What do Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell have in common?
For those of you who have come to know me a little bit, you'd know I tend to have a lot of content from the 90s and early 2000s. I could, tongue-in-cheek, perhaps call these the golden years of cinema - but I guess it has more to do with having access to a lot of films as a kid growing up, and now, the nostalgia that goes with it.
One of the films that stands out from this period is 'A League of their Own'.
This was a baseball film. I am not a sports fan, and I can tell you, the baseball didn't distract from the narrative. In short, the plot is: when World War II breaks out and all the male baseball players, as athletic young men, are enlisted, this leaves the men's baseball league destroyed. This presented a problem to the owners of the league (got to love capitalism) - without games being played, they wern't making money.
This led to the groundbreaking solution: let women play sports!
At the centre of the story is Geena Davis' character Dottie, who, along with her sister, Kit - are both drafted into the league. Dottie plays the maternal figure in the film, and she guides the younger girls in the team, teaching them to be good, strong, independent women.
Both Dottie and Kit are selected into the premium team in the women's league, The Rockford Peaches - and, in writing this as an adult looking back, I can see how objectifying that name is. Peaches, indeed - and the women were held up as 'Poster-girls' for the men still in America watching the games; it was assumed sex would sell tickets, not the women's sporting abilities. This was true of the Peaches' coach, Tom Hanks, whose character Jimmy was a former pro-baseballer, but injury left him as the 'star power' coaching a woman's team. His belief is that baseball is not for women, but it is Dottie's example, strategic mind, and reason which gets Jimmy to evaluate his beliefs.
So, where do Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell come into it?
Rosie:
Madonna:
Along the way, the interest in the film is in the relationship between the two sisters. On one hand, Dottie doesn't necessarily care about baseball, but she's there for her sister. However, she is the best player in the league and is the team's captain. The tension in the film is consistently built - when Kit is underperforming with her pitching, she is pulled. The pair have a physical fight, and this sibling rivalry continues to build as Dottie becomes the face of women's baseball - with this rising tension, Kit is traded to the Racine Belles - a rival team.
The film comes to its conclusion in the final of the women's league. Of course, it comes down to the Peaches and the Belles. It's a close match, and anyone could win - although, it's a film, and the film is about Dottie - so it was a no brainer... until Kit runs through Dottie, knocking the ball from her hand, and the Belles win!
- Which, afterall, is history. The league was founded in 1943, and the first champion team of the All American Women's Baseball competition? The Belles - of course, if you knew your baseball history, you would have seen it coming.
The film itself is a celebration of women in sport, and promotes the idea of strong independent women, who move beyond the 'sex symbol' to being legitimate players in their own right. At the end of the war, Dottie goes back to Oregon to be with her husband, while Kit continues to play in the league. Celebrate National Women's today with them:
Have a look at the full trailer here:
This post responded to the CineTV Twitter prompt:
https://twitter.com/CineTv_io/status/1501173476618612739
- CineTv_io