As is the case with any reputable person whose story has been retold by way of motion picture, two hours isn’t enough. I left the theater anxious to know more about Jackie Robinson and fully convinced that in order to do so I’d have to resort to the faithful practice of cracking open a book. An element of change and a beacon of bravery, Robinson inspired me to be something greater than I am; while [blatant] segregation is over, racism is yet alive in other forms. The movie is a great depiction of how far our great country has come all the while reminding the conscientious bunch of us how far there is to go. At the root of it, the film shows us how Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers perforated the color barrier of baseball and paved the way for folk of color to professionally compete in what is often called America’s favorite past-time.
I was never a huge fan of baseball, but every time I found myself holding a bat I immediately imagined I was Derek Jeter in the 1996 World Series. I made the mistake of admitting this to my grandfather once only to be berated for not idolizing one of the greats with whom the pigment of my skin is more akin. “What about Jackie Robinson?” he’d ask. “Why can’t you imagine you’re Jackie Robinson?” Like every Black man in New York, his allegiance was doubly imposed – once as an African American and again as an inhabitant of the Big Apple. I, of course, had nothing against Jackie Robinson but at the tender age of 10 my respect for the athletic pioneers was abated by an obsession with ‘who is relevant now’. (Think the reverence of Lebron for kids now-a-days who fail to realize that Michael Jordan’s the best to ever do it.) The movie ’42’ is a film for everyone: lovers of sports, suckers for decent acting and even far-removed descendants of Robert E. Lee who feel guilty about the transgressions of their ancestors.
For all of you who are wondering who Nicole Beharie (Rachel) reminds you of in the film, the answer is “an innocent Meagan Good.”
There is no spoiler alert. If you know that baseball is played with a bat and a ball then surely you know that Jackie was a force of his generation in the great sport. He’ll forever be remembered as the first African American man to play Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era and a 1962 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. Thankfully, we live in an age where race is more of a cultural difference and less of a tool of distinction. My grandpa died in 2002, long after my shots at playing professional had faded more quickly than Rick Ross’ endorsement with Reebok. Even so, Robinson is to be thanked for re-writing a script that wasn’t inclusive of minority players, for opening the doors for many who were to follow, and for bringing us home.
-Brian Riddick
