Peter de Wit Professor Mullins KINES-248 10 May 2024 Documentary Analysis - Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson The 2016 Ken Burns documentary 'Jackie Robinson' explores the life and legacy of the legendary Major League Baseball star who broke down racial barriers in America. The documentary vividly captures Robinson's bravery, tenacity, and influence on American society through historical film, interviews, and narration. Although the main focus of the movie is Robinson and his baseball career, the documentary covers a wide range of topics, including racial segregation, prejudice, and the civil rights movement. Robinson used his notoriety and athletics platform to break down entrenched social values and barriers that were commonplace in the United States. …show more content…
The Jackie Robinson documentary offers a thorough examination of the life, career, and social influence of the renowned baseball player who broke through the color barrier to become the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. The documentary starts out by tracing Robinson's early years. He was raised in Pasadena, California, after being born in 1919 into a family of sharecroppers in Georgia. It draws attention to Robinson's extraordinary athletic prowess, which he displayed in a variety of sports, such as track and field, basketball, football, and baseball, all of which he played at UCLA. The main subject of the documentary is Robinson's path to the MLB. The bold move to sign Robinson to a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers' minor league franchise, the Montreal Royals, was made in 1945 by general manager Branch Rickey. Although Rickey was fully aware of the challenges Robinson would encounter as the first African American player in Major League Baseball, he firmly believed that Robinson possessed the resilience and skill to overcome the prejudice within the sport and the nation while being highly