Research Paper On The Movie 42

The movie 42 is about the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball during the 1940s. The owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers at the time, Branch Rickie (played by Harrison Ford), became the first in Major League Baseball to let a man of color play on his team. Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman) earned his spot on the Dodgers but faced opposition at every step. Rickey warns Robinson early on that it is going to be difficult with the fans and even players heckling and threatening him. His own teammates signed a petition to prevent having to be in the same ball club as Robinson. The movie depicts many of his teammates changing the way they think about playing with an African American. Jackie endures through the hardship and becomes an overwhelming success.

Being an avid baseball fan, this movie greatly appealed to me. I had known a lot about what Jackie Robinson did for the game. It was not just that he was a great baseball player; it was also the abuse he endured which laid the stepping-stones for future colored players. Having said that, I had very lofty expectations for the movie and very much hoped that it would be done right. This movie definitely met my expectations.

One major criteria for me to enjoy a movie must be that it is realistic.

42 is based on the real story of Jackie Robinson, and it is for the most part factually correct. I was drawn to this movie because it is about baseball, but it also made it prone to criticism if there was any minor flaw related to the game of baseball. Because I am very familiar with the game, I am more likely to notice these mistakes. Luckily, the script, acting, and soundtrack in the movie make it a phenomenal motion picture for such an important moment in America’s history. The movie correctly portrayed what baseball was like in the 1940s. The uniforms, equipment, and rules themselves have been changed since then, but were correct in this movie for its

time.
The movie is one of the most inspiring sports movies I have ever seen. It sends a great message to everyone about what times were like and how far we have come. The one criticism I would have for this movie is that the story, while true, was almost too perfect and lacked any blemish to the story. The true story of Jackie Robinson is somewhat “Hollywooded” to make it seem perfect. Film critic Todd McCarthy wrote a review for hollywoodreporter.com in April 2013 saying, “Rather than letting its hero’s accomplishments and behavior speak for themselves, [director] Helgeland hammers home every achievement and then puts a halo around it”. He also observes that, “the film is so averse to bad news that it avoids mentioning that the Dodgers then lost the World Series to the Yankees.” While I understand why the movie was done the way it was, I agree that inserting details that humanize the story and omitting some details that almost seemed to perfect, could have improved the movie through my eyes. Nevertheless, I would not only recommend this movie to anyone, but I hope that everyone would get a chance to relive one of the great American moments of the 20th Century.