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That is part of the message proclaimed by Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) referring to the obstruction of voting rights of African-Americans in Selma back in the 1960s. "Boycotting the buses in Montgomery. Segregation in Birmingham. Now? Voting in Selma", he says. And the struggle goes on and on. 60 years later, and unfortunately the struggle continues.
Selma follows the events surrounding the voting rights marches led by King in the titular city. The film manages to put the spotlight on many issues that are not necessarily known, at least by someone who is not from the US, regarding the civil rights violations against African-Americans at the time. Sure, laws have been passed, but most of the obstacles continue; from unfair voting registration requirements and stubborn officials hell-bent on segregation to the bureaucracy of the upper echelons of government.
Director Ava DuVernay manages to juggle both the socio-political struggle of the marches with the personal struggles of King, and the toll it takes on his family life. Oyelowo is excellent in the role, along with Carmen Ejogo, who plays Coretta Scott King. The cast is rounded out by Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson and Tim Roth as Georgia Governor George Wallace, among many others.
As I was putting this film, I knew I would be pissed, and I was right. And I supposed it's good to be pissed at these injustices that happened. But what pisses me off more is that they're still happening. One struggle ends just to go right to the next and the next. Just the day before I saw this film, I was reading some dumb Karen going on a racist rant on Twitter just because a black coach lost his temper and hit his white counterpart. "Let's talk about how blacks are so prone to violence... see the entire continent of Africa", she said, among many other senseless rants.
And that is just a small snapshot of one small person in a deep pool of racism and hatred that still floods every corner of society, politics, business, and whatnot. "What happens when a man says enough is enough?", says King at one point. 60 years later, we're still finding out that not much has changed, and the struggle goes on and on.
Grade:
SELMA
(2014, DuVernay)
A film with an African-American cast
(2014, DuVernay)
A film with an African-American cast
"One struggle ends just to go right to the next and the next."
That is part of the message proclaimed by Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) referring to the obstruction of voting rights of African-Americans in Selma back in the 1960s. "Boycotting the buses in Montgomery. Segregation in Birmingham. Now? Voting in Selma", he says. And the struggle goes on and on. 60 years later, and unfortunately the struggle continues.
Selma follows the events surrounding the voting rights marches led by King in the titular city. The film manages to put the spotlight on many issues that are not necessarily known, at least by someone who is not from the US, regarding the civil rights violations against African-Americans at the time. Sure, laws have been passed, but most of the obstacles continue; from unfair voting registration requirements and stubborn officials hell-bent on segregation to the bureaucracy of the upper echelons of government.
Director Ava DuVernay manages to juggle both the socio-political struggle of the marches with the personal struggles of King, and the toll it takes on his family life. Oyelowo is excellent in the role, along with Carmen Ejogo, who plays Coretta Scott King. The cast is rounded out by Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson and Tim Roth as Georgia Governor George Wallace, among many others.
As I was putting this film, I knew I would be pissed, and I was right. And I supposed it's good to be pissed at these injustices that happened. But what pisses me off more is that they're still happening. One struggle ends just to go right to the next and the next. Just the day before I saw this film, I was reading some dumb Karen going on a racist rant on Twitter just because a black coach lost his temper and hit his white counterpart. "Let's talk about how blacks are so prone to violence... see the entire continent of Africa", she said, among many other senseless rants.
And that is just a small snapshot of one small person in a deep pool of racism and hatred that still floods every corner of society, politics, business, and whatnot. "What happens when a man says enough is enough?", says King at one point. 60 years later, we're still finding out that not much has changed, and the struggle goes on and on.
Grade: