The scene in the movie that affected me the most was the one where they were trying to lighten the load of the Amistad. They took what appeared to be a big rock and anchored a chain to it. They threw this rock overboard. At this point I had no idea what was going to happen, but the following scene portrayed the horror.
The men in charge of the Amistad chose fifty men and women to die, and this was not to be a quick death. They harnessed the slaves to this chain so that they too would sink to the bottom of the ocean. This was done so that there would be no evidence of their illegal activities. The slaves were then left there to die.
Then, the part that topped it off for me was the woman that choose to go overboard with the newly born child.
film chamber
I Want What I Want (film)
Film poster for Amistad (1997 film) - Copyright 19...She preferred to take this child's life as well as her own instead of having it endure the journey on this ship.
I must admit that I had to fight back the tears while watching this part of the movie. I could not fathom the disregard for human life. It was absolutely revolting how these people were treated. What I think upset me the most was the fact that this was once a reality for some people.
These people were treated worse than animals and witnessed incredible horrors. These images they would re-live thousands of times over, images that would not allow them to sleep at night. I myself cannot forget those images and the emotions that they invoked in me and all I did was watch a movie. I cannot image how these people lived through this and kept their hope alive after enduring the atrocities behind them.