42 is an example of the heavy burdens that minority athletes had to overcome and how they slowly started to emerge at the professional level. The film is based upon Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball athlete to play Major League Baseball. It depicts the racial biases in the realm of sports, the unbearable hardships Jackie endured, and the overall character of the old ballparks. Brian Helgeland, director, wanted the film to depict the terrible racism that Jackie faced and how he overcame many obstacles in order to achieve his dream. Helgeland’s intent to represent this resulted in him exaggerating a few scenes in order to better highlight Jackie’s tough journey to greatness. However, these scenarios helped aid the popular view of the civil rights era by better emphasizing the obstacles that minority athletes had to overcome. In the film for example, after Jackie Robinson moved up to the big leagues, some of his partners wrote a petition to the board of directors explaining their discontent of the current situation. Almost every single player signed the petition against the African American athlete. This event actually happened during Jackie’s first year with the Brooklyn Dodgers, however only a few white players signed the petition. Others like Pee Wee Reese refused to sign it, “It didn’t matter to me whether he was black or green, he had a right to be there too.” The exaggeration of the opposition within his team portrayed the struggles that Jackie Robinson had to deal with because of his race. The refusal of some players to sign shows how not all caucasian males opposed the idea of integration and how they began to accept minority athletes into white cultured sports. Jackie’s rookie year posed plenty of tro...
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... Ben Chapman’s racism is accurate, Robinson never fell apart in the tunnel behind the Dodger’s dugout. This scene emphasizes the fact that Jackie’s accomplishments came at a high price. Helgeland added the scene in order to show that Jackie faced constant obstacles during his career and to better depict the struggles minorities faced in all aspects of their lives during the mid 1900’s. A memorable scene during the film is when Pee Wee Reese puts his arm around Jackie Robinson during a game. Although there is no clear photograph to support the occurred, this in fact did happen during Jackie’s rookie year. The fact that the team captain would go out of his way in such a public fashion to express friendship during the era took plenty of courage. This companionship shows how some white players did not oppose the idea of minority integration into the world of sports.
In “Jackie’s Debut: A Unique Day,” is written by Mike Royko, and appeared in the Chicago Daily News on Wednesday, October 15, 1972, the day after Jackie passed away. This article is about one of the most famous and cultural African Americans to ever play the game of baseball. In the beginning of the story, there were wise men sitting in the tavern that had something to say about Jackie. They weren’t the kindest words and said that he would ruin the game of baseball. Jackie was going to be at Wrigley Field and the kid had to see him perform. Him and his friend always walked to the baseball games to avoid streetcar fare. On that day, Wrigley Field was packed. He had never seen anything like it, there were about 47,000 people there and at the
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major-League baseball. His inspiring actions and wise words are remembered even now, and on Jackie Robinson day, all baseball players wear his jersey:“42”. Many biographies have been written, and one biography, The Noble Experiment. Recently, in April 2013, Legendary Motion Pictures released a movie entitled “42”. In many ways, the film and Jackie’s autobiography are alike. However, the are also different in many ways.
On April 15, 1947, fans pack the stadium hoping to catch a glimpse of the scene playing out on the field. One man steps out of the dugout and is met with the displeasure of the crowd. This man is Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play professional baseball on an all-white baseball team. Robinson’s story of “strength and unbending spirit” is projected in the movie 42, directed by Brian Helgeland (Griffin). The movie goes into details about Robinson’s barrier breaking first season on the Brooklyn Dodgers, but does it portray Robinson’s story correctly? Although there are several minute differences--the process of choosing Robinson to join the Dodgers, that he was not the only black player pulled into Montreal, and Robinson’s civil rights involvements after retiring--the similarities are more pronounced, especially in regard to Robinson’s temper, the fans and other players treatment of Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese’s friendship with Robinson.
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. This was not an easy task for him to do. People judged him and didn’t like him by the color of his skin. Jackie Robinson said “The hate mail piled up” (Robinson). That shows that no one cared to give him a chance to play in the Major League. The innocence of young kids had a great inspiration on Jackie Robinson because they didn’t care about his color they just wanted him to play good. Jackie Robinson was “proud to be a part of a significant breakthrough” (Robinson) in breaking the color barrier. Even though Jackie Robinson has been through
Jackie kept his composure in the nation’s spotlight. Once 1947 came around, Jackie Robinson was officially a Brooklyn Dodger. Some players did not adapt well to the idea of a Negro baseball player on their team and even signed petitions to either get him off the team or to demand to be traded. Burt Shotton, manager of the dodgers at the time, called a meeting and told the players if they did not want to cooperate they were not going to be traded but dropped from the team which in turn ended the protest. Even the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, Leo Durocher told his players that he would rather trade all of his white players before he traded Jackie Robinson. So Jackie was not alone in his seemingly impossible battle. People had respect for
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
42 is a sensitive yet heartwarming film and is one of the most inspiring baseball movies in this generation. The movie tackles subjects like passion, racism, and perseverance, and puts it in a inspirational drama. Yet the most important theme in this film is that one man’s courage can change the world. “I don't care if they like me. I didn't come here to make friends. I don't even care if they respect me. I know who I am. I've got enough respect for myself. I do not want them to beat me.” This idea illustrates the point that in order to have the courage to do something, someone must also be capable of sacrificing things in the process. Furthermore, in order to change the world, someone must be able to adapt to living without the things that
"Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.
