‘Emancipation’ Comes From A World-Changing Photo Of The Scarred Back Of A Freed Slave; Can Academy Get Past A Slap And Judge A Worthy Film On The Merits? Will Smith & Antoine Fuqua Discuss – Contenders LA3C
deadline.comIf not for The Slap that marred Will Smith’s Best Actor Oscar victory for King Richard last March, Emancipation would surely be at the forefront of the awards conversation.
Bought for a record sum by Apple in heavy competition, Emancipation tells the story of Peter, an enslaved man who escapes from a brutal camp and tries to find Lincoln’s advancing army so he can join up and save his family.
Separating him from freedom are miles of imposing Louisiana swamps, and a hateful slave hunter and his attack dogs. It comes from a photo taken of Peter when he joined Lincoln’s army, which showed the scars on his back from a near-fatal beating.
The photo circulated around the world, and made it irrefutable that slavery was a barbaric practice that needed to end. One could say there is a direct link to other images, from the video of George Floyd dying, to Emmett Till in his coffin, the news coverage of the Selma march.
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