Selma - Movie Analysis

Name: Yeung Ching Lam

Student no.: 15109769D

Subject teacher: Mr. LO Hung Kei, Kenneth

Individual Reflection Paper - Selma

The film “Selma” depicted the impressive revolution done by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so as to fight for voting power of Negros. It awakened me a few useful sociological concepts that we learnt during the class.

The first concept discussed in the movie is social inequality. If refers to the uneven distribution of rewards and resources among people of a society, which can be in terms of power, material rewards and social prestige. From the movie, it is said that racial isolation problem was severe in America, Negros could not receive appropriate respect or recognition from the majority who were the Caucasoid. One of the scenes mentioned a Negro woman had applied to register as lawful voters repeatedly, but she was unfairly treated by the Caucasoid officials, while it was publicly claimed that all races of people possessed voting rights in the US. In class we learnt that some individuals are regarded as deviant groups because of their possession of specific characteristics including skin colour. Also, when Martin made efforts to defend interests of Negros by initiating protests and demonstrations, the government officials exerted social control over the group in a formal way. Martin thus suffered imprisonment with no say since they belonged to the less powerful party.

Furthermore, we can find the functional theories of deviant behavior in Selma. An influential sociologist Emile Durkheim put forward that deviance is fundamental towards a healthy society. The scene that Martin originated several times of non-violent marches reminded me of its importance to advocate social changes which may promote social well being. At that time, the Negros was highly pressurized by the majority. From the movie, we know that murders about racial isolation frequently occurred, while the Caucasoid criminals had not been punished under the protection of local government. Nevertheless, Martin strived to promote racial equality and eventually civil right movement gains recognition. The above sociological concept made me think of the similar situation in Hong Kong. For instance, some radical and courageous organizations like Scholarism initiated “Umbrella Revolution” in order to demand social changes of transparent election process of Chief Executive. They grabbed opportunities to express their view on government remedial actions. If nobody voices his or her concern to the powerful side, the status quo of Hong Kong may soon become gradually undesirable.