Title Racial inequality has existed in America since its birth. From the day African Americans were introduced to this country they have endured hardship after hardship. The African American equals rights movement is a big part of American history along the way we have seen prominent leaders arise in the fight for racial equality including Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Throughout this fight we see many people arise in trying to make this country a greater place. People like Jackie Robinson also helped make an impacted in achieving equality. Robinson didn’t use speeches and politic realms to do this but he used baseball, an American pastime, to bring together our country. The film 42 is a depiction of how one baseball player took strides to not only unite a team but an entire country. In the film Remember the Titans a group of high school boys both white and black are forced to come together to be the best team they can be. This film shows how overcoming adversity can be accomplished by anyone who believes in the cause enough. Over the past century African Americans have made great strides in overcoming racial adversity, and gaining most of the same freedoms of white Americans. These films both address and attract viewer support for the equality of African Americans. However, the film 42 does a better job at attracting viewer support because of the historical accuracy, the larger audience it appeals to and its’ stronger historical significance.

The film 42 is about Jackie Robison’s journey in the major league while fighting racial inequality using baseball. The film begins Robison’s baseball career with an offer from the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers to join their farm team the Montreal Royals. After a season with the Royal’s Jackie proves himself to the owner and he offers Robison a spot on the Dodgers roster. Being accepted to Brooklyn Dodges Jackie becomes the first African American in history to be on a professional baseball team. The rest of the film shows Jackie overcoming racism by ignoring the critics and playing baseball at an extraordinary level. The movie ends with Jackie gaining support of both African American and white fans around America bridging the races closer together.

The film Remember the Titans is about an African American school uniting with a white school during the 1970’s. The story is based on true events of African American and white athletes uniting to form one football team named the Titans. The athletes battle adversity with each other due to the deep roots of hatred that lies deep in the hearts of American culture. However, during the team’s summer training camp they manage to pull together and settle their differences to form a respectable team. After the team returns from their training camp the team battles their own town and school as they do not support the African Americans that have joined the team. However the team ignores the challenges that their town brings and has a remarkable season gaining the support of the town. The film 42 attracts more viewer support because of the historical accuracy of the film. Film viewers can often be thrown off by the inaccuracy and unbelievably of the films that they have seen. A reason that I feel the film 42 did a better job of attracting viewers is the amount of historical accuracy that the director included into the making of the film. 42 has been revered by film critics as very accurate. A film critic based in Arizona notes that “Mark Langill, who has served as the Dodgers’ historian for more than 20 years, viewed the movie in a screening for team employees and came away astounded at the accuracy and detail of the film” (Young, 1). Remember the Titans even though also based on a true story has been noted by film critics to contain high amounts of fiction to make a more exciting story for viewers. According to a film critic the script for Remember the Titans was “used on the fact that it is a true story, but much of the film’s content is fictional” (Tate, 1). Remember the Titians contains very little historical facts, it is merely a story of a football team that may or may not have been real. The South is full of stories and tales of how African Americans overcome racial inequality but hardly any of them have historical backing behind them. The film 42 is historical proven and more people can relate to the plotline than that of Remember the Titians. The film 42 attracts more viewer support because of the larger audience that the movie appeals to. Jackie Robinson’s success in the major leagues made big headlines allowing it to be known about globally. Robinson helped spread the news that America was taking great steps forward. Young children would all gather around to watch this incredible player make history. Robinson served as a role model to many young African American boys. He showed them that it is possible to overcome anything that stands in their way of following their dreams. Jackie once said, "a life is not important, except the impact it has on other lives." Robinson knew the kind of impact he would have on the future of American baseball and knew how important it was to show his fellow African Americans that they too could succeed. These young children that were lucky enough to watch Robinson make history are still able to relive his glory through this film. Even people that didn’t get to witness his glory days can still get a better understanding of how Robinson made history and what he did for America. In Remember the Titans a high school football team learns to put aside each others differences and come together. This film is less relatable to the general public because it takes place at a mere high school while Robinson made worldwide news. The film 42 attracts more viewer support because of the greater historical significance of the film. The film 42 was the story of the first African American to ever play in professional baseball. This historically had a greater impact then the story depicted in Remember the Titans. Jackie Robinson made history by becoming the first African American to play in a white dominated league in the 1950’s. As well as being the first African American to play baseball, Jackie Robison was well known for how well he played baseball. Awards that Robison received for playing base ball included Rookie of the Year, Most valuable player in 1949, and being inducted in the baseball hall of fame. Remember the Titans attracted less viewer support then 42 due to the less historical significance that the movie is about. Although the plot of remember the titans is very good and well constructed it is on a much smaller scale then the movie 42. Remember the Titans is about the merging of 3 high schools in Virginia, one of which was African American, to form one independent school T.C. Williams high school. Where as 42 is a story of how a man united a country be simply doing what he loved to do. While both of theses films portray a journey of overcoming adversity and fighting for equal rights 42 is the superior of the two. Jackie Robinson showed fellow African Americans that their dreams can come true and that overcoming the roadblocks of racial discrimination was possible. He made great headway for the civil rights movement and gave many African Americans hope. Robinson allowed for others to follow in his footsteps and make a difference in American society. The boys in Remember the Titans with stood ridicule and prejudice people with every move they made. When the white boys on the team finally accepted their new African American teammates for who they were and not for the color of their skin the team was finally allowed to move forward. By accepting their new African American teammates these white teenagers were able to show their fellow classmates that racial equality isn’t a bad thing after all. Both of these films do a superb job at displays true American history with relatable heartwarming stories. 42 however appeals to a much bigger audience and is more historical accurate and significant than Remember the Titians.