Goodbye Uncle Tom

I could not help but create a blog post regarding this movie. I felt compelled to do so.

The plight of African-Americans is something to take note of; throughout history, African-Americans have endured an endless sense of demoralization, dehumanization, and second-class treatment. These qualities are exhibited in the movie “Goodbye Uncle Tom”. This movie dwelled deep into the plight African-Americans during slavery. This movie gave the most realistic account to the perception and treatment of slaves.

To illustrate, the beginning of the movie begins with a discussion between Sen. Thomas Duke, John Roanoke, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Italian guests, all of whom identified themselves as distinguished people. The topic of the conversation was the issue and treatment of their slaves. I must say that this was the most enlightening discussion that I have ever heard on a movie. It allowed me to see the other side of the historical spectrum. One of the main points said in this discussion that slaves are stupid, foul smelling, sad, and barbarous animals. Upon hearing this, I was stunned in disbelief so much so that I had to rewind to be sure that what I heard was correct. This was the opening of my mind of what I would be experiencing while viewing this film. This is a film that shed light on the slavery for what it truly is a dirty, shameful, and ignorant institution.

Furthermore, as this movie continued I was interested to see what would be next. What I seen surprised even me. The passage slaves took from Africa to the Americas was truly heart breaking. Men were piled into a single passage room on a ship. The boat was tightly compact carrying hundreds of men whom had lost their sense of identity, manhood, and now became property. The ship overseer fed these men slop, which kept minimal amount of food in their stomachs enough that they could live. There was never a sense of actually feeling full from a meal. This passage was detrimental to slaves because many of them gained sicknesses and died. I expected a sense of remorse from the ship operator but there was none. It was simply taking these deaths as a loss of profits. I asked myself to what extent did these White Americans feel an iota of sympathy or sadness for what they are doing?

In addition, the justification of slavery was truly remarkable. Slavery was justified only through using religion. These religious leaders took reference from ancient cities that had slaves such as Greece and Rome. When I first heard this ideal, I thought how stupid but as I begin to understand this period more I see this is the thinking of the time. These wealthy planters thought, in fact believed that what they are doing was a benefit to American economy and culture as a whole. What amazed me is when I seen a young girl walking a chained slave child as if he was a dog. I almost cried since it is this thinking that allowed for African-Americans to gain an inferiority mind frame which lasted for hundreds of years, a thinking that told us that we are second class citizens because we have darker skin.

Specifically, the treatment of slaves was extremely saddening. Africans were being treated as animals were; they were fed slop, washed in bacteria infested water, separated from their families, killed, beaten, castrated, whipped, and raped; all for the belief that we were property and did not posses souls since we were savages. I could not begin to imagine how my people had managed to endure such things and look to the future with joy and happiness. In the midst of all of these hardships, they were able to maintain their faith and establish new families. This allowed them to persevere through these atrocities and preserve through segregation, this ultimately leads to the election of the first self-identified African-American President.

In closing, the film Goodbye Uncle Tom was very insightful film; it dwelled deep into the accounts of slavery and exposed it for what it truly is which is an inhumane institution lead by people who viewed themselves as superior. It showed the dark side of humanity. The film also explored the passage from Africa to the Americas, while justifying why slavery was used in America. It is in my opinion that every person in the world should see this film. This can ensure that we never return to such unforgettable times.

Questions for you:

Why do you think this occured?

What steps can we take to ensure this will not happen again?

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!

Cortez A., U.S.