Vital Topics: Social Work and Film
by SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD
The 2022 Amazon Original series, A League of Their Own, is an enriching, must-see comedy drama highlighting the cost of prejudice and cruel societally imposed restrictions, set against the backdrop of women’s sports in the 1940s. The 8-part TV examination brought to life by co-writers Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson (who also stars) encourages precisely what social workers strive to offer those we are privileged to work with—awareness of each person’s unique individuality, the importance of choice in our paths toward fulfillment, and the determination to work to safeguard existing paths and create new ones. To do the series justice, I will discuss its predecessor, which the series is loosely based on, the popular, feel good 1992 film, A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall. As in previous reviews, when discussing the series, I will provide framing but no plot spoilers.
Both the 1992 film and the 2022 series examine the same time frame through the societal prism of the years they were released. Vast changes in our society and how far women have come in our determination to build lives based on who we are, rather than rigid societal expectations imposed by others, are passionately brought to life. Change in emphasis from film (1992) to series (2022) reflects accurate markers of today’s heightened awareness of the cost of repression of self and discrimination—and the opportunities that now exist to bring these truths to life. The recently released series addresses both racial and sexual discrimination and repression. The primary focus of its predecessor is discrimination against women’s opportunities. Those who criticize the 2022 series for the characters’ use of language of today to communicate life in America during World War II miss the point of the series. The modern language is intentional—as life during this period is examined in light of today’s awareness and truths.
Film and series each offer a fictionalized account of an actual team, the Rockford Peaches, part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) created in 1943, when male baseball players were drafted for service in World War II. Disbanded in 1954, AAGPBL—finally honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988—was the forerunner of Women’s Professional League Sports. Competition for team acceptance was fierce, and once selected, misogyny thrived. Team members endured the insults of charm school and were instructed that they could never drink, smoke, or wear pants in public, but ever-present lipstick was a must. They were relegated to Betty Boop inspired short pink dresses, which offered sensual delight to viewers while intruding on effectiveness on the field and protection from injury.
Both Leagues address what a woman who loves may be asked to sacrifice. Marshall does not completely ignore racial prejudice in the 1992 film, although if you blink, you may miss it. She briefly portrays the enormously skilled woman of color player, DeLisa Chinn-Tyler, returning an overthrown ball to Dottie (played by Geena Davis) with such strength and precision that pain stops Dottie in her tracks.
Front and center in the Marshall film is the relationship between two sisters, Dottie, the League’s most gifted and beautiful star player, and her highly ambitious younger sister Kit (Lori Petty), painfully envious of her sister’s natural charisma and seemingly effortless professional skill. In the pivotal scene, the sisters, on different teams, physically collide at home plate. Dottie, who does not make playing errors and fights hard for her team, drops the ball. Did Dottie fail to make a play important to her, or was the dropped ball purposeful? Did she curb her ambition for love of her sister? Was this her way toward a prescribed domestic life expected of women? Did she fear ambition in herself? To me, the answer is clear: Dottie meets societal expectation. She curbs natural ambition and talent for the well-being of family and the fulfillment of loved ones.
The film offers more exciting baseball plays than the series and a manager, a drunken baseball fallen genius, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), who moves from self-contempt and disregard for his players to deep devotion to them and pride in his relationship with them. Rosie O’Donnell is the only actor in Marshall’s film present in the series, delightfully so, but I will say no more.
The 2022 League series writers Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson move from the film’s sweet, stereotypic, one-dimensional depictions to those of depth. Dove (Nick Offerman) replaces Dugan as coach, but he and Dugan, other than both being fallen players, have nothing in common. Compensating for Dove’s cavalier condescension to the Peaches is Beverly (Dale Dickey), their chaperone, who grows to care deeply about her team members. Graham and Jacobson gift parts of themselves, ourselves, and those we love to offer richly developed, complex characters whose lives reveal the horror of prejudice and evil isms. Still, much of the series revolves around Carson (Abbi Jacobson), like Geena Davis’ Dottie, a catcher and married, but unlike her, not the most talented Peach player. The series focuses on two parallel groups, offering stories contained within each.
