Jackie Robinson's Impact On The Civil Rights Movement

What can one man do in the face of extreme adversity? In the face of extreme prejudice and racism, Jackie Robinson helped to change the opinions of a nation, as well as progress Afro-American people to a path away from racial segregation. The film 42 shows his actions at the time of his MLB career and how they have historically impacted the Civil Rights movement moving forward. Additionally, it relates to the time in which it was produced by enlightening otherwise uninformed people as to how the actions of a few can impact the lives of many with the right direction and bravery. Robinson changed the views of people simply by playing his sport to the best of his ability. Lastly, from a historical standpoint, it shows how we as viewers can look

Though it was dropped twice and not released until 2013, the film shows strong influence in the minds of the American people as to the are of competition in the 40s and 50s, just as much as today. In the sports world, many men are fueled by competition. As Peewee Reese, Leo Durocher, and the white Stranger said similarly, “If a man’s got the goods, he deserves a fair chance.” (Rachel and Jackie Street scene) If a man is going to do his talking, then he better let his ability speak for itself. Jackie put himself in a situation where his abilities were so good that coaches would be hard pressed not to play him, on account of the good of the team. Jackie did just that. He could not fight back and talk back to bigots on the pitch, but his play could get to them. The man got inside the heads of his opponents by discombobulating them stealing bases and scoring home runs. (Ed Charles to his mother) Similarly, in college and professional sports today where there is such a high level of competition, players must constantly show they have what it takes to play, otherwise risk losing their job on the field. When it literally affects whether or not you eat at the end of the day, people play to the best of their ability. Then in the 40s, as it is in the 2010s, if one must talk on the field, then it better be with their

In class, professor Kuklick attempts to teach us how to view a film with a broader view, in relation to the time it is in, as well as what the director is trying to convey. Fortunately for viewers, not everyone may be educated on such a thing, thus filmmakers are forced to convey things in a slightly more blatant manner for the otherwise uninformed viewer. Consequently, filmmakers made Jackie Robinson, who was also a very proactive Civil Rights reformer, a simple man who made his groundbreaking moves through his sport only. He made people change their ideals simply by playing his sport in the movie to the best of his ability. While this may well be in order to simplify the movie, and still showed the impact a Black man had on people of all