READ ALSO: Thoughts on Dreamgirls, The Movie
And then, as I watched Selma and saw the subtle flinches across David Oyelowo’s face (he played Dr. King) or his glares into nothingness where we can only imagine Dr. King was thinking of what the future held and the possibility of impending death, it all became very human and real for me.
I mention David Oyelowo specifically, but it wasn’t just his acting that made me walk a mile in the shoes of the movie’s characters—the acting was amazing across the board (and yes, that includes Ms. Winfrey 🙂 )!
Selma puts a human face to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It gives insight into who he was as a man and brings to life other players of the Civil Rights Movement that usually don’t get as much airplay as Dr. King (if they did, I would have better understood who Andrew Young was when I had the chance to meet him several years ago…drat!).
READ ALSO: Selma Movie Poster & More About The Captivating Film Selma (2014)
As the credits at the end of Selma say, the movie “is not a documentary and is not an effort to precisely reproduce…historical events”, but the movie is close enough to reality to give you a good sense of what the Selma to Montgomery marches were and what it was like for the people involved.
If you are looking for a small way to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year, I highly recommend watching Selma.
Yes, it’s a little hard to stomach if you are squeamish about violence and injustice, but that’s nothing a second watch can’t fix once you know what to expect.
If you do end up watching Selma, please come back here and tell me what you thought.
When Is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?
Although Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday of January in the US (January 16 for 2023).
Martin Luther King would have been 92 years old this year.
Until the next time,
Biche
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and followers on social media. If you would like to know whenever I publish a new post, you can sign up for email updates here.
Photo Credits: fortune.com
