42
In April 2013, a glorifying film following the true story of the disposition of a Major League Baseball icon, Jackie Robinson was released in theaters. With a range of emotion following throughout the movie, 42 was sure to keep the audience captivated. The story narrated the life of Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) making his way to the MLB in the late 1940s while battling the extreme racism of the time. An African-American had never played in the league until the Brooklyn Dodgers’ executive manager, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), had decided to give Robinson a chance. Robinson went on to grind through the disapproval of his teammates and society to become the first African-American to ever play in the MLB.

The movie 42 was the twentieth film directed by Brian Helgeland and I strongly believe that he and the main actors/ actresses captured the emotional side of the movie perfectly. When Robinson spoke on the phone with his wife about his opportunity to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers, I saw his excitement being held back from exploding into an all out celebration. When whites would provoke and threaten Robinson, I could feel the resentment he was forced to suppress. These factors really complimented the sensitive nature of the film.

With me being an African-American athlete, I could relate to Robinson’s tribulations to an extent. The story of how he grinded his way to the top is inspiring, but watching 42 gave an irreplaceable picture of a man with the ultimate focus to reach the top. The film clearly showed Robinson’s genuine ambition and his ability to overcome any obstacle that was thrown his way.

Overall, I found 42 to be moving and inspirational. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who’s thinking about watching it. I especially recommend the movie to young athletes for motivation. Robinson proved that anything is possible and exhibited the attitude that many athletes unfortunately lack. 42 proves that Jackie Robinson’s actions are still giving society something to talk about.