A name, a number, and a picture - The cinematic memorialization of Jackie Robinson

The author discusses nine films that use Jackie Robinson's name, number, glove, picture, and picture card to invoke his mana as a mythical presence and sociocultural icon. The films incorporate Robinson's cinematic mystique by using iconographic and symbolic aspects of his career as a superb athlete and racial pioneer to address the problems of anti-Semitism, child abuse, and racism.