42: THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY [Blu-ray]

The news that Chadwick Boseman lost his fight with colon cancer rocked the Internet and social media. I hadn’t known Boseman was sick. I had no idea he was receiving chemotherapy during the shooting of his most successful movie, Black Panther.

In tribute to Chadwick Boseman, I decided to watch 42: The Jackie Robinson Story. I’ve had this movie on my shelf for over a year, but this seemed to be the perfect time to watch it. In 1946, Branch Rickey (played by Harrison Ford), decided to challenge Major League Baseball’s infamous “color line” by signing Jackie Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman) to his team, the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Of course, this bold action brought down anger, resentment, and hatred on both men. The public was up in arms, the press attacked both Rickey and Robinson, and baseball players displayed their racism.

In this caldron of negativity and hostility, Jackie Robinson displayed control and cool publicly while raging inwardly. Robinson let his superb talents on the baseball field win over his teammates and fans. Robinson’s grace under extreme pressure silenced his critics and changed the world of baseball forever. If you’ll in the mood for an inspiring movie with the wonderful Chadwick Boseman in challenging role, watch 42: The Jackie Robinson Story. GRADE: A

19 thoughts on “42: THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY [Blu-ray]

  1. wolf

    When I first realised around 1960 that racism in the USA was still a factor I was very surprised – I hadn’t seen any in the US books that I read (especially SF).
    Later of course I found out more – and always wondered about the concept of democracy those people had!
    Since I grew up in the “French Occupied Zone” of Germany and French was my first foreign language I of course knew the maxim of the French Revolution that they also put on the Statue of Liberty:
    Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, all my life I’ve been perplexed by the persistent racism (and sexism) in the United States. It doesn’t help that some of our political “leaders” encourage racist and sexist behaviors.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Yeah, I thought 42 was better than I expected it to be.

    It was a real shocker when he died. Who would get a colon cancer screening in his ’30s? A real shame.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, African-Americans have a much higher rate of colon cancer than whites. And, when some of my friends question my getting a colonoscopy at 71, I’ll just think of Chadwick Boseman. I know something will eventually get me, but I sure don’t want to die of colon cancer.

      Reply
  3. Michael Padgett

    I’ve seen just three of Boseman’s movies and this is the one in which I found his performance most impressive. His role in “Da 5 Bloods” was very brief, and my dislike of superhero movies colored my view of “Black Panther”, but his performance as Robinson seemed perfect. Boseman must have had super powers himself to work so much while fighting such a horrible disease. A tragic loss.

    Reply
  4. Patti Abbott

    Katie Couric’s husband was the first I heard to get it that early. Also my PC doctor was only forty and undertook radical treatment and beat it. They have some new and better drugs for lung and breast cancer, but this one seems to elude them. And the immunotherapy they tried with Phil led to horrible problems which ended up killing him more than the cancer.
    It had to be a player with the talent of Jackie Robinson or baseball would still be all white. And it is pretty white anyway since city kids don’t get to play Little League very often. Easy to throw up a hoop, Baseball takes a lot of organization.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Patti, the key to colon cancer is early detection. That’s why I’ve had five colonoscopies over the years. I’ve had friends who suffered from colon cancer and none of them beat it.

      Reply
    2. Jeff Meyerson

      Jackie mentioned Katie Couric’s husband too. He was only 42. My aunt had it in her 60s and had a foot of her colon removed and lived another 10 years, despite smoking like a chimney and drinking like a fish. Granted, she ended up on oxygen 24/7 the last few years, but that was her own fault.

      Black players have mostly moved to football and basketball these days. Baseball has a lot more players from Central and South America and the Caribbean these days.

      Reply
  5. Fred Blosser

    Boseman’s death was stunningly sad news. From all accounts in the media, he was a decent guy who must have had an unbelievably compelling work and social ethic. Given family history, I’ve been getting colonoscopies at the recommended schedule of every five years since my early 50s.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Fred, same here. My family has a history of polyps so I had my first colonoscopy in my 40s. And, they did find polyps then. Fortunately, my colonoscopy last week found no polyps. I’m good for another five years!

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      1. wolf

        After the Covid crisis is solved (hope early next year) I’ll talk to my doc in Germany about another colonoscopy and also other “little things”.
        Right now in Hungary the situation is horrible – we just heard that one of our elderly neighbours was supposed to be operated on next week and the hospital called her:
        They have no blood stored – maybe in late September they’ll get some …

        PS and rather OT:
        The curevac company in my hometown Tübingen has started the first tests on a Corona19 vaccine which might be available early next year.
        5 years ago they showed their scientific work to Bill Gates – who was so impressed that he invested around 300 million $ or €.

      2. george Post author

        Wolf, the U.S. medical system works well if you’re in an urban area and have excellent medical insurance (or money). If you’re in the rural areas without health insurance, you’re screwed.

    1. george Post author

      Rick, I don’t pay much attention to social media, either, but an event of this magnitude (and with its unexpectedness) generated plenty of commentary online.

      Reply

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