When it comes to deal with racial issues, Hollywood has most of the time treated the question with embarrassment and this is certainly due to the not so pretty slavery period that is related to American history. Thus, most movies won't show the real face of slavery and what slaves had to endure during the time they spent in captivity but instead they will tell stories about how slavery came to be abolished or how some people, often white, would fight for the equality between whites and blacks even when their lives were threatened by those to whom slave trading and slavery in general benefited. The movie "Amistad" is full of scenes that can reinforce my statement but I chose to talk about one specific scene I particularly found controversial which is referred to as "the Bible scene".
"Amistad" is one of the many hit movies directed by the famous director Steven Spielberg. The movie takes place in 1839 and tells the story of fifty-three Africans who after being kidnapped and sold into slavery, revolted, broke free and finally took control of the slave ship transporting them. Those Africans will be later captured and imprisoned by an American ship when sailing near the American coast. The action of the movie takes mainly place during the two years of juridical battles that came after the slaves were imprisoned. Those court room battles were about who should have possession of the slaves. While some abolitionists were trying to convince the judge that the slaves should be set free because of illegal capture, we see many parties such as the Spanish crown claiming the possession of the slaves. .
The scene I decided to talk about is a scene during which a slave named Yamba tries to interpret for his friend, Cinque, a bible he was given by a priest. Basing his suppositions on the drawings in the Bible, Yamba tells Cinque all the story of the Gospel and it's the choice of using some sentences such as "Their people have suffered more than ours.