Slavery is one of the world’s darkest practices that were practiced in different parts of the world. Africans, African Americans, Indians, South Asians, and Koreans have faced humiliation, disrespect, embarrassment, and bad behavior at the hand of the power that mainly included Americans, English, and Dutch. Slavery has been practiced in different parts of the world for hundreds of years. This led to problems like hunger, famine, displacement of communities, mass exodus, migration, and discrimination that breathes even today in various parts of the world in some way or another. We may turn a blind eye to it or become more aware of it.
While slavery has been abolished by the law in every part of the world, one person’s mentality is above or beneath another individual still exists. The only way to deal with it is by acknowledging it. It is almost impossible to fathom that such a horrific mass-scale crime was practiced without any shame at the behest of those controlling the power. What’s even more shocking is that the practice of slavery wasn’t abolished immediately after independence from colonization. For countries like America, it took a Civil War to shake those at the helm’s conscience and get rid of this malpractice.
The United States is one of the countries where slavery was practiced on a large scale, and the divide between the Whites and Blacks is still visible to some extent. We get to know about this from books, movies, and series on OTT platforms like Netflix. To make you more aware of the malpractice, we’ve prepared a list of the 6 best movies on American slavery.
Gone With The Wind:
Released in 1939, the movie is an adaptation of the same name’s novel. Set in the Civil War era, the film is suited to shake the conscience of the viewers. The movie shows Scarlett O’Hara, the daughter of a Georgia-based plantation owner who is determined to fight society’s norms. The movie also shows an angle of a male dominating society that Hara is determined to rise above. The movie directed by Victor Fleming was a huge success at that time.
Glory:
The historical war drama has been directed by Edward Zwick. The movie was released in 1989 and portrays the legendary 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army. The iconic movie stars Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, and Morgan Freeman, and Matthew Broderick. The movie tells the story of the courageous Black soldiers who are not considered to be good soldiers. It is a story of grit, self-determination, courage, and self-belief. The movie also highlights the story of the pay gap between White soldiers and Black soldiers.
Lincoln:
The first thing that comes to mind after hearing the word Lincoln is the great nation of America. The historical drama that hit the theatres in 2012 has been produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. Daniel Day plays the role of former US President Abraham Lincoln. The movie narrates the story of Lincoln’s last four months in the office. While Lincoln is the central character in the movie, it is largely about America’s war against the ill practice of slavery. It depicts Lincoln’s efforts to get the 13th Amendment passed by the US House of Representatives. The movie also depicts the White’s reluctance at the helm to grant an equal status and freedom to Black/African people.
Slavery By Another Name:
The title of the movie does justice to the story and the message behind it. It is a documentary based on the novel of the same name penned by Douglas Blackmon. The movie has been directed by Samuel Pollard. The documentary shows the practice of slavery existing in American society even decades after its abolition by law. The documentary reveals how the Southern United States’ legal system was misused to trap newly freed slaves back into the forced service’s swamp.
The Birth Of a Nation:
The movie sends out a lasting impression starting from its title. The American-Canadian drama is based on the true story of Nat Turner, the rebel slave from Southampton City, Virginia. The movie is a story of the rebellion dating back to August 1831. Nat being the only educated slave decides to gather followers after seeing White people’s atrocities against the Blacks. Directed by DW Griffith, the movie released in 2016 is a story of courage, hope, and fight back.
Django Unchained:
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained is a movie about revenge. While it is a really entertaining film, Django Unchained has elements of racism, sexism, racial abuse, violence, drugs, rapes, and all the evil in society. The movie tells Django Freeman’s story, a slave who is freed by a German bounty hunter. The film takes a turn when Freeman and the German bounty hunter travel together to free the slave’s wife.