Breaking Barriers by 42 The rhetorical artifact that I have chosen to evaluate is the biographical sports film titled 42: The Jackie Robinson Story. This movie covers the rise of Jackie Robinson, the first Black athlete to play in a professional sports league, in the world of professional baseball. When thinking about Robinson in today’s context, we think of him as a legend and one of the best to ever grace the baseball diamond in the history of America’s pastime. He broke down the color barrier and made massive strides in the movement of inclusiveness, not just in sports, but in life altogether. Throughout this film, Robinson’s life is depicted in a rather explicit manner, but it all has a reason. 42 is a racial project that successfully suggests …show more content…
After spending the 1946 season with the Royals, Robinson is offered a contract with the Dodgers by Rickey for the 1947 season, and he accepts it. The 1947 season ensues with Robinson being the Dodgers’ first baseman, and by the end of the movie, Robinson leads the Dodgers to winning the pennant over the Pirates, sending them to the World Series. Brian Helgeland was the writer and director of the film, which means he was the creator of this artifact. All writers and directors of films want the audience to form a deep emotional connection between a character and the audience, and when looking at 42, the obvious connection that Helgeland wants the audience to make is with Jackie Robinson. This stems from Helgeland’s fandom for Robinson. In an interview, Helgeland stated that he is a big fan of the man who wore the number forty-two for the Brooklyn Dodgers “because of his courage and bravery on a day-to-day basis that he showed for years. I was fascinated by that” (Wakelee Lynch). The bravery that Helgeland is referring to is Robinson’s ability to continue playing in the MLB despite the outrageous amounts of racism he was dealing …show more content…
As I was combing through the internet, I did not find any other rhetorical scholars that examined the 42 film, but I found an entry written in a California State University, San Bernardino scholarly journal of history titled History in the Making. In this article, Alexandra Martin reviews the 42 movie. In her piece, she argued that “42 did a great job at showing what life was like for all African Americans in the mid-twentieth century, not just Jackie Robinson. Throughout the film, Robinson's wife and friends had to challenge segregation. Jackie and Rachel Robinson were kicked off a flight, because Rachel used a ‘whites only’ restroom. This shows how close minded and unfair society is” (Martin). When I think about the movie with Martin’s argument in mind, I realize that there were other Black individuals that had their experiences depicted in the movie. Martin’s argument sets the foundation for parts of my argument. Her point indicates that all Black people were treated in a very similar and horrible way in those days, and my argument states that the movie helps audiences understand that we have made progress with how Black people are treated in America
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.
Jackie Robinson decided to fight to be the first African American to integrate the Major League Baseball (MLB). His autobiography states he “was forced to live with snubs rebuffs and rejections” ( Robinson). This quote shows that he was treated unfairly and disrespectfully. In Robinson’s autobiography it also states that Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier and created equal oppurtunity proving that a “sport can’t be called national if blacks are barred from it”
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
Robinson broke the color barrier, and the challenges, and his life helped him achieve his goal. Robinson finally broke the color barrier and made history in professional baseball forever. Jackie Robinson had some major challenges he had to overcome. Like players not wanting to play with him. Jackie had an amazing life and made a very big impact on the world. If it weren't for Robinsons motivation and challenges he overcame but he still achieved his goal as breaking the color
From the film “42” Jackie Robinson, African American man faced a lot of racial discrimination during the play, however he endures it and become a famous star. These are the actors/actress and Director; Jackie Robinson - Chadwick Boseman, Branch Rickey - Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie - Rachel Robinson, Harold Parrott - T.R Knight, Ryan Merriman - Dixie Walker, etc, Directed by Brian Helgeland. These actors/actress and Director helped viewer to understand the feeling of Jackie Robinson and other African American’s feelings. Through the movie, we can see Jackie Robinson helped to breaking down the racism of america by playing MLB. This film also shows us how racism is bad, the ugly standard idea of racism, and how white guy treats Jackie Robinson.
The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to join the MLB. He Played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. To this day, every player in the MLB, on every team each player wears the number 42 to represent Jackie Robinson. Jackie gave people hope and inspiration to follow your dreams no matter what your obstacles are in your way. People look up to Jackie Robinson as a role model.
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.
Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play on the professional level, he was fearless, courageous, willful and strong. He was an advocate for civil rights, as well as a great baseball player. He had to try to keep quiet, and keep to himself while playing, but became a stronger and more extreme advocate over time. A leader on and off the fields dealing with much more than just baseball, he also had to deal with the criticism and racial tensions of a prominently white game. Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a showman who knew how to make money and fame in baseball “he had made a fortune for the cardinals as well as himself, and black talent could argument his bottom line by transforming his struggling dodgers into a power house” (Zeiler, 17). He wanted to make his team great by any means possible. He put his eyes on Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson changed the game and the world, and will always be a huge figure in baseball and civil rights.
The film observes and analyzes the origins and consequences of more than one-hundred years of bigotry upon the ex-slaved society in the U.S. Even though so many years have passed since the end of slavery, emancipation, reconstruction and the civil rights movement, some of the choice terms prejudiced still engraved in the U.S society. When I see such images on the movie screen, it is still hard, even f...
...u're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." "I don't think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We are demanding that we just be given the things that are rightfully ours and we're not looking for anything else." In 1972 Jackie Robinson died but his legacy would always live forever. The effects of Robinson can be seen in any place that you come across like the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and even the Wall Street Journal. Since Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947 black society in America has truly broken infinite number of barriers. More important than the improvements in the black race, are the improvements in the entire nation that from his accomplishments was now one step closer to equality. (Quotes)
To start off, for Jackie Robinsons bravery to stop the color barrier Jackie Robinson had the courage for two years no one else had. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “For two full years he ‘turned the other cheek’, his brain keeping his mouth shut while his heart burned with rage at the insults he knew he must tolerate”(2). Robinson managed to do a lot even with all the abuse he suffered. He had to walk away from name calling, death threats even as a child he faced abused being the only black family who lived in a white neighborhood. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “The world Jackie Robinson grew up in was separate and unequal” (3). All Jackie Robinson wanted to do was make the game he loved equal for all. He wanted to show that African Americans could play any sport just as good as anyone else that there skin color did not define their talents. Although Jackie Robinson faced a lot making the path for African Americans he did it bravely, diligently...
Should a neglected, discriminated, and misplaced black man living in the mid 1900s possessing a spectacular, yet unfulfilled talent for baseball be satisfied or miserable? The play Fences, written by August Wilson, answers this question by depicting the challenging journey of the main character, Troy Maxon. Troy, an exceptional baseball player during his youth, cannot break the color barrier and is kept from playing in the big leagues. That being his major life setback, Troy has a pessimistic view on the world. His attitude is unpleasant, but not without justification. Troy has a right to be angry, but to whom he takes out his anger on is questionable. He regularly gets fed up with his sons, Lyons and Cory, for no good reason. Troy disapproves of Lyons’ musical goals and Cory’s football ambitions to the point where the reader can notice Troy’s illogical way of releasing his displeasures. Frank Rich’s 1985 review of Fences in the New York Times argues that Troy’s constant anger is not irrational, but expected. Although Troy’s antagonism in misdirected, Rich is correct when he observes that Troy’s endless anger is warranted because Troy experiences an extremely difficult life, facing racism, jail, and poverty.
Dorinson, Joseph, and Joram Warmund. 1998. Jackie Robinson :Race, Sports, and The American Dream. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.