Molina, Steven Joseph U.
BSN24
Character and Citizenship Education
MOVIE REFLECTION
The movie “Amistad” directed by Steven Spielberg was based on a true story of a group
of Africans that were abducted and sold as slaves. Upon watching the movie, I was confused and
surprised on why it started with brutality and killings between the African group and the Spaniards.
But as the movie slowly goes by, I gradually found out that the movie was all about slavery. The
movie revealed the dark history of slavery which is one of the most horrifying phenomena of our
world back in the past and still continue to exist until now in some cases. It was shown in the
movie that the group of Africans that were kidnapped from the British colony of Sierra Leone was
to be sold in the hands of Americans illegally. It was mentioned by one of the characters named
Sherman Baldwin that the African captives were initially boarded in the slave ship called Tecora
which is believed to be a cargo belonging to Portuguese. From that ship, a lot of sufferings,
persecution and even death of other members of the African captives who were treated as slaves
happened. In that scene, I literally felt miserable and at the same time felt extremely mad as to
why there are people who practice this very inhumane act and I think and wonder of what the
reason behind they do it which is very unnatural and literally taking away of someone’s legal rights
or freedom in life.
Slavery makes an individual human being converted into some kind of consumer item
while treated as property of another person. This ancient phenomenon has done a lot of damage
to many people, destroying their fate, and taking away their lives. Most of the people that are
being treated and suffer from being slaves are the poor people, marginalized social groups and
the most vulnerable. Ignorance of one’s right and fear are one of the main reasons why these
people suffer and do not have the courage to take a stand and speak out. Slavery might involve
an individual’s race, religion, nationality and/or ethnic background. For such things, slave owners
think that they could easily deny the basic human rights of their slaves. In relation to the movie,
there have been an evident racial discrimination and injustice of group of Africans as they are
mostly the victim of slavery and it was shown in the movie that a lot of them were imprisoned in
the Lomboko, Sierra Leone.
Moreover, it was also revealed in the movie that there was an act of hiding the evidence
of the crime that happened in the slave ship. Baldwin showed the evidence that there were
reductions of African people taken as slaves into only a number of fifty people. In relation to that,
the Royal Navy’s fervent abolitionist Captain Fitzgerald had mentioned that some slaves’ ships
interdicted do as to get rid of the evidence of their crime. In such a manner, it shows how cruel
and inhuman the people of that slave ship are to hide their crime which clearly violates human
rights of a person of both freedom and truth. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in spirit of
brotherhood.” It only means that all humans are equal, thus neither one is superior, nor one is
entitled to use a person as a “thing” or treat a person as a slave. We must respect the freedom
and rights of one another and treat them as people and not an animal. When human rights
violations have already been committed, we should help to restore the dignity of the victims. It is
then very crucial to pay tribute to those victims of slavery because despite of the cruelty they still
manage to remain kind and humble. Towards the end of the movie, I felt so relieved and happy
for the African people that they finally got their freedom against the oppressors and eventually the
slave fortress was then destroyed through Captain Fitzgerald who favored the side of the African
people and testified to the tragic situation they went through. Also, for the people who helped and
also understand the side of the African group, Sherman Baldwin, John Quincy Adams, Theodore
Joadson, Lewis Tappan, and other people who are involved to finally get the freedom that the
Africans deserve. These abolitionists are great examples of a good leader and a role model
because they understand and show that every person has the right of freedom. The movie gave
us an enlightenment that justice should be served for every person regardless of what race,
religion, ethnicity, and nationality they are, and slavery issue is very unlawful act and should not
be tolerated. In addition, it also encourages the poorest to speak out and know that human rights
is not a privilege and simply a fundamental right which is entitled for every person.