Caroline R: A League of Their Own

Blog #4

A League of Their Own is a 1992 film about the All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League. It is a women’s professional baseball league that is founded when World War II begins and the men are drafted. The movie goes through the entire history of women’s baseball, from recruiting players to the end of the league. The recruiters make sure the women can play but are also pretty and will look good in the seductive baseball uniforms, which are dresses. When the women are shown the skirts they will be playing in, they all protest but are told that “if you can’t play baseball in this, then you can’t play baseball with us”. At the opening game there are barely any fans and the ones that are, are to busy making fun of the women to see how truly talented they are. The league becomes very popular throughout the season as the fans begin to realize that the women can play a great game. The commissioner of the league is surprised by how much money the games are producing, but insists that it is all over when the boys come home from war. In the final season the women and fans do not want women’s baseball to end but it does eventually because the war ended and the women were no needed anymore. This film is a true story and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York contains many artifacts and the leagues history

This film deals with gender by showing that women can do the same things men can, but will probably be discriminated against until they prove themselves. From a woman’s point of view I think the women are represented as strong, independent, adventurous, brave women. Their husbands are overseas fighting a war and dying and they still find strength to live their own lives and take chances. This film is very empowering, it provides young girls that they can do anything they set their mind to, even if it is a, “boy,” thing. Also, all the women in film did all of their own stunts, there was no doubles. I believe this is a feminist film, throughout the movie the women are constantly being put down and discouraged yet they show up everyday to do what they are told they cannot do.

Personally I love this movie, I have watched it over and over since I was a little girl, and have most of it memorized. It is very inspiring to me and my teammates and I watch it on almost all of our road trips for softball. When I watch it as an adult I see all of the slams the women got for playing ball. One of quotes in the movie that it is funny to me is when an obnoxious man is standing on the dugout at the opening game, he yells, “Girls can’t play ball!” And while he is saying these mean things one of the players nails him with a ball during warm-ups.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_League_of_Their_Own

http://www.creativity-portal.com/main/blog/2004/110704.html

http://www.aagpbl.org/

http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/aleagueoftheirown.php

Caroline R.