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Amistad movie review essay
Critically appraise the abolitionist movement
Introduction of the Abolitionist movement into American politics
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AMISTAD
Amistad is a recreation of the true story about a 1839 slave revolt on a small Spanish schooner, La Amistad, ironically the Spanish word for "friendship." Spielberg does a great job in recreating the Amistad revolt that spurred a series of trials beginning in the lower courts of Connecticut and ultimately ending in the Supreme Court. Events following the revolt raise controversial questions about slavery and freedom. This case not only marks a milestone for Abolitionists in their fight against slavery but it also questioned the natural laws of our Constitution.
Leading up to the trial of the Africans, Spielberg illustrates the horrors the slaves endured as they were captured and taken from their homes. It is very distressing to see the cruelty that was imposed on the slaves as they were captured. The slaves were shackled and chained, then packed in an unsanitary, overcrowded slave ship, and exposed to inhuman treatment, on the Portuguese slaver Tecora as it makes its way through the Middle Passage towards Cuba. Although a third of the slaves died aboard the Tecora before it reached it's destination, those that survived the trip were eventually auctioned into slavery in Havanna, Cuba..
The revolt on the slave ship Amistad resulted in the deaths of the captain and cook of the ship. The Africans did spared the lives of two Spaniards who were needed to help navigate the ship back to Africa. The Africans had control of the Amistad for only a short time before it was seized by the U.S. Army, capturing the Africans and forcing them to face a trial, on charges of murder and mutiny. This trial marked the beginning of a court case that dramatically challenged our judicial system.
The Abolitionists play a big part in the outcome of this trial. Abolitionists to enhance strong public emotion against slavery, begin publicizing the horror stories and brutalities of slavery. They felt sorry for the slaves and with the help of Edward Tappin, an abolitionist leader, they secured the services of an attorney Roger S. Baldwin of Connecticut to defend the Africans. What amazed me, is that even with odds against the Africans, as the judge in the trial, Andrew T. Judson was an opponent of slavery and he was also under pressure by President Van Buren to send the Africans back to Cuba, justice prevailed for the Africans.
Kesey through changing the structure of power in a society showed the similarity between the oppressed and the oppressor. This was a demonstration of the corruption of power, and a push back to the era. It symbolized an era of radical thinking of changing the power structure, but he advocated making all equal. In addition it exemplified the communist views of the era and the oppressive regime of those with absolute control. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest advocates the quest for equality in a time where disparity in power was great.
...upreme Court case was soon lost to history amongst the rest of those entrapped in the institution of slavery.
People often find themselves as part of a collective, following society's norms and may find oneself in places where feeling constrained by the rules and will act out to be unconstrained, as a result people are branded as nuisances or troublemakers. In the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, the author Ken Kesey conveys the attempt McMurphy makes to live unconstrained by the authority of Nurse Ratched. The story is very one sided and helps create an understanding for those troublemakers who are look down on in hopes of shifting ingrained ideals. The Significance of McMurphy's struggles lies in the importance placed on individuality and liberty. If McMurphy had not opposed fear and autocratic authority of Nurse Ratched nothing would have gotten better on the ward the men would still feel fear. and unnerved by a possibility of freedom. “...Then, just as she's rolling along at her biggest and meanest, McMurphy steps out of the latrine ... holding that towel around his hips-stops her dead! ” In the novel McMurphy shows little signs like this to combat thee Nurse. His defiance of her system included
In Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the reader has the experience to understand what it was like to live in an insane asylum during the 1960’s. Kesey shows the reader the world within the asylum of Portland Oregon and all the relationships and social standings that happen within it. The three major characters’ groups, Nurse Ratched, the Black Boys, and McMurphy show how their level of power effects how they are treated in the asylum. Nurse Ratched is the head of the ward and controls everything that goes on in it, as she has the highest authority in the ward and sabotages the patients with her daily rules and rituals. These rituals include her servants, the Black Boys, doing anything she tells them to do with the patients.
In this story it clearly shows us what the courts really mean by freedom, equality, liberty, property and equal protection of the laws. The story traces the legal challenges that affected African Americans freedom. To justify slavery as the “the way things were” still begs to define what lied beneath slave owner’s abilities to look past the wounded eyes and beating hearts of the African Americans that were so brutally possessed.
When it comes to manipulation many view it as a negative aspect in life. Although people view it as a negative aspect, they continue to manipulate words and actions to get what they want. Ken Kesey applied manipulation in the book to reveal the positive and negative sides of manipulation. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a controversial novel that describes the inner workings of a mental institution.
