Introduction
Slavery is one of the most controversial and critical parts of the history of the United States of America, which is often reflected in the films, books, and series. Nonetheless, the publications and videos tend to portray the situation from one side only without being capable of delivering the overall picture of cruelty. Slavery by Another Name is the film, which addresses the negative attitudes towards the black men and women while using them as slaves for an extended period in history by displaying the unknown and unpleasant parts of the actions of the American government and business segments (Slavery by Another Name).
Meanwhile, the film tends to depict that slavery continued to exist after the Civil War and its expected abolishment related to the Emancipation Proclamation (Slavery by Another Name). To assure the existence of the social and historical support, the movie is presented in the form of the documentary and can be viewed by an extended audience to spread awareness about the drawbacks of slavery, intolerance, and racism among the representatives of different generations. Based on the information provided above, the core clues, which define the selected audience, are related to Slavery by Another Name’s narrative and its ability to explain the situation profoundly with the examples from history while using understandable language. The dramatic image and comprehensive language are the critical elements to assure the delivery of the message to the young generation and to expand their knowledge about the topic, as the aspects presented in the film are vital for the development of tolerance in the modern world.
Analysis
As it was mentioned earlier, Slavery by Another Name is displayed in the form of the documentary while focusing on the critical points of the history related to the continuation of slavery (Slavery by Another Name). The genre of the film allows depicting the issue of slavery from dissimilar perspectives by referring to the historical documents, personal stories, and opinions of the historians. Nonetheless, it follows the historical flow of events while supporting the facts with the images from real life. Firstly, the movie portrays the devastating truth about the active usage of forced labor and slavery by governmental and social services until the Second World War (Slavery by Another Name).
Nonetheless, slavery was not the core issue, but the lack of recognition of the rights of the African-Americans led to the increased arrests of this social segment without any associations with crime (Slavery by Another Name). Any sights of disobedience were viewed as a crime and were highly punishable by the authorities. Meanwhile, the governmental entities could not afford to have an increased amount of black prisoners and utilized them as forced and illegal labor to pay back the debt (Slavery by Another Name).
To support the historical events in the context of the presented film, the narrative is portrayed by referring to the stories of the African-Americans, who experienced forced labor mistreatment or were arrested without no rationale. In this case, Davies, who is one of the characters, is an owner of the plantation and is involved in the sales and trade network (Slavery by Another Name). Nonetheless, he opposes and has a negative attitude towards the forced labor, and his actions help to reveal the participation of John Pace in the debt slavery (Slavery by Another Name). In turn, Slavery by Another Name tells a story of Archey, who is a prisoner convicted of questionable crimes during the historical period covered in the film (Slavery by Another Name).
His impact on the rules of the prisons cannot be unnoticed, as his letter to the inspector of prisons contributes to the reformation of the prison’s regime while increasing the comfortability for the inmates (Slavery by Another Name). Furthermore, Cottenham portrays the story of his grandfather, who is forced to work at mines (Slavery by Another Name).
Furthermore, the interviews of the trusted historians are utilized to support the film with the opinions regarding the topic, as they have a tendency to discover slavery flow dissimilar perspectives while depicting the complexity of this social phenomenon. Meanwhile, the author of the original book, which is the basis for the script for the film, also participates in storytelling, as he experienced the difficulties of the integration of blacks and whites and tended to contribute to the profound understanding of the issue (Slavery by Another Name).
Based on the information and the description of the plot presented above, it could be assumed that the core purpose of the film is to expand knowledge and reveal the unknown details related to this dark period in the history of the African-Americans, as the movie has a tendency to portray the harmful nature of the forced labor.
It is apparent that not all of the American citizens are aware of the issues, which are discussed in the film, and these stories have to be presented to cultivate the importance of tolerance, freedoms, and the recognition of rights in the modern society. In turn, the film aims at delivering the information that the government is a critical cultivator of the situation, and its actions can be associated with the violation of the human rights and freedoms, which were presented in the Emancipation Proclamation.
Consequently, the movie tends to depict the complexity of slavery in the United States of America by portraying the involvement of governmental, business, and social segments in the trade while clarifying the biased opinions delivered by media. A combination of the factors mentioned above forms a critical understanding of the overall image of the American history and the country’s involvement in the support of slavery while highlighting the importance of the historical events for the formation of a clear understanding of the topic.
Conclusion
Lastly, it remains evident Slavery by Another Name has a vehement association with the course, as it covers the most important aspects related to the history of the United States of America and African-American studies. The topic of slavery has been highly discussed as a critical theme of the course, as it has a vehement impact on the recognition of the rights of the black men and women and difficulties associated with intolerance and racism in the modern world. It remains evident that the studies tend to describe the issues from the historical perspective with the elements of social norms connected to a particular historical period, but the overall perception is biased by media.
Meanwhile, the film contributes to the discovery of the important details related to this segment. In this case, the movie has a tendency to provide a profound understanding of the historical reasoning behind slavery while referring to the participation of different social segments. Slavery by Another Name discusses the critical points related to the history of the United States of America and determines its crucial correlation to the African-American studies. In the end, it could be said that the examples and stories presented in the film affect the understanding of the importance of the topic related to slavery positively while depicting the involvement of the government in the illegal slave trade while changing the perception of the issue, and this matter is the primary rationale for the selection of the movie in the context of the course.
Work Cited
Slavery by Another Name. Ex. Prod. Sam Pollard. Arlington: PBS. 2012. DVD.