How Did Jackie Robinson Change In The Movie 42

Words: 1395
Pages: 6

Baseball is one of the greatest American pastimes and it still remains one of the major sports in todays society. In the early 1900’s baseball was played by only the white male population, however, over the years it has changed due to the incredible players that have immersed themselves in the game. Now, baseball is played by both genders and by all races. This change would not have happened if it weren’t for people like Dottie Hinson and Jackie Robinson, who starred in the films A League of Their Own and 42. These films explain the stories of two very different, but also incredibly similar players, Dottie Hinson and Jackie Roosevelt Robinson, who break the ultimate barrier of segregation in sports during their time.
Jackie Robinson is the
…show more content…
The movie 42 depicts the life of Robinson and all of the racism he had to overcome to change the sport forever. The director takes a story of an incredible baseball player and turns it into a dark and almost disturbing film to watch. Rather than showing scenes of Robinsons success on the diamond, the director decides to show what Robinson had to overcome in his everyday life while living in the times of segregation. The director uses many racial slurs and powerful scenes to capture what life was for Jackie Robinson and African Americans back in the 1940’s. One powerful scene shot to capture this horrible racism, was when there was a routine play at first base and the runner comes down on Jackie’s ankle rather than the base. As his fellow teammates …show more content…
In the beginning of the film, all of his teammates disliked Jackie due to his skin color, however after playing ball with him and seeing the type of man Jackie was, they all began to like him. The director shows another powerful scene when Jackie is up to bat and is required to listen to the opposing teams coach yell racial slurs at him. Jackie being himself, ignores the jabs from the coach as he continues to play the game, however his teammates don’t feel the same way. The play is stopped as Robinson’s teammate walks over to the opposing bench to tell off the coach that would not stop harassing Jackie. After hearing an earful from Jackie’s teammate, the coach refrains from yelling at Jackie. This was a huge pivoting point in the movie because it was one of the first scenes that showed Jackie’s teammates sticking up for him in front of the crowd. It was showing not only Jackie, but the rest of the people watching the game, that Jackie’s character was starting to persuade others that segregation needs to be broken. Jackie wasn’t just playing the sport of baseball anymore. He was a key stepping stone to overpowering segregation in baseball and America. The last and most powerful scene of the film that portrays Jackie’s teammates change of mind, is the scene where everyone is booing Jackie, and Pee Wee comes and puts his arm around him. This scene is so