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Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay presents a vivid perception of the contextual setting of the American socio-political environment in the 1960s. This aspect allows the audience to establish an accurate ideation of how the political dynamics of the given era influenced or shaped the contemporary American society. One important aspect that the film demonstrates is the political instability and social injustice that were dominant fifty years ago. DuVernay uses different cinematic features, such as mood, tone, symbolism and style, to develop an atmospheric actuality that portrays the time period in a realist manner. In essence, Selma is crafted through its director's great attention to costumes, sets, dialogues and historic events. …show more content…
However, it reminds us of how black people acquired their rights in America, despite the racism that had been engraved in the country long before our time. Selma tells the details of the SCLC campaign in which they organized the Montgomery March of 1965. The Film covers all of the most important facts where it describes the sad situation that black people faced when they tried to register in order to vote in the segregated south. For example, in a scene performed by Oprah Winfrey we see her trying to register to vote, in this exercise she is being questioned and intimidated by a series of questions from the voter registrar. At this point we tend to understand what the film is all …show more content…
In the film, they expose the terrible events brought upon the participants of the marches first attempt. This day is remembered as Bloody Sunday due to the violent police attacks of unarmed civilians including women and kids. However, this is reported by several news outlets. The events of the Sunday afternoon are spread nationwide drawing attention to the movement. Support is gathered throughout the country by fellow whites and blacks. As a result, the march becomes successful and King is able to give a speech addressing the city of Selma, state of Alabama, the people of America and rest of the world. He speaks out about the overcoming of racism and hatred. With attention to, the burning of churches, the bombing of homes, the beating and the killing. All in the name of freedom Throughout the movie, King confronts the grieving grandfather of a slain protester Jimmie Lee Jackson where the police brutally shot him at a restaurant. The murder of Jackson gave the movement a martyr. "The blood of Jackson will be in our hands if we don't march", said James
Here, though, the focus is primarily on the Committee’s voter registration initiative starting in 1964. This documentary provides a more historical perspective, and offers glimpses into the strategies used in Selma, Alabama to obtain social change. It shows how those within the group questioned the effectiveness of the protests and the march, and
It was also the time period when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was making his speeches and rallies across America. Many African-Americans took part in freedom marches to get their point across that they wanted rights and equality. When the attack took place on (date), it caused the deaths of four young black girls (cite). Randall transcribed his sorrow into words to spread a message, “[he] reminds the audience of what is at stake in the struggle for civil rights--no sanctuary, no respect for innocence, the potential for violent resistance not just to social change, but even to the presence, new or continued, of blacks in community with whites” (
The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for more than a year all because of what Rosa Parks did. She stood up for her rights and inspired people everywhere. This movie was released around the same time as the civil rights movement and the racial protests which made things way more
Selma, Alabama became the focus of the civil rights movement as activists worked to register Black voters. Demonstrators also organized a march from Selma to Montgomery to promote voting rights. "Bloody Sunday" occured when state troopers attacked demonstrators.
The crowd at the March on Washington was vast with over two hundred and fifty thousand people in attendance. This crowd was also incredibly diverse with a a mix of all races and social classes(Trikosko, “Demonstrators”). The importance of the crowd diversity shows a change in America from close minded racism to more open minded views. Unlike protests of today the audience at Washington was civilized and peaceful, this is because Martin Luther King Junior believed in peaceful protests. Believing that peaceful protests were a better way for the public to believe in the cause for equality. The audience was diverse and respectable towards King and as such the message King was presenting was able to greatly impact the audience’s
, Jr. Voting rights campaign led by the SNCC had targeted Selma because it had one of the lowest ratios of African-American voters to white voters. Out of an eligible 15,000 Selmans, only 200 were registered to vote. The SNCC worked on cracking literacy tests, protesting poll taxes and staging sit-ins at registration centers in order to get blacks registered to vote. White responses a protest led by the SNCC caused the death of SNCC activist Jimmie Lee Jackson and in turn sparked the call for a protest march to Montgomery.
