Assignment/Activity TitleThe Long Walk Home Cinematic Analysis YearFreshman SkillWriting, Media, Research Portfolio Category Social Awareness

The Long Walk Home was the movie I watched for my third quarter cinematic analysis. It is a very realistic film about society in the 1950s. It focused on the struggle that the African-American community underwent, and their unwavering faith. This was a time when the civil rights movements started to peak, and when the legendary Martin Luther King made his debut. Unlike other films about racial segregation that focused only on the perspective of African-American people, this particular film was also told from a white womans view. Her name is Mrs. Thompson, and Odessa Carter is the AfricanAmerican maid to her family. During the famous bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Odessa rises to participate among her brothers and sisters in this fight for the African-American community, which poses as the ultimate struggle for her. Odessas primary transportation from home to work is the bus, and during the bus boycott, she makes a loyal decision by choosing to walk 9 miles every day. Mrs. Thompson is sympathetic to the African-American cause, and especially to Odessa because of their personal relationship. Mrs. Thompson begins driving Odessa to work and home a few times a week, but when Mr. Thompson finds out, he is furious. At first, Mrs. Thompson obliges to his wishes by telling Odessa she can no longer drive her, and dismisses her from work. Unable to forget and move on from the troubling incident, Mrs. Thompson fights her husbands racist and cynical views, and squirms under his iron fist. Finally, she calls Odessa back to work and agrees to drive her. This is the story of two women, both black and white, in the fight for justice. What makes this civil rights film special is that is depicts not only the effort of the African-American people, but white people as well. Both races of people were necessary to make this dream for equality come true, and other films dont quite do that concept justice like this movie does. This assignment makes me realize how far society has come in only half a century. I am astounded and grateful for the safe environment our ancestors have created for us. Were it not for them, many people would have trouble walking to public areas without being harassed, ridiculed, or attacked. Without the past, there is no present. Our ability to live and interact peacefully is a reward for the effort that was put into equality and justice for all human beings alike. With the awareness that so much hard work was put into diminishing the era of racism and segregation, it is shameful to disrespect that valiant struggle with a discriminatory attitude. In this modernized century, man should have reached a level of intellect that surpasses the average beast, which means possessing the ability to gaze past the surface. While completing this assignment, a challenge I faced was an issue with my memory. I had trouble recalling the sequence of events, so I had to play the movie and consistently pause it while I wrote my cinematic analysis. I also faced the issue of not knowing exact numberslike the dates for each event that occurred in the movie, and the number of miles Odessa had to walk home. I used the Internet to find precise numbers. I am proud of this assignment because it shows my thorough understanding of the struggle against racism and prejudice that mankind has participated in for decades. As opposed to merely grazing the plot in my cinematic analysis, I managed to dissect it in a way that passionately demonstrated my personal opinion and sympathy towards the AfricanAmerican community.

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