1. People of color, especially women
Max (Chanté Adams), an extraordinarily skilled Black pitcher (whose character is based on interviews with three women in the Negro League, Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson, and Connie Morgan), lives in Rockford yet is harshly dismissed from tryouts because of her color. She has chosen a far different road toward fulfillment from that of her best friend Clance (played by the totally enchanting Gbemisola Ikumelo). Clance is a gifted illustrator enchanted by comic books, and her deeply loved husband has been drafted. Her unwaivering sisterly support of Max is essential, as Max’s mother Toni (Saidah Arrika Ekulona)—who has devoted her life and work to protecting her daughter—cannot come to terms with either Max’s sexuality or her dreams of playing baseball.
2. Women, all women—be they cisgender or trans, queer, with varied gender expression, and varied attitudes about gender and sexuality, and who base their choices on their individuality
In opening scenes, Greta (D’Arcy Carden) and Jo (Melanie Field) are the Mae (Madonna) and Doris (Rosie O’Donnell) equivalent of the 1992 film, with one proviso. Mae and Doris’ relationship remains subliminal in the film. Viewers shudder as other insults to American women abound in the series, such as calling Lupe Garcia (Roberta Colindrez), the team’s pitcher of Mexican descent, the “Spanish Striker.”
Carson evolves in confidence and expression as the story unfolds. We also learn the reasons for Greta’s fear of openly claiming who she is. “Why do you think they’re doing all this, Carson?” Greta asks during the insult of charm school. She responds to her own question. “It’s to make sure we don’t look like a bunch of queers.”
My only disappointment in the series’ portrayal of prejudice, scapegoating, and hatred is the missed opportunity to explore the ongoing anxieties of Shirley Cohen (played by Kate Berlant, often as with others as comic relief). Though it is not stated, Cohen most likely is Jewish (as is Abbi Jacobson—and for transparency, as am I). During the period focused upon, concentration camps abound in Europe, but antisemitism and the deaths of millions of “deviants”—not only Jews—and how this ongoing horror affects Cohen and her relationship with her team is never addressed.
It was thrilling to see the 2022 series move beyond the 1992 film’s concentration on female sacrifice and repression to self-respect, self-awareness, and fulfillment, as well as an honest examination of racial and anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice. Athough Season 2 has not been announced, co-writer Will Graham has said that the team is at work writing it. As the characters we long to know more about continue to claim their unique individuality, despite obstacles, and connect through the strengths they build (hopefully with the two story lines joining), it will be fascinating to see them face commitments, responsibilities, and child raising (Clance is pregnant) without the expectation that to succeed, women and those of color must sacrifice themselves.
Questions for Discussion and Reflection
An examination of this series leads to relevant social work issues to explore, among them the following.
- The tip of the sexist iceberg dominating this series shows adult team members being told what is proper dress and behavior, and facing punishment if they break imposed rules. In terms of sexism and women’s rights today, what has changed and what has remained the same? Do existing challenges impact your social work practice? If so, how?
- In the series, we see numerous examples of systemic racism and racism toward individuals in areas of employment and other opportunities for Max and other Black characters. What has changed, and what has stayed the same today? How does this relate to your social work practice?
- In one scene, we see several of the baseball players at a gay bar, the one place that seems to offer a safe space where they can express and be themselves. What is necessary to assure safe havens? Is any place truly safe? How does this challenge relate to your social work practice?
- How is Toni’s use of words such as “invert” harmful to Max? What parallels do we see today? How does this relate to your social work practice?
- Antisemitism, or prejudice against and hatred of Jewish people, is not mentioned in the series, and it is rarely mentioned or addressed at our social work conferences. Why? Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, spoke at the NASW PA 2022 conference. His words, which included antisemitism among the ravaging prejudices threatening all we hold dear, led to a passionate standing ovation. How can we make our social work settings and conferences a safe place to honestly face and discuss prejudice in each of its manifestations and make the elimination of all forms of hatred a social work priority?
SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD, whose private and pro bono clinical social work practice is in Philadelphia, is a certified group psychotherapist and family life educator. She is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) and the Social Worker of the Year (2018) from the Pennsylvania chapter of NASW, and the 2013 NASW Media Award for Best Article. In 2018, she was one of five graduates of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice selected for the school’s inaugural Hall of Fame. SaraKay is the author of Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work (2nd Edition).