Selma--The Movie

Selma Alabama, the movie, Selma.  It is worth the watch; it is historical, it is powerful, and makes us remember from whence we came.  The Civil Rights Movement is a movement that is rooted well with Dr. King, however, this film did a great job in spotlighting some other unknowns of the movement such as Hosea Williams, and John Lewis, the now senator from Georgia.

As a huge history buff, this film gave mentions to “failures” of Dr. King’s organization such as Albany, GA.  Now whether or not the SCLC actually used the media as a strategic entity is somewhat unknown, but it was portrayed outwardly in this movie.  It also gave way to exploring the infidelity issues that Dr. King had; never going into great detail they made it clear that he cheated.  What really must be appreciated about this film is the way they focused on Dr. King, however the big picture was really the struggle in Selma, and the voting rights act.  Many Americans lose facts along time, and I believe that the voting rights acts sub-plot of the actual events that occurred in Selma need to be explored more in our history books.  It was good to see how they failed in Selma and the violence that occurred on the first planned march was critical to showing a more complete Dr. King, and not just the super-hero that we as Americans make him out to be.  It was good to sort of bring Dr. King down to the human that he was, to see that he stayed behind because of marriage issues.

 

The acting was superb; there is little criticism that can be stated about the performances that were made.  The cast as a whole had a communication of community about them that created an authenticity about their portrayals.  I felt “Selma”, and knowing they recreate the march every year in Selma, made me want to go online and search about when they are doing it to be a part of it. 

The Civil Rights Movement would not have been successful without the consciousness of white America.  This film did a wonderful job of spotlighting that point without being overtly “white-privileged-hollywood” about it.  What is meant by that, is they stuck to the facts, and showed the time for what it was, showed how defeat occurred when no one but Blacks marched.  Young people, or people not old enough to remember those times, will have a much clearer picture of how much of an impact t.v. had on the movement.  The film (and maybe the times) gave the feeling that they were alone in Selma, no president, no protection, only segregation, and disenfranchisement.  Three times, it took them three times to complete that march; it took a white clergy-man being killed to have them complete it successfully—that says something about American then, and today.

Over all the film did a great job in portraying the events, it did a great job in filling in some of the holes I think we forget or gloss over.  It reminds us of the terrorist that America was, as Ferguson reminds us of the terrorist they still are.   

The movement is real, the struggle is real, and both continue for us as African-Americans, and us as Americans.  It does take a total and united front for us to move past this construct of race, history, and the continuance of inequality.  There are still two Americas, now being spliced into three as the Latino/Latina community grows, and films like this are important to remind us of the blood, sweat, and tears it takes for real change to occur.