“Maybe tomorrow, we'll all wear 42, so nobody could tell us apart.” General manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, decided to draft Jackie Robinson into the baseball team. Rickey knew the negative feedback he would receive and he refused to let society make the decision for him. Therefore, he went seeking for a baseball player who could meet his standards, physically and mentally. While some differences between Brian Helgelands movie 42 and the segregation in society and the Jim Crow laws are evident, the similarities are striking.…
Brian Helgeland's movie, “42”, is about the notable Brooklyn Dodgers 1947 baseball season when general manager Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) makes the decision to sign the first black Major League player, Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman). Throughout the entire movie Robinson faces foul and malicious racism…
The movie “42” entails the story of Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player in the Major Leagues, inside of the “all white league”, breaking down the color barrier for other minorities to join. The story begins with the domination of Jackie in the colored league, and the Dodgers owner, Mr. Branch Rickey, taking notice. Mr. Rickey, saw money to be made, but needed a face for his idea. Cue Jackie Robinson. To begin, a scout sees Robinson standing up for his Baseball team, the Kansas City Monarchs, at a gas station over a bathroom dispute. From then on, Mr. Rickey is in the picture. After proposing to his girlfriend and signing a contract, Robinson heads to the minors with the condition that he must control his attitude…
I recently saw the film, 42, and I found many connections with our Sociology of Sport class. First and foremost, the movie was about the baseball legend, Jackie Robinson. Jack broke the baseball color barrier and was the first African American player allowed in Major League Baseball. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers beginning in 1947. Jack was a strong, talented player, but he also had a mind of his own. He played with an attitude that would be taunting to other players. When he made it to the Montreal Royals in 1946, he had to quickly get rid of this taunting, smart attitude. He was the only black player in a time of hatred and prejudice in the United States. Although he had plentiful support, there were many people who did not want Jackie playing baseball at the level he was at. He was faced with constant racist remarks, and sent thousands of letters that included death threats. Robinson had to persevere through this hard time to show that he would not give up. By not giving up, and not retaliating he proved to everyone that he was worthy of playing in the major leagues. Jackie Robinson helped his team to six pennants and one World Series Championship. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, which was the first year he was eligible to be inducted.…
Jackie Robinson, the most iconic name in baseball since 1947, when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was the first African-American athlete to compete in an all-white Major League. He remained steadfast in his active fighting of racial injustice on the field. Demonstrating to everyone that talent wasn’t defined by race or cultural background but rather the player wearing the uniform. The revolution that Robinson had assisted Martin Luther King Jr. with; their lifelong battled to open American’s eyes to a new way of life, living together as one. It’s easy to see how Jackie Robinson playing baseball affected how we live…
In this lecture about Jackie Robinson we were enlightened about not only Jackie Robinson and his history playing baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers but also about the time period he lived in. When Jackie was first drafted, it was 1945 and the Brooklyn Dodgers decided to take on the first African American ball player. It was Branch Rickey who decided to take on the experiment of drafting an African American to an all white baseball team. During this era, having blacks and whites associated with each other was unheard of. Yet, Jackie was looked at as someone that could play baseball and this was a time changing event that occurred in our history.…
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born the youngest of Jerry and Mallie Robinson in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919. However, after the spring of 1920, the Robinsons moved to Pasadena, California, and it was here that Jackie Robinson grew up, learned to stand up for himself, and cultivated his abolitionist attitude (Coombs 11-13). According to Mike Gimbel, author of “Jackie Robinson’s Historic Impact,” Pasadena was a town “so racist that it took until 1997 to officially acknowledge [Robinson’s] accomplishments” (Gimbel). This blatant racism made growing up hard for the young athlete. Children would throw taunts as well as stones at Robinson, but he soon learned to stand up to his white aggressors, a characteristic that would define him for his entire professional career (Coombs 11-13). Robinson’s other defining characteristic, his athleticism, displayed itself considerably early in his life, with Robinson excelling in every sport, even during elementary school. While attending John Muir Technical…
