What Ben Affleck's AIR is Really About

What the Air Jordan movie gets wrong and right about the culture

There are plenty of reasons to be confused by AIR, Ben Affleck’s ‘80s movie about Nike’s historic Air Jordan deal. From the moment the trailer debuted during the Super Bowl, viewers wondered, “Who will play Michael Jordan?” He’s nowhere to be found in the preview (and as it turns out, the movie). Instead, the cast is studded with A-list stars like Matt Damon, Viola Davis, and Affleck himself in a comical haircut that tops his Argo coif.

The second thing that everyone is misunderstanding is that AIR is based on Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight’s bestselling memoir, Shoe Dog. Last summer, Netflix announced Knight’s biopic would be produced by Frank Marshall, much to the fanfare of the fashion set. But this movie, AIR, is an entirely different project, written by Black List 2021 newcomer Alex Convery. AIR also revolves around sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, not Knight.¹ Without much insight into Vaccaro’s life and backstory, we root for Damon’s character as he signs the greatest basketball player of all time to Nike. Meanwhile, Phil Knight disputes Vaccaro’s account of the Air Jordan story. “A lot of people want to take credit for signing Michael Jordan, most obviously Sonny Vaccaro. On ESPN he said he was the key to the thing. Sonny helped, but he wasn’t the MVP in that process.”

And then there’s the question if Nike or Michael Jordan support AIR. The biggest sportswear brand in the world hasn’t mentioned or associated with the movie. Affleck has stated, “I did not have a conversation with Nike because I didn’t feel the same sense of personal responsibility [as I did to Michael Jordan].” As for Jordan, I can’t tell what is more glaringly absent: the athlete’s face in the film or his PR saying anything about it in the media. Affleck says that he’s received Jordan’s blessings and defends the choice to obscure his presence to not distract from the story. However, you can’t help but stalk MJ’s apparition whenever he’s onscreen. It almost becomes a game, trying to catch his likeness as he turns into the wall. It’s like the naked Bart scene in the Simpsons movie. Because they make such a point to hide his junk, it steals even more of your attention.

Meanwhile, AIR is being shamelessly marketed to sneakerheads, the studio seeking to capitalize on cult fandom. At a private AIR screening on Monday, castmates Jason Bateman and Marlon Wayans took the stage for a Q&A. Guests stood up and thanked the movie stars for everything they’d done for sneaker culture (?). When Bateman was asked what his favorite Air Jordan sneaker was, he awkwardly replied, “I’ve never owned a pair of Jordans.” When you see Ben Affleck signing retro Nikes for streetwear fans on the red carpet, there seems to be something awry in the culture, like we’ve tripped into the sneaker multiverse.

Having said that, by pure entertainment value, I enjoyed AIR and you probably will too. Although the trailer was sus², AIR is as high-stakes and fast-paced as the revolutionary deal itself. The passionate sports agent negotiations are like if Adam McKay directed Jerry Maguire in the aesthetic of Wolf of Wall Street. I’d love to see Matt Damon nab an Oscar nom for his inspiring sell to a 21-year-old Michael Jordan. For sneaker collectors, there are fun factoids about Nike’s origins, how the first Air Jordan was designed³, and Phil Knight’s business principles. And Viola Davis is magnificent, to nobody’s surprise. She is so fierce, so stirring, that once her scenes end, it almost feels silly that this is all over a shoe. It feels like she is fighting for the fate of the world.

Why AIR will succeed at the box office, however, isn’t so much about iconic sneakers, the mystery of Michael, or even five-star performances. AIR resonates in this cultural climate because it’s about equity and fairness. While my kids stay home because their teachers are picketing in a rainstorm for better pay… while French protestors have taken to the streets over Macron’s pension push… AIR is a white-cast movie about a white corporation profiting off a Black man – and how his mother corrects an institutional wrong by demanding a cut for the talent.

