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The history of baseball is in many ways the history of America itself. Its very nickname \u2014 America\u2019s pastime \u2014 goes beyond the simplicity of a game, evoking a grandiosity that channels fundamental images of Americana. Baseball legends hold their place in the annals of history next to presidents and national heroes: Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron. When I think back to my own life, it\u2019s filled with memories of the game \u2014 I spent my childhood playing catch and watching Tigers games on the TV.<\/p>\n
And if baseball and America are intertwined, then the history of baseball is also in many ways the history of movies. The game\u2019s surge<\/a> in popularity in the 1920s coincided with the rise of the film<\/a> industry, shaping how we view the sport through the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many of the most iconic baseball movies contort the sport into something of mythic proportions. These are movies that treat baseball as bigger than a game, which is very fitting for baseball, a sport that has an unmatched reverence for its legends of yore, superstition and myths. By definition, they are almost\u00a0the most iconic of all baseball movies, forming the enduring images associated with the subgenre.\u00a0<\/p>\n These two baseball films share some superficial similarities: a tendency to focus on the history of the sport and elements of childhood nostalgia. But most of all, they\u00a0center on an idea that baseball represents something deeper about life and America. Two movies provide a glimpse into this type of movie and their characteristics: \u201cField of Dreams,\u201d which builds the myth up, and \u201cMoneyball,\u201d which breaks it down. Deconstructing these movies helps us understand why they have so much staying power and what their themes about baseball suggest about our lives.<\/p>\n