Stephen Spielberg's "Amistad"

Film as History and the Trivializing of History Teaching

Abstract

Enough time has passed now for the ballyhoo and hype surrounding Steven Spielberg's film "Amistad" to have died down. Within the first few months of the film's release, much was written about it and the historical incident that it describes, particularly in the popular press. Most reviews were laudatory. As film, there was much to praise. Historians were more cautious in their responses.

My intention here is to offer a cautionary retrospective, looking at the film from the perspective of the history classroom. There are, in fact, two artifacts to examine: the film itself and a film study guide, Amistad: A Lasting Legacy, produced jointly by Dream Works and a private curriculum writer.  Together, those artifacts reveal much about the intentions of Dream Works.