Running head: FILM AS HISTORY 1
Review of the “Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings 1954-1956”Documentary Name:
Institution Affiliation
FILM AS HISTORY
2
Summary
“E y e s o n t h e P r i c e ” i s a n a w a r d - w i n n i n g d o c u m e n t a r y s e r i e s t h a t i s m a i n l y b a s e d o n t h e civil movements formed in the U.S in the 1950s. “Awakenings”is the first episode of this documentary (Vimeo, 2012). The episode illustrates some of the factors that triggered the African Americans to fight for their civil rights. The African American soldiers felt obliged to fight for equal rights for all in the country after they joined the American troops in the World War 2.
The first incidence illustrated in this movie that triggered the formation of civil movements is the killing of Emmett Till. Emmett Till, who was a boy from the North, was killed for what was deemed as flirting with a white woman (Vimeo, 2012). The white lady’s husband and his half-brother killed the boy by beating him brutally. This
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as it is an illustration of the efforts made by the African-Americans to fight racial segregation in the country. The blacks were subjected to unfair treatment in the U.S especially after the enforcement of the Jim Crow laws. These laws advocated for the separation of blacks from the whites in different institutions including schools (Chafe, Gavins, & Korstad, 2013). The facilities set aside for the blacks were of poor standards compared to those of the whites.
The racial segregation in the U.S led to the killing of Africa Americans who did not abide by the laws made based on the racism. The African Americans started fighting for their civil rights in the 1950s (Button, 2014). This struggle was mainly done in the form of riots. The film clearly illustrates such efforts put in by the African Americans to fight for their civil rights such as the bus riots that are depicted in the first episode of this