Freedom Song [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Civil Rights - may be a cliche' because there is not enough interesting information out there that captures ones attention without them feeling sad for a couple of days with no lasting effect. Danny Glovers film Freedom Song, shows the turmoil within the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee("snick")as well as the overwhelming odds without. The general public know Dr. Martin Luther King, but little about anything else. Truth be known, Dr King would have failed without the concerted efforts of the other groups such as SNCC. It was good to see the diversity of youth the way it really was. What a positive thing for our children of all races to see, how when you believe in something the price is very high, but attainable.

I teach US History at the secondary level. Recently I used this video as part of our examination of the twin themes of resistance and oppression during the Civil Rights Era. Rather than give a detailed analysis of the movie's merits (there are many, but it also has a few very minor production flaws), let me illustrate my support of the video by way of example. We watched the video over a four day period, in half hour chunks. During the second day of viewing (about 20 or so minutes into the film) a fight erupted in the hallway outside my classroom: it was a zinger, complete with all manner of crucial language being shouted at the top of very capable student lungs. Drawn to the action I went outside to help break up the fight and, in the process, was drawn away from my classroom for a good two or three minutes. Now anyone who works at the secondary level knows that fights generally tend to draw students to them like metal to a magnet; in my experience this is the case regardless of where the students are or what they're doing. They often converge on the action with downright ferocity so they don't miss anything really noteworthy. Well, I returned to my classroom to find the door shut (big uh-oh)... Yet after opening it, I found my entire class sitting there, rapt, watching the video as if nothing had just occurred outside the room. I noticed they had even backed up the video a bit, presumably to re-watch the moments interrupted by the commotion. In my nine years of teaching, NOTHING I have seen stops students in my school from rushing to watch a fight. This video, however, did just that--and in spades. With regard to content, the film does a wonderful job of raising questions of the complexity of social action. It doesn't sentimentalize or oversimplify, which is critical for getting students to really think about and discuss the issues most relevant to the Civil Rights Era. It also puts young people at the center of the action (the main character is a high school student), which is really helpful for students to empathize with the story. In short, I can't give this film a high enough rating. Just be sure to follow it up with some rich discussion and question-asking. Your students should really enjoy and learn from the experience of watching it. Highly recommended.

Freedom Song is a powerful drama rather than a dry documentary. I just love the way the Civil Rights movement becomes a nonfiction narrative that grabs the audience from the very first scene and keeps them moving right along with the action. This film is told as a flashback from the main character's point of view and he begins in his youth when he was mistreated by whites for going into a diner inadvertently (he was like 4) and the owner forced his father to whip him in the diner--an act his father had never done before. It is through experience as a black man in the south that this young man learns about life. The film captures many of the trials and tribulations Blacks faced at that time including voter registration, sit-ins, marches, secret Snick meetings, and Freedom Riders. I found the movie interesting because the characters are very believable and the story so true to life for the 1960s. The young man who first was whipped in the diner experiences triumph in the end. A true winner of a film. Anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement should definitely see this, because it is a behind the scenes look at what was happening throughout the south. Black men and women put their lives on the line on a daily basis, some dying in the process, but they persevered to secure equality for their people.

I teach high school and taught this film this year. The students, who often are disconnected to school, this film grabbed their attention and kept it. They learned about diversity, discrimination, and the Civil Rights movement. It was an incredible experience for them all. Some even cried. Get this film.