Racism In The Movie Amistad

Steven Spielberg’s film, Amistad (1997) illustrates the saga of an 1839 mutiny aboard the slave ship ‘La Amistad’. The Africans who were illegally traded as slaves were accused of piracy and murder of their Spanish captors when they revolted and captured the ship. The film focuses on courtroom drama as lawyers who are against slavery fight for the freedom of these slaves. A highlight of the movie would be the middle passage. Conditions and tortures the slaves experienced during the middle passage was well depicted. However, there were inaccurate representation of people involved, inaccurate content and omission of certain content. Therefore, Steven Spielberg’s film, Amistad (1997), is not an adequate dramatization depicting the Atlantic slave

First, Steven Spielberg did not reveal the racist side of Judge Andrew Judson who declared the Africans free men instead of Cuban slaves. Judson used to be against helping the blacks. In 1833, Prudence Crandall, a lady who believed in educating African American, announced the opening of a school for African American girls. However, “Judson spoke against the school and declared that blacks in the United States should either be sent to Africa “or kept as they are.” He even urged the state legislature to pass an act prohibiting schools for African Americans who were not residents of the state.” He also has a stand that the blacks should not be considered citizens under the Constitution and should not be given the rights of white citizens, even if they were legally free. These were not revealed in the film which made it seemed like Judson was a kind-hearted man who was keen on helping the slaves get their freedom, hence making it seemingly easy to win the 2nd trial. In addition, the entire Amistad case trial lasted for 2 years from 1839 to 1841. During this period of 2 years, the Africans were kept behind bars since they had not been declared free men. There was no indication of the dates in the film which might have made the audience think that the trials did not last for so long. Moreover, the film did not show the actual happenings between after the final verdict and before the Africans got sent back to their homeland. It was simplified so much that it appeared as if the Africans were sent back almost immediately after they were released as free men. In reality, President Van Buren refused to provide a ship to bring them back to Africa. As a result, the Amistad Committee took full responsibility for the Africans. Funds were raised by conducting a speaking tour in the Northern states. The Africans displayed their