• Location: on the comfy loveseat with Abby
• Mood: contemplative
• Music: John Legend and Common-"Glory"

Potus Geeks Movie Review: Selma

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it is an appropriate day to review the new film about this great civil rights leader and his courageous fight to advance the rights of African-Americans in the United States. Selma tells the story of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement between the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The film focuses on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, at a time when the organizers and participants in the march did so at tremendous risk to their physical safety. It is a reminder of a shameful time in American history when, a century after the end of the civil war, the abhorrent treatment of African-Americans in the deep south persisted and manifested itself in horrible acts of violence against black men, women and even children.



David Oyelowo (who played the part of Lewis Gaines in last year's Lee Daniels The Butler) stars in the film as Dr. Martin Luther King. He captures the cadence of Dr. King's rhetoric very well, and is solid in the lead role. One of the themes in the film is the self-doubt that Dr. King experienced in the face of the daunting and frightening challenges he faced as he sought to change history. The film also has a wonderful supporting cast which includes actress Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, Stephan James as future Congressman John L. Lewis, Wendell Pierce as Rev. Hosea Williams, and Tim Roth as Governor George Wallace. Oprah Winfrey also gives an excellent performance as Annie Lee Cooper, a woman violently beaten by Selma Sheriff James G. Clark. The acting in the film is superb and the movie captures the tension of the times and strongly conveys it to the viewer.

The film has been criticized for its portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who is played in the film by Tom Wilkinson. The Director of the LBJ Library has complained that the film wrongly presents Johnson as an obstructionist and as someone who stood in the way of progress in the field of civil rights. Personally, I didn't get that sense from watching the film. Clearly, at the time, for Johnson to take rapid action on civil rights did not match the political reality that he faced. The fact that, following the march, Johnson was able to bring about the passage of the Voting Rights Act is a tremendous accomplishment. I didn't get any sense that Johnson was unfairly villified in the film, and in fact I thought that the film presented him positively, especially in one of the last scenes in which Johnson addresses Congress, closing with the words "we shall overcome." Any controversy about Johnson's portrayal is best resolved by seeing the film yourself and coming to your own conclusions.



This film is a wonderful tribute to the civil rights movement and a gripping reminder of this turbulent chapter of American history. March 7th of this year will be the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday attack by state troopers on marchers at the Edmund Pettis Bridge. This is a powerful and moving film and deserves recognition as one of the best films of the year. Following is a trailer for the film: