Slavery in the United States

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While watching both Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind they both did well showing slavery but from different aspects. Since they were made at different times the viewer could easily pick up on the different viewpoints on the issues for the time that the film was made. The other two films we watch Spartacus and Burn! were films that were released 20 to 30 years after Gone with the Wind and were released during the height of the Civil Rights movement. With another big gap between the movies the viewer would also be able to easily pick up on the changing viewpoints of slavery in the United States. Both films show an uprising which is very similar to what was going on during the Civil Rights movement. People were standing up for what they believe in.

Spartacus is a film based off a slaved named Spartacus who eventually ends up becoming the leader of the rebel army. The film shows that if you get the right group of people together who want to fight for the same cause then you will be successful and do everything you can to be able to achieve what is possible. That was what was going on during this time in the United States. Spartacus was somewhat based off a true story but releasing the film during this time was making a statement for what was going on in the United States. They took an older story from history and applied it to current issues going on. I do not really know if it influence any of the civil rights leaders but it really made American’s think about what was going on. It put the idea in their head that the African-Americans were fighting for what they believed in and that they were not going to stop fighting for what they want. They deserved what they were fighting for and they were going to do everything they could to achieve the goal they were going for. A good example in the film would have been the scene during the battle with the Roman army. They knew they were defeated but Spartacus convinces his men to die fighting. After they were defeated by Crassus’s forces the Romans tried to locate the rebel leader, Spartacus, but every surviving man shields him and shouts “I’m Spartacus!” They wanted to protect their leader at all costs and they did everything they could and ended up getting crucified for it. Spartacus is eventually found and crucified also.

Burn! was a similar movie in the sense of a revolt. It was done in a different way though and it was mainly to benefit Britain. Walker was sent by the British government to entice someone to over throw the Portuguese rule on the island so Britain can have control over it. The rebels were fighting for what they believe in. When the British army came in they could care less about any of the villagers they were killing. They just went to a mass killing rampage to try and stop the revolution from happening because it was hurting them. They treated them like scum and instead of letting a little island live how they were they did everything they could to take over. Just so they could get capital gain from the island. There is a dialogue during the film and it says “Freedom is not something somebody gives you. It is something you take for yourself.” This is a very powerful quote and really symbolized what was going on in the film. It is also a good quote for what was going on during the time in America with the Civil Rights movement. This film was made in 1969 which was right after the Civil Rights act of 1968 was passed. They fought for what they believed and took what was theirs. If they did not stand up for themselves who knows what would have happened and how the United States would be today.

All the films that we watched were made in a span of 55 years. It was very interesting to see how the viewpoints in America were changing and you could see that during the films. Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind were more focused on slavery and the issues regarding that. Burn! And Spartacus still had slavery in the films but it was not the main point. Both of those films were more focused on telling the story of a revolution. All the films presented the slaves as unhappy. Some portrayed that more than others but it was still there. In Burn! The slaves/villagers were seen as nothing and were just killed for Britain’s economic gain. Most of the films also show that the slaves were not adapting to society very well. That was very prevalent in Burn! During the attempted “rape” scene. Birth of a Nation and Burn! were both very racist films and were both hard to watch at points on how the slaves were treated. These films all made a big impact in American society. They were all highly acclaimed films and received very well by the audiences. They presented the issues to the standards of the time and I feel that they actually did very well presenting the viewpoints. It’s sad to think that even 50 years after slaves were freed that they were still viewed in the way that they were viewed in Burn!

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