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REGGIE 2023 (Available for streaming on Prime Video) Reggie is a 104-minute sports documentary centered on a professional baseball player, Reggie Jackson. Jackson was a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player, a five-time World Series champion, and a well-known personality in the 1970s and 1980s. This film examines Reggie’s legacy as a trailblazing black athlete who became a baseball megastar. Reggie contrasts the thrills of baseball with the horrors of racism that haunted him as he moved up as an athlete and gives us an insightful look at the role race has played, and continues to play in America's favorite pastime. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy Reggie, but it probably helps. In the film, Jackson sits down with fellow athletes to discuss their legacies, and their experiences at the intersection of race and sports. Featured athletes include Derek Jeter, Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Hank Aaron, and Pete Rose. There’s a brilliance in how he and the director decided to tell the story – allowing Jackson to become both the interviewee and interviewer. The film spent a good deal of time focusing on the racism Jackson faced entering the major leagues in the late ‘60s. He was one of the most famous and most successful black baseball players in the history of the game and he spent most of his career fighting for dignity and respect. Even after retiring as a player, Jackson continued in his attempts to affect change. He wanted to see increased Black and minority presence not just on the field but in the management and ownership ranks of Major League Baseball. To this day Blacks and minorities are underrepresented in Major League Baseball. Barbara and I liked the film even though we could not be described as baseball fans. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an impressive 100% but that was based on only 12 reviews. Our grade…. GRADE B

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