Sankofa; Slave Rebellion - 978 Words

Sankofa: Slave Rebellion Caribbean Politics Sankofa is an Akan word that means Go back to your past, to move on to the future. Literally translated it means it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot. This movie was written, produced and directed by Haille Gerima, a black professor at Howard University. The movie portrays a black model that goes to modern-day Africa to do a movie shoot with her photographer. While she is there, she encounters a Black African who tells her to return to her past. This man is Sankofa, a self appointed guardian of what used to be the Lafayette plantation. Sankofa is soon escorted off of the grounds by the employed guards. During the course of her trip, she follows a group of tourists into†¦show more content†¦No more was I scared of being flogged, burned; even death didnt scare me. And when [chuckle] they got the notion to throw me out in the field suit me just fine. Gerima says he made Sankofa to raise consciousness; the movie isnt a couch potatos silver screen T.V. substitute. I am not a court jester; Im not out to entertain people, says Gerima. I dont degrade myself by telling you I made Sankofa to entertain you. I made it to make you think. Gerima characterizes Hollywood as being more interested in bread and chocolate issues than bread and butter ones--that is, more interested in profits than people--and he criticizes the industry for being detrimental to Black struggles for freedom. Black audiences, he says, cannot rely on the industry to provide them with empowering images designed to raise consciousness. Gerima points out that most Hollywood movies, whose primary purpose is to make profits by entertaining, depress consciousness. The motivating factor, he says, determines the type of films they are. The fact that those industry films are done for commercial reasons automatically dismisses any possibility of arriving at a higher consciousnes s as a result of witnessing [them].(www.spot.ppc.edu) After watching this movie, it gave me an appreciation of where I am from and all ancestors before me. This is definitely a movie that I recommend every black person watch. The movie was well written.Show MoreRelatedEssay about Slavery and African Born Slaves1328 Words   |  6 PagesSankofa Critical Review Sankofa is a movie about, above all else, the unification and spiritual oneness of all African peoples no matter where they are in the world and no matter what oppression they face. To develop this theme, the movie takes us through the lives of several Africans that were taken from their homes and enslaved. It stars a young woman, Mona, who knows very little of her identity as an African at first, but is transformed into a slave named Shola who works on a plantation whereRead MoreSlavery and White Slave Master1170 Words   |  5 PagesSankofa, according to Africa folklore was the protector of the African American people. He used his drums to combat the evil spirits present among the world. The movie Sankofa portrays slavery in Lafayette with some of the most gruesome and shocking moments I have ever laid eyes on. During this movie there are many other subplots that occur but the ultimate goal for the slaves in Lafayette is a better life. A life not directed by a White Slave-owner. They sought and enacted ways that they could achieveRead MoreAnalysis Of The Film Sankofa 927 Words   |  4 PagesSankofa is an Ankan word which means, â€Å"We must go back and reclaim our past in order to move forward ( Diop, 2014).† The film Sankofa was produced in the year 1993 in Ghana directed by Haile Gerima. It is based on the Atlantic slave trade. It is the story slavery from the point of view of Africans. In the film, all characters represent an element of African American culture (Gerima, 1993). It also shows the traditional racial scale with the whites at the top followed by Half-castes in the middleRead MoreHistory Is Forever Being Made1208 Words   |  5 Pagesthe wrongful murder of African Americans by the police department. The first slaves arrived in America in the year 1619, and a little under 250 years later slavery was abolished on January 31, 1865. The most pressing question is how the African slaves accomplished such a major feat. The Africans recognized that the treatment that they were receiving from white overseers, and owners was unjust. As in Sankofa the slaves remembered and helped the younger generations understand that this position was