The men in the ward always try to find ways to cope with different problems in their life.Some choose a healthy and more creative way of dealing with their problems. However, some of those men do not have the ability to cope in a constructive manner. In those cases, they destroy the foundation that could uplift them. It can be the cause of someone becoming suicidal, an alcoholic, or a drug abuser. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, McMurphy uses control and manipulation to fill the void of his loneliness and feeling of betrayal.
It is patients’ right to opt for genetic testing on their own DNA, although they are accepting a great risk by doing so. DNA is unique to each individual, present in each individual since conception, and influences who each individual is, so the information contained within it belongs to each patient, despite the risks. Such risks include DNA testing services providing results to potential employers or insurers, who can make decisions at the disadvantage of the patients if high disease probabilities are discovered. The results can also cause patients to react emotionally poorly and make negative changes to their lifestyles. Although risky, patients deserve the rights to take these risks if they choose to do so.
Amistad is about a mutiny in 1839 aboard a slave ship, La Amistad, which eventually comes to port in New England. The West Africans who have commandeered the ship are taken into custody and the plot revolves around who "owns" them or if, indeed, they should be freed. This sets up the main event of the film, a courtroom drama about rights and origins, with the required flashbacks to the voyage and the gruesome conditions aboard the ship. The problem with this approach is that we learn less about the real conditions of slavery and instead focus on the more sanitized conditions surrounding the courtroom. In addition, we get a film which is largely about the efforts of the whites battling the case and much less about the struggles of the Africans themselves.
In July 1839, fifty-four African captives boarded the Amistad and head to the Americas. During their journey, they were able to break free of their chains and take over the ship. Despite their best efforts to sail back to Africa, they were once again captured and put on trial in the United States. Due to the current progress of the abolishment of slave trafficking, all that were captured on the Amistad were set free. However, this was not the fortune of millions of slaves both before and after the Amistad. Thousands of slaves died before making it to the Americas. Due to the cruelty and sanitation issues of the ship, those who did survive the grueling journey had to do so in unlivable conditions. The victims of the Middle Passage suffered ruthless treatment throughout their journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
conditions aboard ship were dreadful. The maximum number of slaves was jammed into the hull, chained to forestall revolts or suicides by drowning. Food, ventilation, light, and sanitatio...
Genetic testing, also known as screening, is a rapidly advancing new scientific field that can potentially revolutionize not only the world of medicine, but many aspects of our lives. Genetic screening is the sequencing of human DNA in order to discover genetic differences, anomalies, or mutations that may prove pathological. As genetic screening becomes more advanced and easily accessible, it presents society with difficult questions that must be asked about the boundaries of science and to what degree we are allowed to tamper with the human genome. To better understand the potential impact of genetic screening on our society, we must examine the potential benefits in comparison to the possible negative impact it may cause. With this knowledge in hand, we can examine what the future holds for this field of study and the best possible direction to take.
...rtunities; The Glass Menagerie holds up the 1930s family crisis of excessive demands in Tom’s family during the recession while in Fences the 1950s family crisis of racial discrimination is presented by Troy Maxon. The difficulties bought by Great Depression in making the wants into reality are demonstrated by Tom in The Glass of Menagerie. The racially segregated society of 1950s is highlighted by the novel Fences trough the struggling life of Troy Maxon and his family. Both the novel shows the struggle caused by social problems in fulfilling their needs and their outcome. The poor families still today does not have the same advantages as the rich resulting in failure to achieve their American Dream. In addition, we argue to be living in an equal society but the differences still exists and how much we try to overcome this bitter truth it tries to be coming back.
12 Years a Slave is a very iconic movie about Solomon Northrup and his being kidnapped into slavery. Northrup was a free man, a professional violinist, and a farmer. After being drugged, he was shipped away from his family and forced to work in New Orleans. During his slavery, he was forced to pick cotton and endure many hardships for 12 years. Eventually, he was freed and returned to his family. The people who captured and enslaved him served no punishment for their crimes since blacks were not allowed to sue white people at that time. Solomon was stripped of all his rights not only as a human, but also as an American and was illegally put into slavery for 12 years.
The film gives an overall accurate picture of these events, though it adds and takes away some pieces of it. The Africans had been captured in Africa, then smuggled into Cuba. At the time the trading of slaves was illegal due to a treaty signed in 1817. The treaty forbid the trading of slaves between Britain and Spain. The mutiny itself occurred in July, 1839 just north of Cuba. La Amistad, the ship they were being carried on, was soon taken captive by them. Those they did not kill were...