Incredible representation of the hardships the blacks had to endure to gain their civil rights

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2015)

Selma is a representation of the many hardships the black community's had to endure during the 1960's. The movie took place in Selma, Mississippi where Martin Luther King Junior led peaceful marches to help blacks gain civil rights. He used non-violence to protest against the white supremacy, however the white police officers had a different idea of how to deal with black civil rights. For example, in the movie Martin Luther King Junior led a march from Selma to Alabama but white police officers stopped them by beating them with sticks covered in barbed wire and by shooting them until the blacks retreated. The movie is an excellent documentation of how Martin Luther King Junior fought for civil rights and the difficult circumstances he had to go through.
Although, this movie did an excellent job of portraying the hardships the blacks had to endure while fighting for civil rights, there was one thing that I felt wasn't necessary in the movie. I thought that the appearance of Oprah Winfrey in the movie, took away from the power and emotion the movie had to offer. I felt that Oprah Winfrey was in almost every scene and that, because she is so successful in real life, having her in the movie took away from the theme the movie was trying to express, which is equality for all.
Overall, I think this movie did a really great job expressing the difficult circumstances that the black communities had to endure in gaining their civil rights. Martin Luther King Junior, played by David Oyelowo, did an outstanding job recreating the passion and commitment Martin Luther had in gaining those rights that blacks so badly wanted. Moreover, I felt that this movie was very well put together and I would highly recommend this movie to anyone wanting to learn about how the blacks successfully gained their civil rights.