SELMA

[maikuu]

Barack and Michelle Obama lead a 50 Year Commemorative March Across the Edmund Pettus Bridge

ObamaEdmundPettuss.jpg (258.01 KiB) Viewed 2875 times

[Nicole_Shan]

I remember this film was enter The Oscars 87th Academy Awards The best picture finalist, and this film also was the only one I didn't have to watch in 87th Oscars because the films type of political that is not interesting for me. When I watched this film in our class I also felt confused sometimes, I didn’t understand many sentences and hard to know the background. Even though, I really want to know a lot of American culture and history that is very important when we studied in the U.S.

Back to this film, I think many international students, include me, we just know “I have a dream” about Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. This film is the story after speech “I have a dream”. Dr. Martin was lead African Americans from Selma march to Montgomery that for equal voting of people who own black skin. In this film, a lot of ordinary people have given me moving. The man 82 years old who lost his son in the procession; So many non-African Americans join in the struggle because when these people saw newspaper they against government violence to blacks. I have watched film call “The Help”, is talk about the same thing, the story of young white woman help black maids. Martin wife Coretta who is a great woman because she has always suffer in silence support her husband for everything. Compared to these people, Dr. Martin also an ordinary person, in this struggle everyone should be hero in history.

When I watched this film, I still would prefer "Birdman" to be a winner in 87th Oscars.

[siyu1012]

When watching Selma, most of time I felt very depressed. The second march and its background music deeply impressed me. When I saw the Negroes were brutalized by the white troop on the bridge, I felt desperate and angry. I couldn’t understand how a group of people could do so to another group when the latter merely asked for what they deserved. I could see why many non-African Americans decided to join in the struggle for black voting right. After watching what the black were experiencing and suffering, I believe people would realize that the black and the white are the same in nature.

In Selma, I saw an imperfect but respectable Martin Luther King. As a human being, sometimes he felt tired of his responsibility and all the stress he had to take, but King never gave up what he fought for. When the Negroes couldn’t persuade the President to support them, the black leadership decided to lead a non-violent march from Selma to Montgomery to protest and amplify. I’m sure that King could foresee that there would be blood and tears, but he had to let people sacrifice because he knew it was the only way to get society’s attention and force the authority to strike down the voting restrictions.

Before the last speech in this movie, King said, “I’m not focusing on what I want today. I’m focusing on what God wants”. This line made me moved. The movie ends in high spirits, but the struggle didn’t end. Though many people suffer from racial discrimination, fortunately, there are more people fighting to eliminate it.

[Miyu]

I saw the Selma which is my first time. This movie told me the history of between white people and black people.

The black people decided to march to demand freedom and right of vote. However, in the first march white governors prevented the demonstration with what kind of hand and suppress black people by military power. This scene made me sad because white governors attacked violently and terribly even though same humans.

A lot of non-African Americans joined the struggle for black people's vote because the media such as newspapers, TV, and radio reported pictures and photos about first struggle. I thought that many non-African Americans were deeply impressed this news so they joined the struggle and march with black people.

Dr.King's public speaking was the best speech to catch the people. Also his thoughts of nonviolence is very good to show the opinion that never obey. This nonresistance often took a lot of heat but this action moved world public opinions finally. I thought that Dr. King is very important parson of the world.

[amroalsanousi]

Selma is great,it sends a lot of positive ideas. The movie is about a real story in the past, black people cannot vote. Black people want to vote for president, but white people were bad attituding with black people. This movie shows no racism toward black people. I like the movie, i recommend it to my friends.

[YihanLiu]

When watching the part of the first march, I was really shocked. In China, I mean before the People's Republic of China was established, there used to be a lot of marches. Some of them were organized by students, some of them were organized by workers. They argued, shouted, waved the slogan to fight for their rights, or fight for the peace. However, this first march in the movie was silent. No talking, even no eye contact between people. They were just moving forward with their eyes looking ahead firmly. The rudeness for the peaceful march was unbelievable.

