Steven Spielberg's La Amistad

What an eye-opening film by Steven Spielberg! The movie, La Amistad, was based on historical events. Blacks from West Africa were captured and sold into slavery. They were put on a boat called the Tecora and later transferred to the clipper called La Amistad. Spielberg did a beautiful job in accurately recreating the events that lead to the historical court hearings of the imprisoned blacks. The hearings began at the state level. Then it was taken to the Supreme Court. Questions about slavery, equality, and freedom, sprung forth during the Amistad case. Not only was this case a milestone for the abolitionist movement, it also questioned the writings of the Declaration of Independence. Where all men created equal, like the constitution stated?

Throughout the movie, Spielberg uses flashbacks to tell the story of one of the characters named Joseph Cinque. These flashbacks showed how he was captured. Blacks from other tribes kidnapped him and handed over to the Portuguese slave hunters. In return, these blacks received weapons and other goods. The next flashback Joseph had, was about his journey to Cuba, which was dangerous. Many blacks died on this journey. Cuba was the slave hunter’s first destination. One of the reasons many blacks died at sea was because of the gruesome living conditions. They were shackled and whipped. At one point in the film, it looked like the Spanish crew members were kissing the black women, which is sexual harassment. Their living conditions were unsanitary and they received meager meals. If a black person was sick he or she did not receive food. This historic event parallels with another one that would later surface and that event was called the Holocaust. Another thing that stood out was the way the Por...

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... sea or in prison while awaiting trial.” One of the discrepancies in this movie was that, it looked like all the blacks returned home. The viewer did not get the feeling that at least twenty blacks had died.

The selling and purchasing of blacks has been around at least a thousand years. As of the early 15th century, ships began moving millions of African blacks to new lands such as Cuba, Caribbean’s, and then into America. The voyage across the Atlantic was a difficult one. Many of them died at sea. The majority of the blacks came from “West Africa” (pathways thinkport). The movie, La Amistad, portrays the challenges, the fears, and the hope the blacks faced during this historical event.

Work Cited:

archives.gov/education/lessons/amistad/ imdb.com/title/tt0118607/quotes millercenter.org/president/vanburen

http://pathways.thinkport.org/about/about4c.cfm