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| 329:question:329--week_5_questions_comments-2022 [2022/09/22 04:43] – [I.How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history?] 76.78.225.170 | 329:question:329--week_5_questions_comments-2022 [2026/10/01 14:03] (current) – 186.247.173.21 | ||
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| ====== I. How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history? | ====== I. How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history? | ||
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| + | I think it works well as a secondary source. According to the primary sources given to us, as well as what we'd learned during class discussions, | ||
| This movie was devastatingly accurate to the horrors of enslavement and the sheer degradation of the middle passage on the human psyche. Think about it this way, while it was extremely gory, this depiction still wasn’t as horrific as the real deal was. Even rated R movies can only show but so much. The emotion that this film conveys is that of deepest sorrow and torment. Something that these people lived in their entire time during this incident, and even after returning home. I believe that this film is an outstanding source for historical accuracy regarding the depiction of enslavement. Some of the court room scenes, and other related points are dramatized, but to the best of my personal knowledge, the depiction of enslavement practices were not exaggerated. -Michaela Fontenot | This movie was devastatingly accurate to the horrors of enslavement and the sheer degradation of the middle passage on the human psyche. Think about it this way, while it was extremely gory, this depiction still wasn’t as horrific as the real deal was. Even rated R movies can only show but so much. The emotion that this film conveys is that of deepest sorrow and torment. Something that these people lived in their entire time during this incident, and even after returning home. I believe that this film is an outstanding source for historical accuracy regarding the depiction of enslavement. Some of the court room scenes, and other related points are dramatized, but to the best of my personal knowledge, the depiction of enslavement practices were not exaggerated. -Michaela Fontenot | ||
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| Based on what we had learned in class, I thought this movie was accurate to the actual history. They depicted the events accurately and in order of what happened. I thought it was obviously a bit dramatized but was impressed with the accuracy throughout. I think it could work well as a secondary source and as a way to get people interested in history. -Sophie Weber | Based on what we had learned in class, I thought this movie was accurate to the actual history. They depicted the events accurately and in order of what happened. I thought it was obviously a bit dramatized but was impressed with the accuracy throughout. I think it could work well as a secondary source and as a way to get people interested in history. -Sophie Weber | ||
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| + | The film depicts a brutality that is shocking to the audience. I think it portrays an effective visual of slavery and the Middle Passage in a way that I don't think I've seen before. We've all read about or learned about slavery in classes, but seeing portrayed with what I would call an accuracy of a kind, it made it real. There was a level of dramatization that comes from a partial goal of entertainment value, but as a secondary source, I think there was also a very deliberate goal of accuracy in terms of how the horrific suffering of the Middle Passage was shown. -Leah Boucher | ||
| The brutality of the Middle Passage seemed to ring particularly true to me. The way slaves were treated and how they often died on the journey was treated as seriously as it was in reality. Some of the most harrowing images in the film come from that section, and I felt like it was really effective in portraying this brutal history in a way that made it feel immediate and real. The way slaves were kept in the ship, how some committed suicide or died on the journey, and how slavers would throw slaves overboard if they did not have enough provisions were all accurately portrayed here. I thought it was somewhat of a bold choice to show so much accuracy in these scenes; it was probably something most American audiences had not seen in a mainstream film before. - Maris Tiller | The brutality of the Middle Passage seemed to ring particularly true to me. The way slaves were treated and how they often died on the journey was treated as seriously as it was in reality. Some of the most harrowing images in the film come from that section, and I felt like it was really effective in portraying this brutal history in a way that made it feel immediate and real. The way slaves were kept in the ship, how some committed suicide or died on the journey, and how slavers would throw slaves overboard if they did not have enough provisions were all accurately portrayed here. I thought it was somewhat of a bold choice to show so much accuracy in these scenes; it was probably something most American audiences had not seen in a mainstream film before. - Maris Tiller | ||
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| The film was able to get a decent amount the of history correct, which was more than I was expecting. Having the characters speak their accurate languages was a huge deal to me. It showed that they wanted to keep the story true and portray these people as accurately as possible. Which allowed for the film to be both entertaining and authentic. - Neonya Garner | The film was able to get a decent amount the of history correct, which was more than I was expecting. Having the characters speak their accurate languages was a huge deal to me. It showed that they wanted to keep the story true and portray these people as accurately as possible. Which allowed for the film to be both entertaining and authentic. - Neonya Garner | ||
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| + | This film was fairly accurate as a secondary source. Like all other movies, if you were to use this as a source you would have to verify everything and back it up with other texts. Many times filmmakers will dramatize or " | ||
| ====== II. Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ====== | ====== II. Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ====== | ||
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| The readings from abolitionist viewpoints, specifically //An Abolitionist Defends..,// | The readings from abolitionist viewpoints, specifically //An Abolitionist Defends..,// | ||
