Marxist Analysis Of Selma

Ruth Boro

Professor Hernandez

English 1302-71701

November 16, 2016

A Marxist Analysis of the film, Selma.

Selma is a 2014 historical drama movie, written by Paul Webb and directed by Ava Duvernay, based on the events that took place in Selma to Montgomery in 1965 when African Americans were protesting and fighting for their legal right to vote. The marches were led by Martin Luther King, Jr and John Lewis. According to an article by Daniel D’addario, "the film examines a pivotal period in the last four years of King’s life,” (2015). According to Henry David Thoreau, “all men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.”

One of the most remarkable scenes in the movie is when King, together with other activists, and black citizens march to the registration office to register. The protestors are not scared or worried about the consequences and are passionately willing to firmly face the consequences. The protestors show a lot of courage and endurance. A confrontation occurs in front of the courthouse between the police and the protestors and one of the activists, Cooper knocks the Jim Clark, the sheriff, to the ground and this led to the arrest of some protestors including Martin Luther King,

James Rebb, a white American is one of the people who join the protestors and he is later killed by a white mob in Selma. Judge Johnson approved the marches and they pay off because the president spoke to congress and wanted the bill allowing black citizens to vote passed and he commended the courage of the people involved in the marches. As the film ends, King addresses the protestors and gives a speech on the steps of the State Capitol, after the marchers complete the Selma to Montgomery march. According to James Deutsch, “instead of a straight on close-up, the camera is placed at a low angle, which increases the significance and status of the subject,”