Christopher Edwards II

Com 220
Haq
February 8, 2014
42 movie review
The movie 42 is a 2013 American biographical sports film written and directed by
Brian Helgeland about the life of African American baseball player Jackie Robinson, who
wore the jersey number 42 throughout his hall of fame baseball career. In this movie, the
film focuses on a young African American male named Jackie Robinson who broke the
racial barrier by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. One of the main themes and
complications in this movie is the issue of race. In the movie primarily focuses on
Robinsons season with the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, but more importantly, it focuses on
Jackie Robinson and how he deals with the onslaught of racism. Keeping in mind that
movie takes place during the 1940s; it was unheard of for an African American player to
even consider playing in a white baseball league. With Jackie Robinson now entering
Major League Baseball as the first African American player, Robinson is submitted to
countless acts of prejudice from the public, to some his teammates and other teams for
not wanting to play with an African American. Therefore, the protagonist Jackie
Robinson is not simply facing a human antagonist. Rather, Robinson is facing an
antagonist that is more of long-standing idea or stereotype that he must conquer. At the
same time, the protagonist is also facing the inner struggles of not acting against this
prejudice though violence. Robinson knows that if he lashes out against these heinous
acts, he would be giving everyone opposed to him what they wanted: a good reason for
why Major League baseball should not integrate African Americans in this sport. So to
me, I see this as something like a blinking contest between the protagonist and the
antagonist. The tension comes from who is going to blink first: Robinson or the racism
that is trying to hold him back. Eventually, Robinson wins this blinking contest, and the
number 42 becomes a symbol for racial justice and equality. Therefore, I believe that in
this film in particular, the battle between the protagonist and the antagonist is magnified a
little bit more than other movies because of dual theme/complication of fighting for what
one believes in, no matter the cost.