Racism In The Movie Selma

Communication is the most essential and clear pathway to overcoming a problem that exists whether big or small. While most of the time communication can be used for the good of society it can also be used to inhibit and prevent other people for using some of the most powerful tools that is available to every single person in the world. In the movie Selma, there are three essential concepts that prominently reveal themselves in the movie. The culture shock of a new town, the power distance between prominent leaders, and most of all, racism the most prominent. The concepts of racism, power distance, and culture shock allow a unique development of characters.
Plot and Characters The movie Selma is about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. trying to
“The value of human life shouldn’t depend on racial affiliation. And because race still plays such a huge part in culture, we feel it’s important to tackle this issue head-on.” (Kirabo, 2016). While this article may be from the year 2016 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was doing the same exact thing in the movie Selma, tackling race issues head on. While Dr. King was at the center of it, there were a few main perpetrators showing racism in the movie. Governor George Wallace was the governor of Alabama at the time Selma took place. In the movie he stands behind a confederate flag whenever he is in a scene for a speech. During these speeches he says phrases like “They seek to make us one mongrel unit instead of allow each race to flourish from its separate racial station as has been the standard for generations now.” (DuVernay, 2014). These were common in the movie by the governor whether it be in speech or out of speech. Throughout the movie he is trying to block various protests and even at one point for the biggest march, the march to Montgomery a court order the overturn of the blocking by Gov. George Wallace. While Gov. George Wallace may appear to be the main perpetrator of racism in the movie, there is another person who does quite a bit