The movie Race (2015) focuses on a man that changed history at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This man was Jesse Owens. He became one of the fastest runners that Ohio State University had seen in the early 1930s.
Owens’ coach at OSU, Larry, knew that Jesse was serious about running so he made sure to take Owens all the way to the Olympics. While he was at the Olympics, he broke five world records and gold medaled four times.
This movie shows an accurate representation of what it took for Jesse to start his career in track and field and to end up winning at the Olympics. He faced much racial discrimination along the way but the words of his coach told him to block all of the haters out. Jesse learned to believe in himself.
In this day and age, we thank Jesse Owens for showing us how important it is to ignore the people that want to be rude to make themselves feel better. He also showed us that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
At first, Jesse wasn’t sure that he wanted to go to the Olympic games because he was afraid that his wife was going to leave him and that he would drink himself stupid. He was scared that people were using him as an example because he is colored and his coach is white. It was interesting to see the confrontation that he had with his coach because he knew that if he didn’t go to the games he would regret it for the rest of his life, but Jesse cared more about his family and friends that what people would think of him if he made history as one of the greatest track and field athletes.
We all know he went anyway which was a sign that he realized that what people think of him or who is looking at him does not matter. What matters is that he felt like he was just like everyone else.
I liked the movie because it taught me that nothing else matters when you are competing for a medal. You are the only person that matters.