Review of Selma (2014) by Eric R — 25 Apr 2016

Folks who know me know that I rarely give 4, let alone 5, star ratings. But the story here is an important one. It did for one piece of the civil rights movement which Schindler's List did for the Holocaust or Lincoln did to understand his presidency -- it brought history to life.

Of course, growing up, I learned about the civil rights movement and about Dr. King. And I'd hear of Selma and knew names like John Lewis. But this movie made it all real. It reminded me that while 50 years can be a long time, it can also be an incredibly short time.

It was hard to watch some of the scenes and not be reminded of recent incidents and see them as being related. It was amazing to watch so many people so firmly on the wrong side of history and humanity and wonder, "What were they thinking?" and "What do they think of their actions today?".