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Historical Accuracy Of The Amistad

Decent Essays

The title of the movie is called Amistad, which debuted December 25, 1997 and was directed by Steven Spielberg; the main actors are: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, and Matthew McConaughey; the main purpose of the film is to show how the Amistad Case played a significant role in the start of the Civil War and the hardships of illegal slaves on their passage to be free.
At the beginning of the movie, a slave ship, named La Amistad, transporting illegal slaves from Cuba was conquered by the slaves. Cinque, an illegal slave, demands that the Spanish owners take them back to Africa. At a stop to get water, the ship was discovered by Americans. The slaves were transported to America and thrown in jail. They are trialed for murder. …show more content…

The Amistad Case is about 54 slaves who were illegally captured by the Spanish. Like in the movie, the case went through every court in the U.S. judicial system. The decision to free the illegal slaves, made by the Supreme Court, resulted in some slaves remaining in the States and some returning back to Africa (Archives). As for the historical accuracy, I think it was great, but there were some inaccuracies. Eric Foner, a Columbia University professor, has condemned Amistad for verifiable errors and the deceptive portrayals of the Amistad case as a "defining moment" in the American point of view on slavery. Foner had this to say about the movie’s inaccuracies: “In fact, the Amistad case revolved around the Atlantic slave trade — by 1840 outlawed by international treaty — and had nothing whatsoever to do with slavery as a domestic institution. Incongruous as it may seem, it was perfectly possible in the nineteenth century to condemn the importation of slaves from Africa while simultaneously defending slavery and the flourishing slave trade within the United States. Amistad's problems go far deeper than such anachronisms as President Martin Van Buren campaigning for re-election on a whistle-stop train tour (in 1840, candidates did not campaign), or people constantly talking about the coming Civil War, which lay twenty years in the future” (History …show more content…

I do not think the movie depicted America in the 1800’s well. I have seen an abundance of movies and pictures where the 1800’s looked more realistic than in Amistad. There were special settings that captured my attention. When Cinque was telling the translator about how he was captured, the setting in Africa was unanticipated. I was looking forward to the scene being more along the lines of jungles and wild animals, but instead it looked like a scene from Jamaica. Another scene that caught my attention were the courtroom settings. Having knowledge about the size of older buildings and rooms within those buildings, I knew things were not as spacious as they are now. The movie did a fabulous job of showing that. In the movie, everyone looked compacted into one space and it looked over capacitated. The judge’s stand did not look so superior like it does now. The plaintiff and defendant stands looked like regular tables and desks. The movie did a great job replicating a slave ship. When the slaves were on the ship, their clothing, hair, and props like shackles, weapons, and chains looked realistic. It had an excellent impact to the storyline of the slaves. The clothing worn by the English men, soldiers, and Queen Isabella, were accurate regarding how they dressed in the 1800’s. The way they spoke also gave it a more realistic feel. Having English, Mende, and Spanish spoken throughout the movie made it have a special

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