"Selma" - Film Summary & Brief Analysis

The movie Selma focuses on the events leading up to and surrounding the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama for civil rights. Issues the protesters were trying to bring to light involved racial discrimination and prejudicial voting laws. One of the main leaders and organizers of this march was Martin Luther King Jr. This movie brings to light some of the resistance encountered by these groups trying to fight civil and social injustice. On March 7, 1965, state troopers and others attacked the protesters on Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Events also included in the film were Martin Luther King Jr’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, the killing of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a second unsuccessful march, the final successful march on March 21st, and televised treating of wounded protesters. In the film, Malcom X is also featured when he advocated a more extreme stance on protesting and the civil liberties movement in order to drive people to support Martin Luther King Jr’s position. One of the criticisms of the film was its portrayal of President Linden B. Johnson as, “falsely depicting the President as a reluctant or obstructionist political actor that had the FBI monitor and harass King.” In many ways, Linden B. Johnson was an ardent champion of civil rights. While this isn’t meant to undercut the sacrifices of many to support civil rights, such as protesters who were killed, MLK and others, it is considered by many to undercut the support given by others (such as LBJ) for the sake of increased dramatization and as a thematic element to make it seem more good versus evil.

Overall, this film accurately portrays the stress and danger which faced many advocates of civil liberty via discrimination, intimidation, and violence. It also highlights the difficulty of doing what one feels is right in the face of ardent and intimidating resistance, and the great things that perseverance and devotion to ideals can achieve. While it accurately portrays some of the harsh and...