It’s a simple tweak, but Deloris Jordan’s addendum to Michael’s contract reformed how sports endorsement deals were drawn up for decades after. Greatest of all, by reciprocating the relationship, both corporation and athlete excelled. Nike sold almost half a million pairs of the Jordan 1 in the first month and $126 million worth of the sneakers by the end of 1985 (Startling, considering Nike as a whole only generated $65 million the year before). After he closes the deal, Matt Damon’s Vaccaro says something along the lines of, “This time, I think it’s gonna work out for everyone.” Not just Phil Knight. Not just Nike. Not just Jordan. Everyone. It was a harbinger of things to come.

As we stare into the barrel of a recession and inflation hits its highest rates in four decades, half of Americans say that they’re financially worse off than they were a year ago. Income inequality has been rising in this country for generations, outpacing other rich countries. Within the corporate structure, the disparity is even more striking. “Between 1978 and 2018, CEO compensation increased by more than 900 percent while worker compensation increased by just 11.9 percent.” In AIR, Affleck’s caricature of Phil Knight zips a “grape” Porsche around Beaverton while wearing matching tracksuits. Contrastingly, our first glimpse of the Jordan family is father James Jordan repairing their station wagon in the driveway of their North Carolina home. It’s a subtle juxtaposition that most Americans will feel in their bones.

Beyond the social state, AIR is hitting at an interesting time for Nike (as I’ve written about before) and sneaker culture as well. Nike’s lost momentum to trendy trail shoes, footwear brands are getting eclipsed in the headlines by big red boots and Super Mario shoes, and corporate lawsuits against emerging designers scream boomer energy. AIR takes us back to the early 1980s when Nike hit a similar, stagnant patch (“There’s nothing cool about Nike!” - Marlon Wayans), trying to compete against the more relevant adidas and Converse. According to the movie, what galvanized them both internally and in the culture was 1) taking risks and 2) systemic change.

The glut of data has softened the big brand approach. By rehashing the same models, leaning into the same 2010 playbook, sportswear giants like Nike and adidas are playing like they’re scared to lose instead of focusing on how much upside there is to win. It’s safe, but it leaves the game wide open for someone to capture the flag. Maybe it’s MSCHF or Skechers, Crocs or Hoka (I’m watching VANS and vulc soles). But, back in 1984, this was the same type of salient opportunity that Sonny Vaccaro seized from the Three Stripes. His choices were dangerous and controversial. Yet, they set Nike apart. They set Nike’s legacy.

AIR is exactly what Nike needs right now⁴. The Swoosh has never felt more like a monolithic company before, a giant cement block that is reminiscent of adidas’ cold, Germanic depiction in the movie than the bro-y dorm room camaraderie of the Good Will Hunting tag team. AIR reminds the Nike consumer that there’s people behind the product. That the Jumpman silhouette stands for risks, sacrifice, and belief in greatness. Almost forty years later, we’ve reached the point where Batman is autographing a $300 basketball shoe at a Hollywood premiere. But Air Jordan’s spirit is that of a social movement, not just a status symbol.

This makes a lot of sense when you consider that AIR is the first movie under Matt Damon’s and Ben Affleck’s innovative new production company, Artists Equity. Like a Hollywood version of the Air Jordan deal, Artists Equity’s mission is setting “entrepreneurial partnerships” with filmmakers “with shared participation in the commercial success of projects.”

Sounds like a pretty big risk in this shaky economy, but as AIR’s success will hopefully attest to, it’s one that comes packaged with a significant benefit for all - and for the culture.

AIR releases in nationwide theaters in less than two weeks on April 5, 2023.

1. After all, Vaccaro did write the original script. https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/brendan-dunne/joey-harrington-air-jordan-1-tinker-hatfield-oregon-ducks

2. I’ve gotta say, the trailer did the film a disservice. It indulged so heavily in ‘80s pop culture tropes and commercial tie-ins, that many likened it to an SNL skit.

3. Sad, but apparently Tinker Hatfield was written out of the script at some point! We need a sequel!

4. AIR’s parting note about equity and partnership also neatly aligns with Web3, Nike’s .SWOOSH venture, and the use of blockchain tech and digital collectibles to compensate designers. Generations later, Deloris Jordan’s philosophy has evolved. Now, Nike’s not just sharing and redistributing wealth with their athletes and influencers, but their community as well.