ABSTRACT
This chapter compares two black athlete biopics to examine the United States’ twofold national tradition. Produced during Barack Obama’s presidency, 42 (2013) and Race (2015) both evince multicultural pluralism by portraying Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens as African American figures of social resistance in the mould of Muhammad Ali. In contrast, however, 42 imagines an evangelical Christian and liberal economic common ground, while Race foregrounds phenomenal experience as a transcultural bridge. Their different visions illustrate rival currents of religious nationalism and radical secularism in the national tradition. Philip Gorski has shown how American civil religion aims to synthesise prophetic religion and civic republicanism into a vital centre; these contemporary films represent popular myths that aspire to speak across the nation’s various social divides.