Actually, the conversation between the president and the governor was worthy of reflection. "You just can never satisfy them." The governor said. He was afraid of greediness of the black. However, it was not the black, everyone had greediness deep in their heart. It was a natural. People would like to live better life so they keep working. They never satisfied with the current situation and they work to appease the fire of greediness. We should employ it instead of being afraid of it.

We all struggle for a better life.

[Miyoung]

This movie is the story about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When I'd first come to LA, I heard about him in the RWG class. And I know that American designated on third Monday of January as the holiday for him.

The movie didn't have the scene that he was murdered from someone, but it depicted very well their parade. The march took place as a protest against the mistreatment of black people in the United States. Also in the movie, it show black racial discrimination directly. And then, it's depicted protest scene about the United States government.

I was very impressed that police officers attack black people without justification and they repressed strongly from protesters. It shouldn't have occurred this happened. While I was watching this movie, I couldn't put up with their violence. In addition, he received death threat while his lives. I was impressed that he sacrificed himself that endured persecution, pain from white people.

His famous sayings will never be forgotten. "I have a dream."

[Joshua]

deHi! Mike, and every classmate, I am Joshua.
I think the black leadership decided to march from Selma to Montgomery to go fight for the right to vote and the equality of the black people.

the reason why the white people in Alabama os fearful of the black to vote is that if the black get the right to vote they can change the officer in the government and then change the policy in Alabama, which is what they don't want to see. They have the black people to be interior to the white people, they discriminate the black people, they don't think they are able to vote.

Many white people decided to join the march for the black people to vote is because they see the scene in the TV. the white people hit the protester without any reason. But this is not they want. Some white people think they are superior to the black people, they are more educated than the black people. but why the white people are the more savage side in the pretest? They think they have to stand up to help them speak. Other people think that the black people is equal with the white people, they "can" vote, they protest for their right, for what they should have. but what they got is the injury, which is not reasonable. So they decided to help them.

[chihyi]

Even though I have learned more about the extraordinary and famous civil right leader, Martin Luther King, I still can not help but be moved when watching the film. The march gave much more meanings for the black people and they deeply realized that they have tried their best.

They did not hurt anyone, did not put others in danger, or prevented others exercising their freedom. They only fought for the right of voting but there were not only a lot of obstacles but also forcing them to give up. Beside, some said that they did not deserve to be there and distorted them. In order to make their dream com true, the black leadership decide to march from Selma to Montgomery. It is a long walk to go forward to the truth and freedom.

The reason why so many non-African Americans joined in the struggle for black voting rights is the power of the mass media. Through the mass media, more and more people were aware of the event and realized how cruel the government treated black people.

There are still a variety of inequality around the world, such as gender. The film reminds us that we should pay more attention to each other and the society. Do not take anything for granted. Like Martin Luther King and others in the film, we should stay true to what we believe in.

[ZiyuZhang]

Talking about Martin Luther King, our first thought is always that famous “I have a dream”. Selma, however, doesn’t talk much about this most symbolic speech. In the long road towards equality, “dream” is only a concept and one speech cannot represent the whole historical process. As the wheel of history rolls on, we have no idea how many people have sacrificed how much to push that wheel move forward in a correct direction.

In this movie, we can see a non-traditional image of Martin Luther King--not a perfect leader, but merely an ordinary human being just like you and me. Faced with difficulties, Dr. King will also get confused and make mistakes. He sometime is also vulnerable, not always a strong and unbreakable civil rights fighter.

Also, as a historical drama film, rather than focusing on Dr. King only, Selma tends to weaken individual heroism and depicts a big picture of a group of African-American fighters, so that we can understand how the whole Black Power Movement goes through.

In the whole movie, what impresses me most is their first effort to march across the Alabama river. Only two rows of African Americans participated in this march, unarmed, and tried to walked across the bridge. They walked in silence, but steadily and directly towards the troops. The first try ended up with brutal crackdown.

Based on previous experiences, I believe, many of them had already anticipated this outcome. But why they still decided to march? I think, maybe those black people just wanted to use their flesh and blood to let the world know what they were suffering from and what they were fighting for. In this part, slow motion of bleeding, running, falls and quiet scream--together with perfect background music--really leave me a deep impression and tears also.