Wiki for Dr. McClurkens Courses

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You should do a total of 2-3 comments/questions/observations this week.  You do not need to post to all areas. -- Dr. McClurken

====== I.	How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history?  ======

I think the movie works well in that it focuses on a time that is not really discussed in the average history class. It focuses on the actual Amistad case and the main individuals involved, with a majority of individuals being actual individuals. They emphasized the importance of some of these individuals to the case, such as Sinque, Baldwin, and even James Covey. Overall, I think it works as an exceptional secondary source, especially when used alongside other sources about the subject. Like most historical movies, it helps to provide a visual representation of the subject. -- Jordan Petty

I think that this movie works very well as a secondary source. It seems as though this has been one of the** most fact-based films that we have watched so far**. The filmmakers stayed true to the historical evidence that is available and told the story of the slaves in a way that shows the raw emotion and feelings involved in the story. I think that this movie goes beyond the readings to provide visual interpretation in a way that works very well. -- Mariah Morton

I think this movie works well as a secondary source. Before taking this class I had never heard of the movie nor the supreme court case, which is really disappointing because it seems like such a major breakthrough in American history. Judging from what we talked about in class relating to the case and the readings, this movie appears to have made the greatest effort out of the movies we've seen so far in order to maintain historical accuracy. I loved the attention to detail, specifically the problems with the **language barrier and the motivations behind each of the parties** involved in the case. Moreover, I believe the movie does an excellent job of portraying just how traumatic of an experience this was for the Mende people. There appears to be a slight issue with the timing of events, though this is understandable because a movie cannot be expected to last forever and get every single detail right. Despite that I think this movie is a great secondary source and could be used as a starting point to teach about such an important topic in U.S. history. -- Lyndsey Clark

Based on the first reading, the way that Cinque was captured was pretty accurate. I also thought that Speilburg did a pretty good job of showing many of the **horrors of slavery that we don't normally see in films.** They seemed to have followed the events of the time (Van Burren's re-election campaign) fairly well, although for time limits sake much of the story felt very condensed.-- Helen Dhue

I think this is a good secondary source. It touches on the fact that Africans were sold into slavery by other Africans, something I didn't learn about until high school. The relationships between the Africans and the whites they encountered I found to be very realistic, mostly the misunderstandings. Of course, a lot of events had to be condensed or skipped over for time reasons, so you can't take all of it as factually. -Madison Roberts

I think as a secondary source, this movie works well in many ways. Like others have already written, I had neither heard of the actual events that took place in history, nor seen the film. The film is incredibly passionate and engaging, helping to create a visual representation of historical events that in some ways helps to understand what happened better than actual historical sources. However, that can also be a problem in it's own right. One particular issue I had with this movie as a secondary source, is that by the end of the movie I was left with a feeling that slavery as a whole was soon coming to an end, not just the slavery of these specific people. When in reality, the Africans on the //Amistad// were allowed to go free purely on legal reasons, not moral ones, and it would be several more decades before slavery was ended in America. -Cat Kinde

I think the film works as a pretty good secondary source for the period. While not 100% accurate, I think Spielberg tried to capture the broad themes of the era which can be difficult given the nuanced history. One interesting aspect of the **film was the talk and threat of an eminent civil war**. While nobody in the story really knew if there would in fact be a civil war, this threat was ever-present in early-mid 19th century politics and even resulted in instances such as the Nullification Crisis in the 30's, as well as the threat of South Carolina's succession and Bleeding Kansas in the 50's. The threat of civil war influenced many aspects of 19th century American politics, especially regarding the issue of slavery; and while characters in the movie weren't referencing THE Civil War, their comments about A civil war were extremely accurate regarding the political ramifications of the Amistad case. - Wilson LeCount

====== II.	Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ======
This week’s film did get a lot of the little details correct, for example, most of the clothing seemed to be within the correct era, as well as the hairstyles and wigs. But, there are some things the movie did seem to get wrong, for example, in the movie the **timeline appears to be fairly fast**, but in reality, a court case like this would take a couple of years, if not longer. The Amistad also leaves out the social code, or segregation of African Americans within the courthouse, and especially in the Supreme Court. - Kaylee Williams

The movie, //Amistad//, got a lot of things right within the context of the film such as the characters that were influential to the release of the African Americans such as Roger Baldwin, Lewis Tappan, and John Q. Adams but **didn't mention other historical figures within the case**. They also added fictional characters to help move the plot. The movie sheds some light on the bloody slave mutiny led by Cinque, but the majority is dedicated to the jumbled system of the United States Judicial system where white lawyers defend poor Africans. These complex white historic figures are seen as noble men who are interested in the welfare of African Americans. The movie also distorts race relations as well in the 19th century. This distortion is brought on by fictional character Theodore Joadson, played by Morgan Freeman. He is supposed to represent the composite black folks in New England during this time. Joadson freely associates with white abolitionists, which is something that was not done under New England's strict racial codes. -Lauren Simpson

