Movie Day

SELMA

I have to admit, I went into this movie with a bit of a chip on my shoulder - after hearing the director claim that she was using this film to present her vision of history, how she perceived the events in the film. To me that seemed blasphemous. History is something that , even though it often is , should not be twisted to the prevailing winds. Add to that this is a personal history of mine, not that any of it happened to me, but Atlanta, my home town, was the hometown of most all of the men and women in the movie SELMA. I grew up with this names on the news, in the papers every day, they were the leaders of Atlanta in the 70's and 80's. Any reservations I had were quickly cast aside in what turned out to be a most powerful movie.

The great controversy of the film has been the how LBJ is portrayed - and I had no problem with it, at all, it was Alabama Governor Wallace and many of the white southerners that are seen that I have a problem with. The director, Ava DuVernay claims that no one in the film is a saint and no one a sinner, but George Wallace was evil, and wrong in most every aspect of his life. Also there are a few scenes in the film showing racist southern whites as hillbilly types , or poor whites - and that was not always the case. Many if not most of the men in power at the time enforcing these racist and unlawful policies were suit and tie wearing college educated men .

There are " filmy" quibbles about the film - Ms, DuVernay LOVES 60 Minute style close ups - " count the pores in a persons face " camera work - that to me came a little claustrophobic- and there is this one harvest gold blender in the early 60's kitchen of the Kings that just drove me bonkers. Those and a few more little things .. but small potatoes in an otherwise very good movie.

The movie concludes with President Johnson getting the voting rights act passed in August of 1965, and then goes on to tell you the futures of the major players of the film. I very much wished it would have ended by stating that in 2013 the Roberts led Supreme Court gutted the act. I hope , very much hope, that this film is not seen as a dead history - nothing more than a curiosity . This is a living breathing battle that is being fought right now as the new GOP majorities in most all Southern states are working as fast as they can to roll back the advances that started there on the Pettis bridge in Selma.