In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young Black male basketball athletes, that the value of education appear to be less important in the development of these young men, “According to Sailes (1997), there is an over-representation of Black males in particular sports and an under-representation in other segments of American society. He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males.”, (Robinson, 2004:1). The idea of the attainment of a professional basketball player’s salary in the NBA, without even having to go to school for the time it takes to earn a degree is very appealing to some players. Those with a wealthy, or even upper-middle class upbringing may not view material assets as a priority. In the Black community, we have theorized that money and success play a more important role than education in most households. Although these two seem to go together, one resulting from the other, this does not apply in the sports world. Our research will examine the role that the family value system plays in influencing Black vs. White male athletes to turn professional, as opposed to obtaining a college degree before turning professional.
Historical and sociological research has shown, through much evidence collection and analysis of primary documents that the American sporting industry can give an accurate reflection, to a certain extent, of racial struggles and discrimination into the larger context of American society. To understand this stance, a deep look into aspects of sport beyond simply playing the game must be a primary focus. Since the integration of baseball, followed shortly after by American football, why are the numbers of African American owners, coaches and managers so very low? What accounts for the absence of African American candidates from seeking front office and managerial roles? Is a conscious decision made by established members of each organization or is this matter a deeper reflection on society? Why does a certain image and persona exist amongst many African American athletes? Sports historians often take a look at sports and make a comparison to society. Beginning in the early 1980’s, historians began looking at the integration of baseball and how it preceded the civil rights movement. The common conclusion was that integration in baseball and other sports was indeed a reflection on American society. As African Americans began to play in sports, a short time later, Jim Crow laws and segregation formally came to an end in the south. Does racism and discrimination end with the elimination of Jim Crow and the onset of the civil rights movement and other instances of race awareness and equality? According to many modern sports historians and sociologists, they do not. This paper will focus on the writings of selected historians and sociologists who examine th...
The Civil Rights Era impacted the realm of sports in a great and powerful way. Throughout the mid 1900s, many minority athletes emerged through all odds and began to integrate themselves in the white dominated athletic business. These athletes endured constant hardships in order to achieve their goals and dreams; facing much racism, segregation, and violence. Minorities across the country began to look up to these sportsmen and realized that anybody could attain greatness despite the social troubles of the time. Stories depicting the struggles of minority athletes soon arose and grew popular among different cultures. These true accounts passed from generation to generation, each admiring the courage and bravery of athletes and how important they became in obtaining an equal society. Producers and directors soon found a way to revolutionize the film industry by retelling the racial discrimination that minority athletes faced. Remember the Titans, The Perfect Game, 42, and The Express are all examples of how minority athletes overcame racial adversities in order to obtain the championship. These Hollywood movies contain many inaccuracies that draw away from the true impact minority athletes had during the Civil Right Era. Although these films do depict the racial components of the time, they do not depict the accurate occurrences of the stories they try to recreate.
One of the major stands that were made during a black athlete’s tenure during his or her sport were their statements on racism. Racism in America was an ongoing situation in the 1900’s that seemed to have no resolve before black athletes took a stand. One prime example can be Jackie Robinson who became the first African-American athlete to play baseball in the modern era. Jackie grew up in one of the most racist towns in Pasadena, California and came from a poor family as his parents were sharecroppers and...
The Desegregation of baseball in America was a slow process. Near the end of the 1800's, African American ballplayers were accepted in the Major Leagues, but as their success grew, they were quickly banned from the league. For the fifty-year period that there were no blacks in the Major Leagues, the Negro Leagues were where black ballplayers competed. The Negro Leagues grew and many stars emerged from the leagues that now have a legendary status. When Jackie Robinson joined the Major Leagues in 1954, baseball was once again desegregated (Sailer). The complete integration of the league was not as rapid as many would have expected. Economic reasons seemed to be the main reason why African Americans were brought back into the Major Leagues but there were other factors that contributed.
Dealing with the issue of sport and ethnology, three major factors come to mind; prejudice, racism, and discrimination. These factors span across gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural groups. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how these factors have played a part in the evolution of sport in our society. The first issue tackled in this paper will be racism in sports, followed by prejudice and discrimination.
Did you ever have a time, when you worked so hard towards something and no one recognizes it? Well that’s how girls’ basketball teams feel. They need more recognition because they put in a lot of effort towards their game and practice, there is discrimination amongst boys and girls, and their school gets funds out of it.