Monday, February 22, 2021

Civil rights as collective work becomes an individual's heroism in "Marshall"

Despite what the film says, Sam Friedman, the lead lawyer for the rape case that is the focus of Reginald Hudlin's "Marshall", was an experienced litigator "with a flair for courtroom drama" who collaborated with the NAACP's Thurgood Marshall as an equal. While "artistic license" might justify the creators of the film "taking liberties" with what actually happened, the film appears in the light of the history to have turned a story of teamwork that highlights the civil rights movement as a collective action into a story of individual achievement in which the hero undergoes hardly any development despite his being young enough to learn something from those he works with. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 22 February 2021)

 

http://thurgoodmarshall.com/wp-content/uploads/1936/01/Thurgood-Marshall-in-1936.jpg
Portrait of Thurgood Marshall



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