Steven Spielberg's Amistad

This paper is a discussion of the characterization of Cinque, an African who, with many of his countrymen, was kidnapped from his home and forcibly transported to Cuba on the Spanish slave ship La Amistad. Cinque's attempts to return his people to freedom led to a series of historic trials, culminating in an appearance in 1841 before the U. S. Supreme Court, which ultimately decided in his favor. This story forms the basis of a powerful film by Steven Spielberg, Amistad, that, while not entirely factual, paints an effective picture of the brutality of slavery and the courage needed to fight it. The movie also creates a striking portrait of Cinque, the African whose place in the historical narrative is significant but about whom little is actually known. The film makes him a rich, three-dimensional character.

Amistad begins with an extreme closeup of a metal spike pinning a leg iron to a plank, as a bloodied hand finally succeeds in tearing the spike from the wood. The image is illuminated by flashes of lightning, as a terrific storm rages at sea. This opening moment neatly summarizes Spielberg's central premise, showing both the brutal horror of the enslavement of human beings and the ferocious drive for freedom that slavery can engender.

The imprisoned hand and the determination to escape belong to a man named Cinque (Djimon Hounsou). He and the other black men crowded into the hold of the Spanish slave ship La Amistad have been violently kidnapped from their home

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eness of the horrors of slavery and the laws that fought "this wild beast of Slavery" (Jacobs 165). One of the co-producers of the film is Debbie Allen, a prominent black performer and choreographer. However, the director is a white Jewish male, and the majority of high-profile cast members are white men. Morgan Freeman, the best-known of the black stars, is the only black face on the defense team, shifting the story from one of black self-affirmation to one in which noble, persecuted blacks cannot throw off their oppressors without the help of strong, supportive white men. Nevertheless, Hounsou's portrayal stands out among the cast of more familiar actors. Throughout the film, he speaks almost no English, and only some of his lines are translated for the audience. This serves to distance Cinque from the viewer, yet the actor manages to convey a direct picture of a man who is gentle and humorous by nature, whom circumstance turns into a determined, forceful leader. Cinque is an interesting contrast to some of the other African characters. He prefigures Martin Luther King, Jr.'s middle-of-the-road nonviolent direct action: he refuses to accept slavery or the judicial rulings that would turn him into property, but he also r

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