Reaction to Amistad Movie

Kaylan Earls March 22, 2013 COMM3820 Reaction To Amistad Amistad was a very touching movie and showed a lot of fight and determination from the West Africans and several others working to gain freedom for the slaves.. During the movie I felt that I to were experiencing the gruesome triumphs that the West African slaves experienced during their fight toward freedom. Though I have seen several movies dealing with race it is always interesting to learn more about history. Amistad showed how the West Africans stuck together and remained as one to fight for their freedom and be reunited with their families once again.
An issue that really hit a spot was how the slaves had to continue to go back to trial after being given their freedom once before due to illegal captivation. I think because of history and how race had such a impact in past times, regardless if the slaves were illegally captivated, the White House made the decision based off what was right for only their sake. I think during those times African Americans were just seen for their color and were being enslaved just because just for that simple reason. Though it was great to see that the Mende people finally were granted their freedom after a third trial, t was not fair that they had to go through so much for something they were already given before. This film had a huge impact on my thinking about race. Being African American I know the marches and all that was put in to get to where we are today. It’s so inspiring to see and makes me so much more appreciative that todays society is better than it was in the past. Though I am sure that there are still some racial problems it is not nearly as bad as before. I liked the movie because I feel like in a way it showed how we all should have been treated equally in a way because the Mende eople were enslaved for no reason. I think it relates to my life because their are still some that have their strong racist beliefs because of how they may have been raised. It’s scary to think of how life would be if I lived the life that some of my people did when they were alive. I think it would be safe to say that the society has come a long way and if we still dealt with the same issues we wouldn’t have an African American President today. I believe that the film was a little gruesome but not at exaggerated at all with the in treatment of the blacks.
The non-blacks seemed to have no sympathy in what they were doing, they were simply doing what they had do, because in their eyes it’s life. There are many other films that show the same treatment to slaves. Only knowing some basic treatments I fully believe that the way the Mende people were treated in the movie is how they were treated realistically. As stated before, I really have a lot more appreciation for my race. My ancestors and so many others experienced some really hard times and had to deal with things that no human should ever have to deal with regardless of the color of their skin.

Not that I never appreciated what my people have done for freedom, but it is always very inspiring and impactful to see how much went into a tremendous fight for freedom. In our generation now, not many know exactly what it was like to live the life that African Americans before we were born, so it’s good that we have films that shows us and help us learn. I would hope that this movie had some type of impact on the society because it is a very touching film. No one now could ever put themselves in the shoes of those who actually experienced these times.
I know that if it was hard to even watch the way the slaves were treated in the movie, I could only imagine what it was actually living it. This movie shows society that this treatment was unnecessary, there is no possible reason why African Americans were treated the way they were. Amistad was a touching, impactful movie and it would be a movie I recommend people to see, just to learn more about history. Today racial issues sometimes get overlooked and to see a movie that shows how they use to be may make people become more aware of how they treat someone else that is a different race.