With the Major League Baseball Playoffs in our midst, I decided to review a movie revolving around baseball, and what better movie to start out with than 42, directed by Brian Helgeland?
Going into this movie, I didn’t truly know what to expect other than it would be based on the player Jackie Robinson. However, the few expectations that I had in place were blown out of the water. From the outstanding cast to the heart-wrenching scenes, there was so much in the movie that left me questioning how we can truly be impacted by the people around us.
This all started with the talking of Branch Rickey—who was played by Harrison Ford—which would rope me in for the rest of the movie. Although I have always been a fan of most of Ford’s work, this movie, in particular, showcased how terrific of an actor he truly is. He, along with Chadwick Boseman—who plays Robinson—set the stage for this fantastic movie.
As the movie progresses, there were many moments that left me in horror of how horrible others can treat one person based on something they can’t control. Even though this is something that most of us are well aware of, the lasting impact that it can have on the other person is something that we don’t always see or acknowledge. There was one scene in particular that left me in shock, which would be the Phillidalpha Phillies manager, Ben Chapman, taunting Robinson due to the color of his skin. However, what struck me the most was how defenseless Robinson had to be in order not to be arrested or killed.
One part that followed that would show to me the phenomenal casting would be the talk that Rickey would give to Robinson. Within this talk, it would not only show the mentorship between the two, but even though they were on opposite sides of the racism spectrum, there was still this way of them coming together. Mainly being Rickey saying how he doesn’t know how Robinson feels, but Robinson does and has to be above all who look down on him.
We also are shown how displeased people were with him coming up to the major leagues, not just the fans but the players as well. Due to this, there was this divide that was acknowledged throughout the entire movie. Even with this being one of the main messages, it still left a thought of how much we are still like this to this day.
However, as someone who has been an athlete for the majority of my life, a part that left me pondering over the movie would be what happened after the hotel scene. This part of the movie showed how Robinson wasn’t the only one impacted, but rather everyone around him who was involved: coaches, managers, owner, and teammates. For me, it hurt the most with the players fighting against one another because I was taught to play as a team. It doesn’t matter what others may think, but we will stand together no matter what; we win as a team, and we lose as a team.
Following this scene, with the team not allowed to stay at the hotel, we would start to see a shift within the team to stand beside him. That would include when Pee Wee Reese came to the realization that what they are doing is more than just playing ball, but rather changing history. When he puts his arm around Robinson at a game that his entire family is there—who doesn’t support what is happening—there is this sense of relief that washed over me that there can be humanity with one another, even if one is going against everything they were grown up to believe.
Overall, after sitting on my couch in awestruck next to my dad, there was this feeling of how much we have come throughout the world of sports. Although we still have a long way to go, from when Robinson joined in 1947 to where MLB is now, there is much growth that has been made. And as I start to gear up to watch my favorite Major League Baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, hopefully play in the playoffs, there will always be this thought in the back of my mind for all the athletes who sacrificed their beliefs and equality to propel sports representation, of all different people, forward.
