“Selma'' is a 2014 American film written by Paul Webb and directed by Ava DuVernay. The movie is based on true events in 1965 in a town called Selma that involved Martin Luther King leading the black community to march to Montgomery in an attempt to gain equal voting rights. It captures what life was like for people of colour in America during the period of protesting for equal voting rights. The scene I have chosen to review captures Martin Luther King’s extraordinary way of presenting and public speaking. Within the scene, Martin Luther King gives a speech of hope to his people inside a church demanding equal rights for coloured people for the right to vote. The award-winning performance by David Oyelewo as Martin Luther King is supported …show more content…
In addition to positioning Martin Luther King in the center of the shot, the director cleverly uses different camera angles to emphasise King's authority and leadership within the speech. Low angle shots are frequently used to show Kings dominance. By looking up at King from a lower perspective, views are driven to admire and respect him, reinforcing himself as a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. The director uses wide shots to show the crowd and the surroundings, this provides a broader perspective, for the viewer. One of Duvernay’s most favourable aspects of the scene is the wide variety of camera shots she uses in the scene. Close-up shots of Martin Luther King’s face allow viewers to connect with King’s emotions as he delivers his powerful speech. These close-up shots allow the audience to see the pure determination in King’s eyes and feel the weight of his words. DeVernay’s use of camera movement throughout the scene does not go unnoticed. She employs smooth tracking shots to follow King as he walks across the stage, symbolising his calmness as a way to tell the audience to keep calm and to not turn to