42 Analysis

42 Analysis


I went to watch “42” this semester. I have seen this film before, but I haven’t watched it from a sociologist’s perspective. This story of how one man can affect an entire country by playing baseball is amazing. The story of how Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier is displayed in “42”. Jackie faced many obstacles throughout his playing days, yet never reacted out of place. Jackie was often taunted with racial slurs. He always knew how to handle himself though. 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. 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 believed that he could not change anything by simply saying but doing. Robinson knew that words he said would not be taken seriously, so he decided to block everyone else out and just play the game he loved. America used Robinson’s story as a way of breaking the racial barriers in many sports. Jackie was faced with some bonding issues within his own team. There was one player that would not accept Jackie on the team. Jackie and he butted heads many times, but with the help from other players and coaches, Jackie overcame this obstacle. One scene that I will always remember is when the coach from another team is yelling at Jackie while he is up to bat. The coach beats Jackie down with the word “nigger” until Jackie couldn’t handle it anymore. Jackie ended up striking out and going back to the dugout. What happened next was very moving. Jackie walks into the tunnel and starts yelling and crying. He knows that he is fighting an endless war. A teammate of Jackie’s comes to help him out. The teammate says that he can’t quit now. He has to get back out there and show the world the other side of the...

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