Saturday, February 20, 2021

7/52 - Jackie Robinson

 

I settled on this documentary after a wander through the doc section one early Saturday morning. I have seen the movie 42 and thought I knew a bit about Jackie Robinson, but this is a Ken Burn's project, so what I actually knew could fill a thimble. This documentary was split into two episodes each with a run time that approached 2 hours. If you've seen a Ken Burns documentary before you know they are packed with information. This was a dense, but interesting watch. 

The first episode primarily dealt with his childhood and his early baseball career. I appreciated the wealth of archival footage they shared and the interviews were wonderful. His wife, Rachel Robinson, was among those interviewed, as was former President Obama, friends, teammates and reporters/historians. The strength of character and spirit that had to be summoned to survive being the first black player in the major leagues is absolutely mind boggling. The second episode focused on his eventual exit from major league ball and his work in the civil rights movement. Prior to watching this I had no knowledge of his work after he left baseball. I really appreciated this documentary for showcasing what a complex human he was beyond the ball field. I truly enjoyed this history lesson.

I watched this on Amazon Prime.

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