You won’t find the story of the 1839 slave revolt aboard the Cuban ship Amistad in many grade-school history books.
For some reason, this true account of the harrowing journey to freedom of a group of illegally enslaved West Africans has been mostly overlooked.
Yet, the U.S. Supreme Court case that resulted when the Africans were charged with the murders of their captors helped define America’s moral struggle with slavery and foreshadowed our Civil War.
In the new movie “Amistad,” director Steven Spielberg has done what many history books have failed to do: He has brought the Africans’ story to light (although there are some fictional elements, the movie is basically factual). In fact, many educators are promoting the movie as a valuable learning tool that they say should be shown in classrooms around the country.
There’s a problem, though: Re-creating what went on aboard the Amistad (and slave transport ships, in general) involves portraying violence and nudity. And that raises the question: Should kids be allowed to see the film? It’s rated R for violence, language and nudity.
We went to some experts for their take on this film.
One of those experts is also a parent of a KidNews reader: He’s Tom Gunning, University of Chicago film studies professor and the father of an 11-year-old boy. He said he would take his son to see Amistad, “although I’m pretty sure he wants to see the new James Bond film first.”
Gunning feels his son is mature enough to handle the violence and nudity. “If a child doesn’t seem frightened by violent scenes – frightened in a nightmare sense or unable to take the images simply as movie images – and is mature enough not to giggle uncontrollably at nudity, then a challenging film is a good thing,” he said.
“I think a film which acknowledges pain and inhumanity – as well as courage and reason – is a better thing to see than a James Bond film in which killing is painless and even amusing,” he added.
DePaul University child psychologist Sheila Ribordy said that “in general, children are affected more when violence is real.”
When the message behind violence and nudity is powerful and meaningful, it doesn’t have the same impact, she said. In “Amistad,” violence and nudity are used to convey the horror and inhumanity of slavery.
But a powerful message requires caution in its own right, Ribordy said. Parents and teachers should be involved in explaining to kids a film like “Amistad,” she said. That’s not just because of the nudity and violence, but because of the questions it raises about slavery, in America and elsewhere; about the American Civil War; and about the reasoning behind the Supreme Court decision that set the Amistad Africans free but did not address slavery in America.
Respected Los Angeles child psychologist Robert Butterworth agreed: “It’s important that parents and teachers be able to fill in the gaps and answer questions.”
Butterworth, who saw “Amistad” at KidNews’ request, gave the movie a “thumbs up” for kids 12 and older. He called the violence “no worse than what they can see on TV or in their video games.”
But Butterworth believes the movie is not appropriate for most kids under 12. “They’ll have a hard time understanding the movie’s dialogue and content, and the images of violence and nudity might cause them some problems.”
Butterworth is more concerned, however, that some parents won’t let their over-12-but-under-17 kids see the movie because of subject matter. “This is reality, as real as drive-by shootings,” he said. “Parents may try to insulate their kids from the world, but they can’t.
“And this movie is better than any history lesson they’re going to get in school.”
AMISTAD-RELATED WEB SITES:
www.mysticseaport.org
www.law.cornell.edu/amistad/links.html
www.nara.gov/education/teaching/amistad/home.html
Also, the Amistad Research Center, Tulane University, recommends the following book:
“Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts,” by Patricia and Frederick McKissack ($15 hardcover, Scholastic Press).
STEVEN’S SPIEL ON HIS OWN KIDS
What does “Amistad” director Steven Spielberg think about allowing his kids to see the movie?
Spielberg, who has seven kids – two of whom are adopted African-Americans – said on a recent episode of “Oprah” that he would like all his children, black and white, to grow up “understanding (this) piece of their history.”
But then he said he would take his oldest kids, his 9- and 12-year-olds, to see his movie only if he could “have my hands over their ears and eyes” during the disturbing and violent parts.
Maybe when they’re a little older?
