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 ====== I.	How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history?  ======
+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, the visceral brutality and cruelty of what enslaved people went through in the trans-Atlantic trade was very well exemplified during this film. It was also said during I believe the first hearing that, within the slavery system in Africa, while it was still filled with human rights violations and misery, it was no where near as cruel and inhumane as what the enslaved people had to go through at the hands of the Spaniards on the le Armistad. This is supported by Equiano's publication of his experience in which he discusses the differences in the treatment of enslaved people between African and white slaveholders. - Leo Tooks
 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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 The readings from abolitionist viewpoints, specifically //An Abolitionist Defends..,// describes the Mende as they are in prison, and it differs greatly from the film. Many are described as cheerful and "full of hilarity," and most importantly, as orderly. In the film's version of their time in the New Haven prison, there was chaos and hostility at times when the abolitionists visited, and **though it was definitely just to dramatize and emphasize the language barrier, it felt like it was doing a disservice to a people who were already being stereotyped as "savage."** -- Jane Michael
 ====== IV.	How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers? ======
+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://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-11-30-1997334068-story.html) -Sophie Weber