Amistad, A Movie Reflection

This post is my reflection paper about the movie "Amistad" in my subject Philosophy of Human Person.

The realities of slavery and human labor were clearly depicted in the movie Amistad. It showed how slaves were gathered and caught, brought in to the market to be sold, and their treatment while on their way to be sold. It was clear that they were not treated as a human being but rather as a material that can be bought and sold to the market and whose owners can do anything to them without them having the right to complain. The movie also showed how, amidst all the conflicts and difficulties, there are still people who want to help them be free. There are still people who care more about the humanity of people and their right to have their own life in their own places.

In the beginning of the movie, we would see the slaves as merciless and cruel because they killed their captors without hesitation. But as the movie progressed and looked back to their experiences before the detention, you would see the reason behind every brutal stab of the slaves. Not only were they treated ruthlessly before, but they were also deprived of the life they may have live. Their loved ones and comrades were killed, others were denied with food, some were raped, and others were thrown to the sea for very irrational reasons. We can see that human labor and human life were not really respected and acknowledged.

For me, the movie Amistad is an eye-opener for many people. It showed us the state of slavery in the past. Slaves were dehumanized for they were deprived of their own lives. They work not for themselves but for other people who did not really care about them. At present, although the word “slaves” is not anymore used to name people who are serving another, the treatment, for some is still the same. There is also injustice in terms of the benefits these so called “slaves” receive. They work hard to gain not only money for themselves but also to serve their employers but sometimes are not given the return for their hard works.

Every person must keep in mind that workers and laborers get things done. Without them, there will be no production and conversion of things from raw to finished and usable things. Their work may be insignificant for others and they may do everything to get a job done and be paid for it but they are still humans trying to live a life. We must respect them and treat their labor as an important and precious part of their life. 

images taken from Google.