Title of the film: 42 Director: Brian Helgeland Lead Actors: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie Genre:

Baseball Biography Setting: United States 1945 Plot Overview Biography of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player in the 20th century. Traces his career in the negro leagues and the major leagues, his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey Jackie Robinson started playing baseball for the Negro League for the Kansas City Monarch in 1945, thats where the movie began, he was the best player on the team, everyone got along and they only played other black teams. The story quickly turns to a scene where Branch Rickey how is the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is in his office with other management looking at the upcoming roster for the International League (Montreal Royals) as well as the Major league (Brooklyn Dodgers) and Brach
Rickey says to one of his staff, I want him meaning Jackie Robinson go find him. Jackie is at a gas station with his teammates getting gas when he ask the attendant where the bathroom is and they say, he would have to use the bathroom in the woods, Jackie quickly says, stop pumping the gas and takes the pump out of the tank and says we will get our gas down the road. I think that scene was to let the audience know he wasnt a push over and also to set the tone that he was not a pushover that he would stand his ground no matter what color you were.

The movie quickly progress to an agent showing up at the gas station as Jackie is coming out of the bathroom, and he gets whisked off to a meeting with Branch Rickey, who tells Jackie that he

wants him to play on his International League (Montreal Royals) which is the feeder team to the Brooklyn Dodgers. He tells Jackie he already knows he has a temper, but must keep it under control, and to be ready for other folks in the league to test him. Brach Rickey also says that he will do everything in his power to make sure he gets a far shake at the game of baseball. They shake hands and off he goes to training camp, were the other players dont want to play with him Its almost like hes not even there teammate. He excels and is the star player in his own right. Focusing on is job as a baseball player. The director showed this in amazing ways of courage and strength and will power with Jackie. So he had another meeting with Branch Rickey saying it was time for him to train with the Brooklyn Dodgers. During the time that Jackie was playing in the Negro League and the International League he had a girlfriend by the name of Rachel who he called on the phone and said something big is about to happen and he wanted her by his side. They got married within a couple of days. Branch Rickey had to make special arrangements for Jackie because he would be traveling with the team and during those times, blacks couldnt stay in the same hotel as whites so he made arrangements for him wife to be with him during training camp none of the other wifes where given that opportunity, he did that for Jackie because he knew he would need that extra support. Brach Rickey also hired a driver for Jackie and his wife the driver served two purposes, one to look after Ms Robinson and also to make sure they were safe and out of harms way, when the team traveled Jackie would stay in homes of black folks in the town the team was playing in all arranged by Branch Ricky. During one away game so local folks found out where Jackie was staying and he had to leave in the middle of the night to get away from a mob. I noticed in the movie that in the forties people got dressed up to see baseball I mean Sunday best, dresses, high heels, panty hose, and hats for the ladies, the men where in suits with ties, shoe were shined same with the kids. The producer made a point in showing the white

people in the stands, and all the colored folks sat on the ground in weed fields in there Sunday best. One of the highlights of this film was Jackie was up to bat and the opposing team manager came out of the dugout and started saying hey niggar niggar niggar, watch the ball niggar we shouldnt have niggars playing baseball, and you could see the emotion and the stress on Jackies face, but he didnt say a word. He walked off the field and into the dome / hallway away from everyone else and he broke down and cried he smashed his bat against the wall. In walked Branch Rickey who said he was proud of the way he didnt respond they embraced and walked back out on the field. Jackie is back up to bat and the same team manager is heckling again, and one of Jackies teammates walks out of the dugout and tells the manager to shout up and pick on someone who can fight back, they had a screaming match with each other, Jackie couldnt believe that one of his very own teammates stood up for him, he ended up hitting a home run, when he walked into the dugout another teammate said hey that was a great hit. Finally they see him for what he is a great and powerful baseball player. In addition to his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games, from 1949 to 1954,[5] was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949the first black player so honored.[6] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball "universally" retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, Major League Baseball has adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", on which every player on every team wears #42.

Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first black television analyst in MLB, and the first black vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.