| ====== IV. How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers? ====== | ====== IV. How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers? ====== | ||
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| + | Despite its many well-researched aspects and bold depictions of the brutal conditions enslaved people were forced to go through in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, it still has elements of overly-optimistic 90s American nationalism and white savior themes. There was also just some classic 90s American movie structure elements such as the heroic plot-line, a happy and triumphant ending, fairly clear good and bad guys, and American patriotism.- Leo Tooks | ||
| Based on an article by the Baltimore Sun, producer Debbie Allen was adamant about wanting to get this movie made but was met with backlash from studios and directors as they did not want to make a movie based on a slave boat. **It discusses how Spielberg depicts gruesome scenes instead of just implying them to get the audience to understand what happened.**(https:// | Based on an article by the Baltimore Sun, producer Debbie Allen was adamant about wanting to get this movie made but was met with backlash from studios and directors as they did not want to make a movie based on a slave boat. **It discusses how Spielberg depicts gruesome scenes instead of just implying them to get the audience to understand what happened.**(https:// | ||
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| ====== V. The "So, what?" question ====== | ====== V. The "So, what?" question ====== | ||
| + | This film is set apart from all others that we have seen so far. This film is a grim masterpiece, | ||
| + | This story matters, and this movie portrayed it shockingly well. -Michaela Fontenot | ||
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| + | I think this film shows a really important piece of history in a way that forces the audience to confront the violence and horrors of slavery as a part of our history as a nation. Film makers didn't shy away from depicting an event and a practice that many historical films of the era sidestep or downplay. It's an important visual and one that stays with you in a way that is painfully necessary. -Leah Boucher | ||
| I think this film has a lot more going for it than many we have already seen in this class. In addition to the moving performances by the actors, the fantastic score provided by John Williams, and the fantastic visuals and directing of Spielberg, the film got a lot right in terms of history. I think it is important as Americans that we examine our nation’s history, our nation’s crimes, our sins. While a little gratuitous at times, Spielberg’s film presents a viscerally real and painful reminder of the way enslaved Africans were treated, and the way white Americans and Europeans viewed them. The film does have some issues, however. Many of the figures depicted in the film talk about the threat of a civil war between North and South. This is most certainly a result of our position in history. We see conflict between abolitionists and slave holding southerners and conclude that this was obviously another steppingstone in the long path to the Civil War and eventual emancipation. But to the people who actually lived during this time, that idea could be nothing further from the truth. The Civil War would not take place for another twenty years, and many of the abolitionist leaders portrayed in the film were anything but “woke” as we would put it today. While I don’t think this is a bad film, we should always be careful of imposing our own understanding of the past on to the people who actually lived it. –Lucca Crowe | I think this film has a lot more going for it than many we have already seen in this class. In addition to the moving performances by the actors, the fantastic score provided by John Williams, and the fantastic visuals and directing of Spielberg, the film got a lot right in terms of history. I think it is important as Americans that we examine our nation’s history, our nation’s crimes, our sins. While a little gratuitous at times, Spielberg’s film presents a viscerally real and painful reminder of the way enslaved Africans were treated, and the way white Americans and Europeans viewed them. The film does have some issues, however. Many of the figures depicted in the film talk about the threat of a civil war between North and South. This is most certainly a result of our position in history. We see conflict between abolitionists and slave holding southerners and conclude that this was obviously another steppingstone in the long path to the Civil War and eventual emancipation. But to the people who actually lived during this time, that idea could be nothing further from the truth. The Civil War would not take place for another twenty years, and many of the abolitionist leaders portrayed in the film were anything but “woke” as we would put it today. While I don’t think this is a bad film, we should always be careful of imposing our own understanding of the past on to the people who actually lived it. –Lucca Crowe | ||
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| Like all Hollywood films, Amistad did not hit every detail on the head. However, the amount of accuracies that were able to be put in the film made it all the more impactful. It is important for a history such as this one (lesser known) to be portrayed as correctly as possible, and I believe Stephen Spielberg was able to do that while still having an entertaining film. - Neonya Garner | Like all Hollywood films, Amistad did not hit every detail on the head. However, the amount of accuracies that were able to be put in the film made it all the more impactful. It is important for a history such as this one (lesser known) to be portrayed as correctly as possible, and I believe Stephen Spielberg was able to do that while still having an entertaining film. - Neonya Garner | ||
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| + | I think this film was able to vividly display the hardship of being a slave. At times the movie seemed very performative and dramatic, but for the most part, it was able to portray slaves in an authentic way we haven’t seen in other movies. The hurt, confusion, sadness, and anger were almost palpable. The film took an important topic and did not shy away from the brutality of it like some films would because it might make their audience uncomfortable. -Annika Sypher | ||
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