The main theme that comes to my mind from our viewing of Amistad is the desensitization to slavery and the humanity the film tries to portray. I realized that even I, as a modern student, have been desensitized to the horrors of slavery through the memorized numbers, historical facts, and the common struggle to make history come alive. It was also surprising to me the amount of desensitization the politicians of that time period were accustomed to. They could look in the faces of slaves and call them property. This film tries to help the viewer find the humanity in the lives of the people in this story, both slaves and freemen, and, in my opinion, it succeeds.
Mankind’s race for power and money was exposed well in both the politicians and the traders. It was almost surprising the completely corrupting effect that money and power have. There were at least four separate claims put to court over the slaves, each politician and tradesman believing they had a right to this “property.” They were each completely desensitized to the human life standing before them. It was only the money they cared for.
The goodness of humanity was represented in the diligence of the attorney fighting for the slaves’ freedom. The attorney, Baldwin, was hired by abolitionists and while he didn’t particularly care about abolition at first, he gave the case the best he had. He struggled to find a way to communicate with Cinque, the “spokesman” for the slaves, and persevered through every loop the prosecution and court threw him. Even when he was persecuted physically and his law practice had practically disappeared, he kept working until he had won the trial. His diligence and perseverance were inspiring.
Even more touching was the humanity represented in Cinque. He was completely humble in being the slaves’ chosen leader, even though they adored him. It was also amazing the amount of culture presented by him. We heard the story of his wife, his culture, his voyage, and we saw in him the sharp difference between the African and white cultures. We saw his desperation for freedom as he broke the chains on the boat and later pleaded for freedom in broken English in the courtroom. When another slave tried to interpret the pictures he saw in a Bible, the story of Christ, however vague, had an influence on him and Cinque, as it does on all truly humble men. This is the essence of humanity.
Humanity was portrayed beautifully in this film, through the lows of corruption, the diligence and goodness of the lawyer, who made the slaves’ cause his own, and the depth of the slaves’ experience. It is a needed shock to the desensitized modern viewer and an inspiration for the cause of liberty for all people and all nations.
