Amistad 3
Amistad 3�Who we are, is who we were�, was the persuading point Atty. Baldwin states
reaching into the hearts of the jurors. Telling a story about the intriguing life and life lost of the Mende people. Their ending up in America and the tragedy and violent cruel torture they endured not only on �La Amistad� , but also the treatment they received here in America. Who were these people? Why was it such an issue on whose �property� they were? The time was around 1854, and the progression toward the Civil War had begun.
Stephen Spielberg�s film �The Amistad� is an illustrative tale of history�s
inevitable course. On the surface, Spielberg relates the journey of Cinque and
his people to the Americas. In a larger sense, however, he contrasts a story of
passage to America with its simple values and way of life to the arrival of an
even more savage life and ideas of the civilization from Africa, a story of greater historical significance. The characters are not extensively developed; instead, they are simply presented, even understated at a point. Spielberg�s intent is to draw vivid characterizations and to create objects and characters as symbols with larger meanings.
Power and authority is the first symbol presented in the story. Who had
it in the beginning and who ended up with it in the end. The superior attitude
of the �La Amistad�s� crew and the harsh and cruel treatment of the passengers,
implies how primitive and unrefined society was.
In addition to power and authority, characters were used as symbols.
Treated like objects from the beginning, a metaphor for the ideals and principles of European society. In contrast, blacks traditionally were even more simple than whites because they were viewed merely as objects of possession. Beyond of this simple representation, blacks were also viewed as threats, but they actually protected customs valued by their culture for posterity. Second, the arrival of the ship �La Amistad� brought forth passengers from another world further questioning human rights values supplanting the current mindless values of America. The appearance of the Mende�s in America changed the lives of everyone; from the President of the United States down to the common wealth living in the South.
Attorney Baldwin represented good and true values that had never
existed in society. Entirely underqualified for the case he...
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