It helped the marchers by, after all that marching, they got the Voting Rights Act signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. He was the 36th president of the United States. After what all the marchers went through, like getting beat up, called names, the lost of lives, shotgun shells, clubs, barbed wire, the marchers actually did something. Before they all went to march, a few percent of blacks could vote. They separated whites from blacks. White’s had their own water fountain, bathroom, and other stuff from the blacks. The Voting Rights Act did not help end whites and blacks from being separated, it helped let or give a chance for blacks to have the right to speak freely. The first march that they went on, the marchers did not have any sort of weapon, protection, or anything to keep them safe. The second march, they didn’t have anything again. The third march, they had federal protection. Years later, after the successful march of Selma to Montgomery, there was a historic trail created in 1996. The name of the trail was named, Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail. This trail remembered those who walked just to fight for the rights of African Americans that could not
The Selma marches were marches and protests held in 1965 that are regarded as the peak of the American civil rights movement. They were three marches from Selma to the Alabama capitol of Montgomery. The marches grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, started by locals who formed the Dallas County Voters League. The best known march was the first one, which was named Bloody Sunday due to the response of the officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The Selma Marches led to many advances in the civil rights movement and got the black civil movement really fired up.
they had the same right to vote as everyone else. This was supposed to be the land of opportunity, but for the African-Americans, it was a land of oppression and the only way out was to fight. But, Dr. King’s version of fighting was nonviolent and that is where the African-Americans successfully won the battle in Selma, Alabama. They all found that sense of somebodyness and were able to overcome what the White Americans had convinced them of in the years past.
It was a glorious April 4th evening as Martin Luther King and hundreds of followers were gathering for a civil rights march. Many cheered on as the civil rights leader graciously out step on the second floor balcony of the Motel Lorraine. Roaring cheers rose from the crowd rose up as Martin Luther King stand there waving his arm with his heart warming smile waiting for the uprising taper off so he can continue with his speech. When suddenly a piercing blast broke the noise and the crowd’s cheerful spirit died. A cold chill went through all who were present fore in the back of their minds there was no doubt that their King had just been shot.
The movie Selma is an activist movie that tells the story about the advancement of African American civil rights under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. The movie starts off with four African American girls getting killed by a bomb in a church, set off by the Ku Klux Klan. This was a chaotic event that made a lot of people sad and angry. The movie then switches to Annie Lee Cooper, who is trying to register to vote, but she is denied the right to vote. Martin Luther King Jr. is an activist to make sure that African Americans can be represented in national politics, especially for them to have the right to vote, so he meets with the president to discuss options for making it easier to register. LBJ is very rude in his actions, and tell MLK that he has more important and bigger things to deal with. Dr. King then makes his trek to Selma, Alabama, where he is to meet with activists for the Black Rights Movement. King gets a lot of people to march to the registration office, and they are confronted and treated unfairly by the crowd awaiting them. There are a few people that got arrested from this confrontation which included, Connor, King, and others. The movie then shifts to the governor of Alabama, and how he believes that the movement is bogus. Then a huge assault happens and a man
Recently, there is a spike of historical films being released lately. One of the films is an Academy Award nominee for “Best Picture,” Selma. The film, Selma, is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. The film shows the struggles of the black community face with the blockage of their voting rights and the racial inequality during the civil rights movement. Selma is about civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. heading to the rural Alabama City, Selma, to secure the voting rights for the African American community by having a march to Montgomery. It shows the struggles from what the African American community had to endured during the 1960s. Selma shows a social significance to today’s current events, specifically
On August 28, 1963 more than 250,000 civil-rights supporters attended the March on Washington. Addressing the protesters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Profoundly, he proclaimed for a free nation of equality where all race would join together in the effort to achieve common ground. King stated his yearning for all colors to unite and be judged by character, not by race. African Americans would not be satisfied until their desire for freedom from persecution, bitterness, and hatred prevailed. Not only were the points in his speech powerful, but also the delivery he gave was so persuading and real that it changed the hearts of many people across America. By using four artificial proofs, mythos, logos, ethos, and pathos, Martin Luther King was able to open the eyes of people who were blinded by the color of skin.
The film, Fruitvale Station, is based upon a true story of a young, unarmed African American male, Oscar, who was shot by a Caucasian BART police officer. The film displays the final twenty-fours of Oscar Grant’s lives going through his struggles, triumphs, and eager search to change his life around. There will be an analysis of the sociological aspects displayed throughout the movie that show racism, prejudice, and discrimination.
Garrow, David J. Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. New York: New Haven and London Yale University Press. 1978