Major iconic players caught the attention of the game of baseball all over the world. Japan caught onto the sport fairly quickly. In the the film Mr. Baseball, audiences get to see the similarities and differences in the game of baseball between America and Japan. The themes of culture and globalization reappear to bring forward the idea of major league players to be traded but also among countries. Not many were involved with Japan during the late 19th century. Baseball integration into Japan didn’t take place until Horace Wilson. He was the original man to introduce baseball to Japan in 1872. Soon students were the first baseball players in Japan. They focused on team spirit, or “wa,” which has remained Japan’s focus point in the sport ever since.
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They had many of the same concepts and rules, and even some of the same team names. Japan adopted some major team’s names such as the the Giants and the Braves. The Giants were shown in the film, and although Jack Elliot’s team was called the Dragons, the logo and colors oddly resembled the Brooklyn Dodgers. Japan even has a Baseball Hall of Fame, just like America. Audiences are used to seeing films with players being traded between major and minor league teams, but this was an unusual twist going from American to Japanese baseball. The main character, Jack Elliot, represented society at the time because of the way he completely overlooked Japanese players. Just like Americans, he walked in with his huge superiority complex, and underestimated what they could do. For example, he was completely blown away with some of the pitches thrown his way. Aside from the game of baseball, this film showed major cultural differences. Traditions they have such as taking off your shoes before walking into the locker room, tipping your hat, not playing past fifteen innings, showering on the ground and especially the language barrier were all cultural problems that Jack
They had many of the same concepts and rules, and even some of the same team names. Japan adopted some major team’s names such as the the Giants and the Braves. The Giants were shown in the film, and although Jack Elliot’s team was called the Dragons, the logo and colors oddly resembled the Brooklyn Dodgers. Japan even has a Baseball Hall of Fame, just like America. Audiences are used to seeing films with players being traded between major and minor league teams, but this was an unusual twist going from American to Japanese baseball. The main character, Jack Elliot, represented society at the time because of the way he completely overlooked Japanese players. Just like Americans, he walked in with his huge superiority complex, and underestimated what they could do. For example, he was completely blown away with some of the pitches thrown his way. Aside from the game of baseball, this film showed major cultural differences. Traditions they have such as taking off your shoes before walking into the locker room, tipping your hat, not playing past fifteen innings, showering on the ground and especially the language barrier were all cultural problems that Jack