc.
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Physical assault (don't know the correct legal term) is a common crime. Most people who commit it and get charged do the time (if sentenced to jail) or pay the fine, and then, providing that they do not re-offend, just move on with their lives.

In Tonya's case, the incident followed her and hounded her for life. The lifetime ban she received was probably harsher punishment than a jail sentence for a common criminal, as it took away from her the thing she loved most for the rest of her life.

skatesindreams said:
The "general public" may give Tonya the sympathy she is after.
I suspect it has already happened; since the film was made, and she will gain even more attention, if it wins awards.

I don't believe this is a positive development.
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It is possible that the film will give Tonya redemption to a certain extent, but it isn't Tonya's fault that a film-maker decided her's was a worthy story to tell. A lot of women who have been underdogs will appreciate the film. In my experience, there are not a lot movies about women who are underdogs and/or anti-heroines - whereas males in those roles are often exalted in film (i.e. Serpico).

And it's possible to have sympathy for a person who has done something wrong/hurt another person, while still recognizing that the person did something wrong.

It's called 'compassion', and a little more of it in this world would be a good thing.
 
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bardtoob said:
I, Tonya is still only available the four (4) original theaters. I has made about $500,000. The budget was $11,000,000, so breaking even is reasonable if a wider release happens.
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I believe it opens here in Canada on the 22nd. A friend of mine wants to go and she's not a skating fan, so the film appears to be well-promoted (saw an ad for it on TV the other day), and it wouldn't surprise me if it did very well, in addition to getting Janney award nominations.
 
berthesghost said:
^ which is all well and good until she, Tonya starts claiming she was the only one who got subjected to that crap.

I get that this particular movie is about she, Tonya and not they, Tonya&Nancy, so I’m assuming they don’t spend time on Nancy being dragged kicking and screaming into “usfs approved feminity”. No scenes of her whining about “itchy” Wang costumes, or capped teeth, etc.
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But it may have been more difficult for Tonya than for the typical female skater, as she came from a poor family, didn't fit the mold of the ice princess or the baby ballerina, and was also not a compliant sort of person - more of the rebel. Those were three strikes against her at the get-go.

Nancy didn't come from wealth either, as so many skaters do, but I think she adjusted to the ice princess role more easily than Tonya (although she rather blew it with her 'corny' comment).

It must have been difficult for Tonya to be living in poverty, sometimes in her mom's car, and wearing dresses hand-made by her mom, when she looked at her competition. She must have constantly been confronted by the fact that she was an outsider - she didn't look or act like all the other girls, or share their privileges - which would have just further battered her already compromised self-esteem.

Even today, most female skaters fit the mold. There are some exceptions, like Mette, whom I adore but French skaters do tend to be the most bold when it comes to innovation. And Daleman could be an exception, but her 'Gladiator' is a perfect example of how pervasive the feminine stereotype is in FS. I had hoped for a bolder, more athletic program from Daleman, but apparently no one even considered it as a possibility.

To be an outsider in FS would be painful and isolating, I would think. When a young person is put in that position or identifies with it,it often leads them to engage in 'outsider' behaviors that only reinforce the position and can be self-destructive. We really want to belong and be accepted by our peers when we are young!

I have no problem with Harding blasting her “I did it my way” music
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SO many skaters choose "My Way" for exhibition numbers, and I find it really odd because I question whether they actually have been doing it 'their way', or even know what 'their way' might be.
 
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Most of the beloved icons of US ladies skating talk in their books and interviews about the pain the isolation of being outsiders in the sport.
Even when she was winning titles Harding would channel her inner Pat Lipinski and complain about the shabby way she was being treated.
But once you factor in the poor training habits and the smoking with asthma etc on a list of things that kept Harding back, not being a darling of USFS is much lower on the list IMHO.
You are spot on by saying Tonya adapted less well to adversity. You don't have to watch many interviews to catch on that she's way more disfunctional than the others. I shudder to think how Tonya would have handled having to sit thru one's brother being accused of killing one's dad.
 
berthesghost said:
You are spot on by saying Tonya adapted less well to adversity. You don't have to watch many interviews to catch on that she's way more disfunctional than the others. I shudder to think how Tonya would have handled having to sit thru one's brother being accused of killing one's dad.
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I think Tonya's drunk half-brother tried to rape her and she fought him off with a hot curling iron, so . . . ummm . . . I don't know what to say.

She once fended off sexual advances of a drunken half-brother by burning him on the neck with a curling iron.
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http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940113&slug=1889460

ETA:

Here is the detailed story . . . Very disturbing . . . it involves the police being called, her half-brother being taken away in handcuffs, and Tonya's parents downplaying the event, blaming Tonya while admitting her half-brother both had a drinking problem and would try to kiss her {{GROSS!!!}}, and hitting Tonya for complaining about it . . . and a death threat after.

There were other problems too. The most terrible night came when Tonya was 15. She was at home alone, preparing for her first date with Jeff Gillooly, the man she would later marry. Tonya's half brother, Chris Davison, came home inebriated. He was 26 at the time. When he found that the Hardings weren't home, he approached Tonya and tried to kiss her. This had happened once before, and Tonya had stopped him by slapping his face. This time she threatened to burn him with her curling iron, and when he kept coming, Tonya made good her threat and burned him on the neck. Terrified, she ran upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom. Davison followed her, and when she wouldn't open the door, he broke it down. She was able to get away from him and dialed 911.

"He told me, 'If you say something's wrong, I'll kill you,' " she remembers. "So when the operator asked me if everything was O.K., I said yes. But she must have known something was wrong, because she called right back and asked, 'Are you sure everything's O.K. there? It's not, is it?' I just said, 'Yup.' "

Davison wouldn't leave, and when he came after her again, Tonya hit him with a hockey stick and ran across the street to the neighbors. Again she called the police. After Davison took off in his car, Tonya went back to her house, locked all the doors and windows, and waited. It seemed forever before anybody came. Finally she heard a car pull up, and she ran to the window. It was Davison. She couldn't believe this was happening. He was screaming at her, "I'm gonna get you!" and trying to get in the house. She heard someone pounding on the door, and the pounding continued and continued, until finally she understood what was being shouted: "Just open the door. It's the police." Shaking and in tears, she let them in. Her half brother was at the bottom of the stairs, in handcuffs. The police hauled him off to jail, and when Al visited him the next day, Davison didn't remember the visit.

"That night I tried to tell my mom and dad what happened," Harding says. "My dad didn't want to believe it, and my mother slapped me and told me to get in my room. To this day she doesn't believe me."

"He did have a problem with drinking," admits LaVona. "I wouldn't put it past Chris to try and get a kiss. Tonya has a vivid imagination. She has a tendency to tell tall tales."

"After Chris got out of jail, he told me, 'If I ever catch you alone, you won't be around anymore,' " says Harding.

Davison was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver three years ago in Portland. "I wouldn't go to his funeral," says Harding. "I know it sounds terrible. My mom tried to make me, but I wouldn't."
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https://www.si.com/vault/1992/01/13...rding-from-becoming-a-figure-skating-champion
 
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Apples and oranges. My Liz/Nancy reference was about the very public display of one’s family problems/issues. It’s never been a secret that tonya’s home life was a mess, usually because she tells it all which was another one of my points: people like Fleming are more of a typical al-anon stereotype internalizing and hiding their issues so that once it comes out that they were once homeless, it’s more shocking. But that’s apples and oranges too I suppose as I’m sure it’s easier to cast these challenges as adversity you overcame when you have an OGM and ice capades contract vs excuses on why your gaols weren’t met.
 
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