Amistad 3

Who we are, is who we were , was the persuading point Atty. Baldwin states

reaching into the hearts of the jurors. Telling a story about the intriguing life and life lost of the Mende people. Their ending up in America and the tragedy and violent cruel torture they endured not only on La Amistad , but also the treatment they received here in America. Who were these people? Why was it such an issue on whose property they were? The time was around 1854, and the progression toward the Civil War had begun.

Stephen Spielberg s film The Amistad is an illustrative tale of history s

inevitable course. On the surface, Spielberg relates the journey of Cinque and

his people to the Americas. In a larger sense, however, he contrasts a story of

passage to America with its simple values and way of life to the arrival of an

even more savage life and ideas of the civilization from Africa, a story of greater historical significance. The characters are not extensively developed; instead, they are simply presented, even understated at a point. Spielberg s intent is to draw vivid characterizations and to create objects and characters as symbols with larger meanings.

Power and authority is the first symbol presented in the story. Who had

it in the beginning and who ended up with it in the end. The superior attitude

of the La Amistad s crew and the harsh and cruel treatment of the passengers,

implies how primitive and unrefined society was.

In addition to power and authority, characters were used as symbols.

Treated like objects from the beginning, a metaphor for the ideals and principles of European society. In contrast, blacks traditionally were even more simple than whites because they were viewed merely as objects of possession. Beyond of this simple representation, blacks were also viewed as threats, but they actually protected customs valued by their culture for posterity. Second, the arrival of the ship La Amistad brought forth passengers from another world further questioning human rights values supplanting the current mindless values of America. The appearance of the Mende s in America changed the lives of everyone; from the President of the United States down to the common wealth living in the South.

Attorney Baldwin represented good and true values that had never

existed in society. Entirely underqualified for the case he took on, Baldwin used emotion in his argument and turned the tables around to show discrimination

and poor treatment among human beings, not objects.

This story touches upon two schools of thought. The first was the judicial

court and their jurisdiction over ownership , and the controversy of objects

verses human beings .

The basis of the prosecutions whole argument was circumstantial in that

the judicial court based the lives of the Mende people on where they were really

from and who rightfully had the ownership over them. I had a hard time

understanding how so few people could come to the reality that these were

peoples lives that they were dealing with and not the mere idea of just objects. They were treated as though they were cargo . Who did they belong too, and who had proper ownership of them?

Whether they were ours, Spain s, or the property of the two Spaniard s

there was no way that we were going to be able to avoid the real issue that was

at hand, were they objects or were they humans? The lives and destiny of these

people rested solely on where they were from. The President at that time was

literally walking on eggshells with the case and knew that his presidential

re-election depended on the outcome of this trial. I think for a while he was in denial. Arguing that slaves from another country could have little if any effect on his nation. I believe that whether it be the case of the Mende people or any other, the change was inevitable. While Baldwin and his team represent the opposing forces of old and new, the prosecution and judicial court exemplified the country s current need and status. Specifically, Cinque symbolized change. In this manner, Baldwin argued that the course of history could be changed by any one person or group.

This event was going to happen no matter what. Whether it was to take

place in 1854 or 1994, human rights issues have been continually been a part of

our constitution ever since it was founded. I found myself thinking that this was truly a great film to watch, a story; then remembering that this was history, an actual event that changed the course of our nation forever. This only reinforcesthe aphorism stated in the beginning, who we are, is who we were.