In regards to the roles of the women and coach with one another, for example, the coach barely cares at first about the team and states "girls can't play baseball", and how he doesn't have a team of ballplayers, but a "team of girls". We however later see a transformation in him that shows his true love of the game, looking past what gender roles were considered back then. Another example is where is Marla, who is a better hitter than most men, yet is almost not allowed in the league because she is considered "ugly". In conclusion, the movie expressed how hard it was for women to be taken seriously outside of "housewife" labels that were bestowed upon them. This film also adds the twist of women struggling to prove themselves as athletes in the 1940s before the Women’s rights movement and Title IX were established, and I believe this movie contributed some insight that way for…
During the game, Robinson stole home, and instilled the idea in all of the spectators that African American players had as much skill, stamina, and intelligence as the white players. Jackie taught lessons to players on the field that were not respectful of him or his talent. One of the many times Jackie stole home, the pitcher tried to tag him, but the ball fell out of his glove. In a fit of rage, the pitcher jumped up and tried to fight Jackie. Robinson told him that if he wanted to fight, he could wait until after the game was over. Everyone was able to calm down, and the pitcher admitted that Jackie was right. Robinson showed this kind of calm behavior whenever he was on the field, despite the negative feedback he received from those around…
This movie is a perfect example of educational inequalities in the 1960s. African Americans faced extreme differences in the way they were taught. Blacks were given less qualified teachers and…
Transition: If it wasn’t for Jackie Robison and Larry Doby today African Americans wouldn’t be able to play professional baseball…….…
You will have to forgive me because I cannot speak German, nor can I spell it, therefore this response will be particularly informal. That said, I rented the movie, watched it, watched the deleted scenes, and I confess, I watched the Director’s Interview. I could not help myself. I must give credit where credit is due so I will site any ideas that I took from Florian Henckel Von Donnersmark.…
For the racial and historical approach, it’s the negro baseball league. The negro baseball league played a part on the character Troy on how he started seeing life. Troy was not able to enjoy the great things that came with baseball because of his skin color and the time period, the African American men were not able to play the organizational baseball because being predominately with whites. A man named Jackie Robinson collapsed the baseball color wall when the Brooklyn Dodgers decided to sign him and let them play for the team. The Dodgers decided to start the icon at first base on the day April 15, 1947. By signing this icon, he put an end of racial discrimination and segregation in Americas favorite pass time the sport baseball that had assigned black players to only play for the Negro leagues since the years of the 1880s. Troy believed that this wasn’t enough to be accepted to play sports. Troy did not want to believe that Jackie Robinson was enough to benefit from. Troy told rose “I done seen a hundred niggers play baseball better than Jackie Robinson. Hell, I know some teams Jackie Robinson couldn’t even make! What you talking about Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson wasn’t nobody. I’m talking about if you could play ball then they ought to have let you play. Don’t care what color you were. Come telling me I come along too early. If you could play...then they ought to have let you play.” (Act 1 Scene) Back in Troy’s day he was a trouble maker and I have the idea that he will not be able to deal with some of the white people in the baseball league who were races and bullies. Troy was this black man who the upmost pride, very dangerous temper, and who was somewhat anti-white because how they treated him. Because the way white people treated troy he did not want his son to deal with this…
Based on actual events that took place in 1971, this movie is about the racial and social tensions of the South. Alexandria, Virginia is a community torn apart by racial hatred and the order to integrate their public high schools. Reluctantly, the school board replaces Bill Yoast (Will Patton), the popular white coach, with Herman Boone (Denzel Washington), a reputable black coach, as head coach of the T.C. Williams Titans football team. Yoast, under an invitation from Boone, accepts the position as coach of the defensive line. Together they inspire, not just the team, but the town to “Trust the soul of a man rather than the look of him.” This is a brilliant movie that not only entertains, but teaches a life changing lessons.…
Third, the movie shows how scared everyone was of change. Early it showed how the white players were scared of losing their spots on the team to the blacks. Gary made my favorite quote, which illustrates this quite well. The quote shows that it is possible to overcome that fear. This is important because it sets an example to others that change is necessary and possible. The quote is as follows: “ I was afraid of you, Julius. I don’t see what I was afraid of. Now I see I was only hating my brother.”…