So we scream and freak out every time we turn on the TV or checking the news, full with violence and breaking news about shootings and bombings at places that we used to call home, or feeling safe while doing shopping or hanging with friends. We are getting to a point where is getting out of control and we can't stop but just complain about it. Did you see what happen in the mall last weekend? or did you read about the shooting at that school nearby? That's how our conversations start these days. We live afraid of the attacks from others and we wonder how this happened? When did we let things to get this far? Blaming to the minorities for all our mistakes, because we feel so entitled about our place in society that we left no room for others to come and try to make a living even they are part of our daily lives and commutes but just because they are different and came with new traditions and ideas doesn't mean we can't I've together and all this hate and love thing we spread around them is nothing but a ticking bomb that just started to explode to rise a voice that screams to be heard and bring equality to the table, acceptance for diversity and realizing that the damage we did in the past is just catching up on us in ways that we never saw coming and of course we don't like it but we easily forget when things were going ok, but how much damage have we done and have we improved in the all these years?
So when an independent and low budget movie made a lot of buzz early this year in the Sundance festival, wining the jury and audience prize, the studios right away start a fight to get the right for its distribution. So what's about this new movie "Birth of a Nation" (2016), that is making it a strong voice from diversity and equality, specially when we've seen other stronger stories about racism and slavery to already know that there is no happy ending there. We acted as cowards and ignorants back there, treating others worse than animals, and proving that human kind has it's very low moments, but fortunately we've been improving in recent times, educating new generations and fighting for that acceptance and respect to others no matter their race, gender, sexual preference or ideologies. But we are still halfway from an utopia, to become that kind of society that can see everybody as an equal and specially bring them the same kind of opportunities as anyone else. And for some the might sounds bizarre but for others is still a reality as they keep fighting everyday to find a way to survive and feel respected and accepted and loved. But who is to blame? them for being born that way and having to struggle to get what they want or need or fighting to accomplish in life or maybe us for not giving them the same opportunities, always trying to step a step ahead and showing some kind of betrayal with comments, actions or indifference to them. So are we still surprise when they haven't been heard and now they are screaming it with actions that mostly show a kind of violence.
This is the story of Nat Turner, a slave that was born and lives in a plantation in Virginia, owned by Samuel Turner. He was a strong, unique young boy, that was smart and curious enough to make himself learn how to read and connect with people, so grew up among his owners, and while helping his family with the salve tasks also started preaching for the community, making his voice to be heard all around just to bring the attention of other plantations asking for him to visit them and talk to their slaves, give them a bit of hope and obedience for their owners willing to invest in them in order to get more benefits. So he starts to become more popular among slaves that look at him as a promise of hope, buying the idea that things will change and they won't be suffering soon. but at the same time, this preacher starts to see the reality out of his plantation, where if compared with others, they are treated decently, so when he realizes how bad are other slaves treated, in inhuman conditions, are treating them like objects, worse than animals, not a single breath of respect or decency but just the way we treat any object that has a function, a machine that is made with the only purpose of serving us and when not, we try to fix it or get riddle of it. But they are human beings and when their lives are putting to a test, feeling denigrated and seeing how their own families are being murdered or rapped, the need to do something and stop things to continue start building up.
So Nate starts feeling like a liar when trying to bring some hope with his preaching and using his voice to rise others to complain and make a difference. But this is early 1800 century, when they can not even walk around out of their property with our a permit. And when Nate's wife makes this little mistake and is beating up almost to death, and his supposedly friendly owner no longer respects him or others willing to use them for the benefit of others, he needs to make a stop and change things, so among other followers decides to take some revenge over all this people that has been humiliating them, using them for their benefits, giving them no respect to their own or their beloved ones, using women for their sexual pleasure and men as horses or tools to keep their business going. So finally they decide to fight and show them they are no willing to tolerate things to continue this way. But even what they demand totally makes sense and their motives are perfectly understandable, the withe people, the owners, see this as a threat to their way of life, they are murders, rebels that dare to challenge them as equals, how is possible a black guy is posible to tae a white guy's life? Scandalous!, Society is ok to give death penalty to the slaves and just kill them in a public plaza as a sign of punishment and reward for the owners but how do the slaves dare to go violent over those who abused them and mistreated them?
So that's what resonates so loud these days over other stories that serve to prove how low as society and as human beings can we go when we try to own others, or want to act as some are better than others when at this point we all know we are all the same, just came in different presentations but back in time things were all about power and trying to prove to the rest that we are the best or when afraid to lose our control and power feeling threatened by others we point them as a someone that we need to be afraid of or a threat. So when we see how all this cultures came to explore and conquer new lands and taking advantage of their knowledge and mostly they system where the use of guns is more advance than the others, then start sub missing the locals to take control of the land and establish as the new society and colonize them. But when they are useful, better keep them that dismiss them. And through all these years all these cultures lived under this kind of regimen where someone push them down and took advantage of them, so no surprise why now they are tired of feeling this way and want things to change and they are willing to make their voice been heard even if desperate measures need to be taken. Sounds familiar? Trust me, when you see how a group a of slaves are getting ready to fight their owners and break the rules even enjoying taking revenge on them after all what they made them suffered you can't but wonder how things haven't changed much in all these years and why we see these people acting so violent and trying to make a point that might sound brutal for us but what have we done to them not even compares and might be time to balance things. so when a movie made with such heart, not trying to make the best of it or tell a tale of bravery or courage but to make a point and prove everybody wrong serving as it's preacher, to rise a voice and expose to the world a truth that has been hiding behind the history books, it just feels at the end that everything now makes sense and sadly we haven't changed a thing and history tends to repeat.
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