Film Reflective Essay on Lincoln During week eleven of class, we watched the 2012 film, Lincoln, produced by Steven Spielberg. As we continued to determine the most accurate version of Abraham Lincoln each week as portrayed by the film, the one theme that stood above the rest was Lincoln’s role in being the Great Emancipator, which was accompanied with a confident demeanor of Lincoln that was not seen in previous weeks. For the first time in the four films that we have viewed in class, abolishing slavery was the main topic that was disputed. Both the version of Lincoln and the topic of abolishing slavery are partly a result of the time in which the film was produced, the Obama Administration. Although Obama’s presidency influenced the film,
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Week four’s readings did not really talk about the issues of slavery, but the way in which the people remembered Abe for all the good things he had done during his presidency in almost a godly fashion were evident in Lincoln. By combining Lincoln’s confident attitude and powerful essence from the Spielberg film and that fact that the producers made him into the person who solely ended slavery, the God-like president that was seen throughout week four becomes more evident. The few African American characters in the film seemed to look upon President Lincoln as their savior and look to him for …show more content…
Throughout the semester, the idea of historical memory tending to favor one particular group over another is a reoccurring theme. This week was not any different as seen in the misconception of Abraham Lincoln being the only person to end slavery, “The” Great Emancipator. No one man or president could have ended slavery by himself without the help of others or his Cabinet. However, the film connects every aspect of the fight against slavery back to President Lincoln. It was also obvious during Lincoln’s presidency that African American had little to no voice, not even in the North, but yet the absence of a strong, central leader for the African American community is not touched within the
Week four’s readings did not really talk about the issues of slavery, but the way in which the people remembered Abe for all the good things he had done during his presidency in almost a godly fashion were evident in Lincoln. By combining Lincoln’s confident attitude and powerful essence from the Spielberg film and that fact that the producers made him into the person who solely ended slavery, the God-like president that was seen throughout week four becomes more evident. The few African American characters in the film seemed to look upon President Lincoln as their savior and look to him for …show more content…
Throughout the semester, the idea of historical memory tending to favor one particular group over another is a reoccurring theme. This week was not any different as seen in the misconception of Abraham Lincoln being the only person to end slavery, “The” Great Emancipator. No one man or president could have ended slavery by himself without the help of others or his Cabinet. However, the film connects every aspect of the fight against slavery back to President Lincoln. It was also obvious during Lincoln’s presidency that African American had little to no voice, not even in the North, but yet the absence of a strong, central leader for the African American community is not touched within the