amistad film critique essay
In the 1830s and 1840s, the meaning of freedom to Americans differed from person to person just as much as it does today. It varied from being a white male who owned property who was very stuck in his idea of freedom, which meant political power and being allowed to do almost anything he could imagine. Black slaves who had no freedom had their own idea also. They dreamed of one day realizing his or her idea of freedom, which was to not be a slave. Along with freedom came the issue of equality. Even thought the two are completely different, they played a part in defining one another. In the 1830s and 1840s blacks were not thought of as being equal to white Europeans and so were not given freedom in some places. They were thought more of as property and certainly you can’t free your gun or your house. So how could you free a slave? It was pretty much a messed up way of thinking back then, but it was all they knew. People can and do change. Changes in how people thought was evident in the movie Amistad. Cinque the chosen spokesman for the Africans had a vivid real idea of freedom.