While the film does work well for the most part and succeeds in focusing on a lot of key details, there still are some problems regarding its accuracy, as with any historical film. The one problem that seemed to stick with me personally was the movie's emphasis on the importance of the court case. There is no question that the Amistad case was an extremely important one in American history, especially related to the issue of slavery and race in the early nineteenth century. The problem I had is how the movie seemed to make this case directly related to the American Civil War. Watching the movie, it made it seem **like the decision of the case was a direct cause of the Civil War, but the case took place two decades before the war even started**. -- Jordan Petty

Although of the movies we have watched in the class so far, I do believe this one has done the best job and  found it the most interesting, it still has plenty of faults. I noticed the film had the feeling that the process was not all that long, and they left out things that would make the white heroes of the film look bad. We discussed in class that about 5,000 people a day would come in to visit the jail to look at the Mende people, like they were animals, and charged the onlookers money to do so, which wouldn't make the white abolitionist characters look very good, so that was left out. Also in the end the movie made it seem like the Mende people were sent back to Africa right after the case, they left out everything about being converted to Christianity, I believe it was because to get into this subject matter would be complicated and not shed a favorable light onto the "good" white characters. Imposing religion on other people in movies is normally not a good look. The movie did leave out a lot of the nuances of the characters, at first I thought they were doing a good job with JQA, but by the end, they make him out to be this very wise man without any faults. I do think it is fair to make out some of these characters to be progressive for their era and place, however, potraying them as people who are progressive with todays values is unfair to the telling of history. --Helen Dhue

I found this to be probably the most factually correct of the movies we've watched so far. The only thing that threw me off was the seemingly fluid integration of freed blacks with the rest of New England society. I understand that their existence in northern society wasn't unheard of, but to the point it was portrayed here seemed more wishful than anything else. There wasn't even segregation within the courthouses. -Madison Roberts

One thing that stood out after reading Tappan's letter was the portrayal of the jail the Mende were kept in. Tappan's letter seems to suggest the cells or rooms of the jail weren't too bad, unlike the dungeon like conditions of the jail in the movie. This could of be relative, and maybe Tappan was used to seeing even worse prisons, but he also mentioned that Cinqez was held in a cell with other white and black prisoners which wasn't shown. Tappan's account also states that **he believed the Mende prisoner's death was caused by lack of outdoor space and exercise, but in the movie it seemed like the Mende spent most of their time outside in some sort of courtyard**. That probably wasn't the real cause of death, but he did mention a specific lack of any outdoor activity. - Wilson  
====== III.	How does the film’s overall interpretation(s) deviate from scholarly historical sources? ======

I noticed an occasionally re-appearing theme in the film that seemed to contradict the primary source account of Tappan, which we were assigned. Tappan was struck by the causal humor and orderly quietude of the prisoners. However, the film freaquently portrayed the Mende as stereotypically rowdy and "tribal" by having the characters engage in frequent guttural hollering, etc. In one scene, they are even playing bongo-like drums. (Where did they get those in a prison?) Of course, I'm sure Tappan's narrative has issues as well, but I feel like the film went out of it's way to portray the Mende as a western stereotype of "old timey-times" Africans. -Ethan
====== IV.	How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers? ======

The film The Amistad has some aspects it that are very accurate and credible. The majority of the movie is loosely based on true events, but should not be seen as the most historically accurate rendition of the events that did take place. The Amistad was made to entertain, so most of the movie is fictional with aspects that are true. Due to this, this is a movie that could be seen as educational, but should not be used as a sole primary source. - Kaylee Williams

//Amistad// does have some aspects of being a primary source for the time period that is accurate and reliable. The movie presents an accurate depiction of the powerful and unforgettable horrors that come with the voyage through the Middle Passage for enslaves Africans. The movie is loosely based on the true events of the Mende people from Sierra Leone that were taken from their villages and sold illegally in Cuba to landowners. The story in the movie is true in part that during this time in America, Spain and Cuba, slavery was legal and more enslaved individuals were being brought from Africa. The Amistad case helped to propel the country toward abolishing slavery in the U.S. with the looming of the Civil War and the emergence of the Abolitionist Movement. This movie should be seen as a somewhat primary source for the subject of slavery but it should be used as more of an educational tool. -Lauren Simpson

I think this film serves as an exceptional addition to Steven Spielberg's impressive resume. Watching the movie, the viewer can clearly see this was directed by someone of Spielberg's caliber. This is a director that has, since the 1970s, created stunning visual effects in order to convey compelling stories. Unlike his fictional work like //Jaws// or //Jurassic Park//, //Amistad// is a testament to what Spielberg with a historical account, using these visual effects to convey history in an impactful way, just as he did with //Schindler's List// or even //Saving Private Ryan//. His successful career is the reason why he is still one of the greatest and most popular directors today, and even a lesser-known film like //Amistad// is evidence of that.

