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Roots of Resistance Essay

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Film Analysis: Roots of Resistance a Story of the Underground Railroad In the movie Roots of Resistance a Story of the Underground Railroad, the filmmaker makes some very strong points. He made the movie in a way that portrays his specific opinion and views on the Underground Railroad. If a viewer didn't know what the movie was about they may have guessed it would have been a very different kind of movie based on the title. After watching the movie in its entirety you realize that the movie was made to generate a very different view on the Underground Railroad. In this movie the idea behind the Underground Railroad is that it was solely in the control of the slaves. From other sources (elementary and high school text books) we grow up …show more content…

Ancestors can only tell of what they've been told, and sometimes it isn't the whole story or the truth. But there are no records of the Underground Railroad and so estimates from ancestors and historians are all that can be contrived to come up with an idea of what really happened on and away from the plantations. Religion played a rather small but significant role in the slave community. The film talked of how slaves would gather on Sunday's in the woods where they would have secret religious meetings. They would pray, sing songs and create an uplifting attitude that would give them hope and often encourage them to make it through another day. Slave owners were uneasy at the idea of these meetings. They saw these meetings as chances for slaves to congregate and plan to escape. They also didn't like the bible being taught to slaves because they were afraid that the bible might encourage slaves to realize they were being oppressed and inspire them to revolt. In David Walker's Appeal he talks of precisely what the slave owners where fearful of. He discusses how slaves are treated far worse than any other people in history, how no where in the bible before has anyone ever been treated and thought of as not apart of the human race and he even tells slaves "Never make an attempt to gain our freedom or natural right, from under our cruel oppressor, and murderers, until you see your way clear [6]--when that hour arrives and you move, be not afraid or

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