'42 ' Review Throughout American history, African Americans have been mistreated and abused systematically. The film 42, directed by Brian Helgeland, summarizes the life of Jackie Robinson, a baseball player in the 1940s, who stood against such discrimination. Many African American men were returning from the emotional victory of World War II, where they served in support of the same country, striving for the same goal as the rest of America. At home, however, African Americans had another war to win, as they returned to segregation and Jim Crow laws. In baseball, African Americans were forced to play in the Negro Leagues, entirely separate from the Major Leagues. That was, until Jack Roosevelt Robinson emerged on the scene. On the …show more content…
It 's difficult to make a solid, entertaining film based closely on life. On the contrary, films are typically used as an escape from it, often as a fantasy in one way or another. This film is more of a documentary than a fairytale, and, as a result, it can be difficult to write an engaging script. In the story of heroes and villains, for example, an antagonist unifies the viewer against a force and provides a clear goal, often with a happy ending or some type of resolution at the end. Without a specific character defined as an antagonist, Jackie Robinson instead faces off against a much broader concept – the popular mindset of the time. In lieu of a dramatic, unrealistic resolution against this widespread mindset, Robinson 's team was able to set aside their differences and unify with him. Robinson’s victory was in proving to the world that African American people can perform at the same level as other Americans and should be treated as such. The question becomes whether or not the film was able to entertain the viewer through all these common pitfalls. Against the odds, I feel the film was very successful in that right. It was able to summarize a remarkable margin, within 1945-1947, of an American hero who will be remembered, even independent of the film, for