A side note that I thought was interesting was in regards to the film deciding to cast Matthew McConaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin. I can't help but think that his role in //A Time to Kill//, in which he plays a white lawyer defending an African American in a murder case, helped Spielberg make the decision to cast him in //Amistad//  -- Jordan Petty

Amistad shows that Steven Speilburg did have fairly good intentions with the creation of the movie, however, it still falls into the "white savior" movie category. I thought the movie did a good job of sharing many of the horrors of slavery that not many other films take on or sugar coat, however, it lacked nuance in many of the historical figures. The movie was eye-opening, but still made the white characters the center of the movie. I thought that it was also interesting where the director chose to put subtitles, I think it was definitely important to emphasize the language barrier so the audience could get an idea of the situation the characters were in, but it also felt at times we did not get to fully empathize with the Mende characters. Also, I felt a lot of the white characters were reduced to either the good guy or the evil guy and they lacked the nuance that the historical figures really had, because even though yes, many of these men did agree the institution of slavery was bad- did not mean they viewed black people as equal, leaving this out makes it easier to sort out who is a good character and who is a bad character. The movie overall shows that filmmaking in the late 90s was trying to reckon with race and trying to show the horrors of slavery, however they still went in with the intention to show "oh not all white people were bad" while leaving out the faults of the white people they were trying to portray as good. --Helen Dhue

This film works as an excellent source about the 1990s, and more importantly about Steven Spielberg as a director and Debbie Allen as the producer of the film. For 13 years, Debbie Allen worked to get this movie made. Starting in 1984, Allen's Amistad project was rejected time and time again. It was not until 1993 when she watched Spielberg's //Schindler's List//, in which Spielberg had been repeatedly told not to make a film about the Holocaust, that Allen thought she had a chance to make the movie happen. //Amistad// and the making of it is an exceptional primary source about what the movie making industry was like in the 80s and 90s, and in particular what it was like for African American women and African American stories in the industry.

Information taken from: https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1997-12-07-3169319-story.html
-Cat Kinde

====== V. The "So, what?" question	======
I think what makes //Amistad// so important is that it tells a story that many are not very familiar with. The Amistad case isn't really something that is generally discussed, and after watching the movie, I was surprised that it isn't discussed more often. I also think that its importance, especially for a film made in 1997, is that it does a fair job in putting African Americans at the forefront of the story, especially Cinque. -- Jordan Petty

//Amistad// is a film that for many might be their first chance at learning about the story of the Amistad, and with that being said, I think that it does a great job at telling the story. I think that for many it explains the case from beginning to end and the impact that it made in the lives of the people involved. I think the film also shows the importance that this case holds in the course of history. I believe it is important that more people learn about cases such as the Amistad case, because it provides more depth and understanding into the historical events in our country's past. -- Mariah Morton

I think //Amistad// is an important film for the overall impression it leaves with the viewer. Looking at this case from a historical perspective is not the same as viewing it on screen. This was the first time I've ever encountered this information, which makes me more than a little disappointed in my history classes from high school that focused on important cases related to African Americans during this time period. I'm not saying those other cases aren't important, but this case was groundbreaking during its day. I never would have thought a case would have concluded like this one did in the years leading up to the Civil War. This case also plays a vital part in history due to it indubitably being one instance that increased tensions. The fact that it went all the way to the supreme court and received a 7:1:1 vote in the 1840s, where the majority of justices were white slaveholders, is unheard of. I will admit that I didn't think much going into this film, but the powerful portrayal of the conflict, hope, and struggle each of these people went through is something you don't receive from a textbook.  I found myself horrified by several scenes, specifically those related to the deaths of the Mende despite already knowing such atrocious events did happen. For me, it was the difference of seeing versus knowing. We may know something, but until you see an event first hand it can be easy to underestimate its significance. -- Lyndsey Clark

The portrayal of the slave trade I think means a lot. The inhumane-ness of it is something that is extremely watered down in history classes. A high school teacher had us watched the flashback scenes on the ship one time and I remember being so horrified. Reading about something like this and then watching a portrayal of it are two completely different things. There are no rose colored glasses for those scenes and I think it's really important that someone like Spielberg gave it this kind of attention. -Madison Roberts

Film is a visual slap in the face. Reading about painful historical events can be impactful in it's own way, but there is something visceral about //Amistad//, that says "look at this. This happened. And you need to acknowledge it."There is no off screen violence that is left to your imagination, the audience is not spared, just like the Africans on the ship were not spared. In an exceptionally small way, it's penance for a shamefully overlooked part of history that should be paid more attention to. --Cat Kinde

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