"42" - Morals from Jackie Robinson's Biopic

If you haven't seen 42 yet, GO SEE IT.

You don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it (I don't even know all the rules of baseball). I think it's a very poignant and entertaining movie that fans of any genre would enjoy, even more so because it is based on a true story of heroism and triumph - the story of how Jackie Robinson became the first African American major league baseball player since the 1880s (42 is his uniform number, not the year he joined). The acting and directing are superb.

42 plunges you into the uncomfortable and dark corners of American history, close enough to be within our grandparents' lifetimes. It subtly and powerfully portrays how legalized racial segregation (aka "Jim Crow" laws) permeated every aspect of every American's life, regardless of race. The whole country was swept up in a mob mentality and socialized to believe and enforce the centuries-old false truth that white is superior and black is inferior.

I'm going to try a new approach to analyzing the moral(s) of a movie. Instead of picking one major one to expound on, I'm going to give snippets of thoughts on multiple ones. There are SO many good moments and lessons worth mentioning. These are just the ones that were most touching to me:

Have the Inner Strength NOT to Fight Back

When executive Branch Rickey calls Robinson into his office to offer him a chance to play for his team(s), he squarely lays out all the persecution he will have to face as the only black man. Robinson retorts, "You mean, you want someone who doesn't have the guts to fight back?" Rickey returns with, "No! I want someone who has the guts not to fight back." The distinction is subtle but significant. The natural [weaker] man will react on impulse and likely lash out at his offenders; the [stronger] self-controlled man will not be so easily provoked but think before he acts, and therefore avoid reacting rashly. Rickey even used explicit biblical quotations, namely "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39).

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." (Proverbs 16:32)

I also like this quote by Elizabeth Kenny: "He who angers you conquers you."

Racism is Socialized, Not Instinctive

Bessie Delaney said, "Only little children and old folks tell the truth." In one scene, a colorblind white boy goes to a game with his father, excited to see the new star play. His eyes light up as soon as Robinson steps onto the field, but every [white] person around him heckles the player. The boy looks sad/scared/confused at first but then joins in the derision. It is a heartbreaking moment during which we see how quickly the ugliness of racism is indoctrinated into a person's mind through sheer social force. I love how this movie uses children to show that racism is a completely unnatural creation of humans; it was not given to us at birth as a divine heritage. In fact, it goes against our natural moral compass of right and wrong. As repeated throughout scripture, "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34), which means He does not favor one above another but loves us all equally as His children.

Those Who Speak the Loudest Are Not Always Right

I loved the moments in the movie when a white man, a stranger or a teammate, would quietly express his support for or publicly defend Robinson. I'm touched by the moviemakers' sensitivity to the complexity of the times. Not all whites were racists; racism was defended by those who were the most outspoken and violent about it - the low-minded mobs, the prideful policemen, the belligerent baseball fans. One of Shakespeare's acute aphorisms applies here: "The empty vessel makes the loudest sound." Many whites kept quiet because they would otherwise be persecuted as a "n***** lover" and risk their safety, as well as their family's. It's easy to ridicule them for being cowardly and passive, but what would we have done if we lived in those circumstances?? It's hard to say, but I do believe that one of the reasons legalized racism lasted so long in this country is because "all it takes for evil to succeed is for a few good men to do nothing" (Edmund Burke).

A Strong Marriage Will Get You Through Anything

One of the first things God did for Adam was give him a wife, for -

"the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." (Genesis 2:18)

Unlike many marriages of famous men, Robinson's marriage to his wife Rachel was faithful, loyal, and true. And I couldn't find any accounts of the contrary in their real lives. She supported him through his baseball career and all the mistreatment it came with, and I'm sure he supported her as she pursued her nursing career and later taught at Yale. They had 3 children together and stayed married until his death. That's the kind of love and devotion I want in a marriage.

Hatred Only Hurts the Haters

The movie shows that the hatred that drives racisim is a poison that seeps through all areas of life. A good quote by Coretta Scott King (who confronted hatred strong enough to kill her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr.) is, "Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated." Some of the biggest persecutors of Robinson shown in the movie (played by Ryan Merriman and Alan Tudyk) saw their careers decline later on, while Robinson - the hatED - went on to great success. I think people like them put so much energy into hating others that they don't have enough to improve their own lives. Wendell Berry wrote an insightful book called The Hidden Wound (1989) to awaken white people to how much they were hurting themselves and society while persecuting and discriminating against blacks.

Change the World without Changing Yourself

This may sound completely divergent from the famous quote by Gandhi: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." The way I interpret that is, if you want to see change happen in the world, it has to start with you. I totally agree with that, and I think this quote from 42 just takes it further. The moral here is as we gain fame (and maybe wealth and power) from the impact we have on the world, we should not let it corrupt us or taint our character. After Robinson retired from baseball in 1957, he continued to advocate for racial integration and served with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). There are so many people who become narcissistic and arrogant with success, but Robinson remained the same honorable man after being a pioneer and record breaker in race relations and baseball.