Who writes the history books?

When asked to name several men who shaped the history of the world, what names comes to mind?  Napoleon, Hitler, men whose names are quickly associated with violence.  It's what we were taught in school.  The name William Wilberforce ring any bells?

Friday night after work I decided to go see Amazing Grace.  I'm always up for a period piece and the subject matter (abolition of the slave trade in the UK) certainly appealed.  I was the only person in the theater below the age of AARP registration, but even so, almost every seat was filled.  Let me quickly clarify that this is not a religious film, despite the title's song reference.  Several of the main characters were spiritual men, but the impetuous was about valued humanity, not following God. (As a side note, let me say that organized religion scares me.  God, spirituality, or making decisions for moral reasons do not.  Just saying.)  William Wilberforce believed in the value of life.  I like that about him.  He was brave enough to voice that belief to all that would listen.  I had never really given the slave trade in Europe any thought.  Slavery here in the US was something we learned about in school, although that education was pretty scant in the specifics department.  I was rather shocked that many of the films main points were still very timely today. Did you know that today, in this world there are as many as 27 million (yes, million) people still enslaved?  Go to the website and read the statistics.  Sometimes I fear that the people of this planet have a complete inability to learn from past mistakes.

I loved this film.  I loved it so much that I took Amazing Husband back the following night to see it again.  It was beautiful and gripping and there were parts that I wanted to stand up and cheer.  One man can make a difference.  Wilberforce was living proof.  Go see it, and if you do, don't leave right away.  There is one of the most stirring renditions of "Amazing Grace" that you will ever hear at the very end.  Well worth sitting through a couple of cast credits.

FYI: the song "Amazing Grace" was written by a man who spent twenty years as the captain of a slave ship. 

Comments

[Tessa]

I haven't seen any adverts for it yet in my town, but I'll go see it as soon as it's here!! I did see a teaser for it when I saw Notes on a Scandal, and that made me really want to see it, too. When I was in Liverpool, I did a tour of the slave docks & buildings & museum, which was pretty intense. Even some of the churches in that town were built on bodies & bones. Now your post makes me want to see it even more!!

[Leslie]

Holly, Your film recommendations are always on target for me. And I love your reviews. On my return trip from Europe this week I shared a cabin with a group of students who were returning from a study tour in Senegal. They ALL talked about how personally moving it was to stand inside the slave market and feel that sense of past. One of their pictures showed "the door of no return" the one you went out of to board the ships. As I looked at her image in the camera of her standing there in that doorway you had to wonder ... had anyone related to her gone through that door once ? There was a lot of press in Europe about Wilberforce and the anniversary of the end to the slave trade ... much of it controversial. I'm glad the film has us all talking.