Posted on 02/23/2007 11:39:04 AM PST by blitzgig
If you’ve seen the movie Crash, there is a scene where Anthony, a car thief played by the rapper Ludacris, discovers a van with the keys dangling in the driver’s door. Since no one is around, he hops in and drives to a chop shop to sell off the parts. When they open up the back of the van, Anthony and the white shop owner are startled to find a dozen Asian men, women, and children. In stunning immediacy, the shop owner offers Anthony $500 for each one without a tinge of reluctance—haggling for humans like used auto parts.
As the 2006 Academy Award-winning morality tale, Crash is loaded with gut-wrenching scenes meant to prick our racial prejudices and stereotypes. The chop-shop scene came to mind while viewing Amazing Grace, a film about British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). Opening in theaters today, the movie’s release was timed to celebrate the exact day of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in England. At that time, the British Empire was heavily dependent upon the slave trade, and Wilberforce dedicated his entire life to fighting the injustice.
Played by Ioan Gruffudd (King Arthur, Fantastic Four), Wilberforce was idealistic, compassionate, eloquent, and tenacious. Being the heir to a sizable fortune, he was elected to parliament at 23 years old (his boyhood friend was William Pitt, the youngest Prime Minister). After experiencing a dramatic spiritual conversion a few years later, Wilberforce struggled with his “secular” political vocation. He was not convinced that he could serve God and Parliament at the same time.
Wilberforce was ready to call it quits until he met John Newton (Albert Finney), a former slave-ship captain and author of the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace” (thus the title of the film). First seen mopping the floor of a sanctuary in sackcloth, Newton is able to convince Wilberforce that combating slavery would be doing the work of heaven. “The principles of Christianity require action as well as meditation,” says Newton.
In their actual historic meeting, Newton told the young legislator: “God has raised you up for the good of the church and the good of the nation, maintain your friendship with Pitt, continue in Parliament, who knows that but for such a time as this God has brought you into public life and has a purpose for you.”
“When I came away,” Wilberforce recalled, “my mind was in a calm, tranquil state, more humbled, looking more devoutly up to God.”
Faith plays a dramatic and pivotal role in Wilberforce’s actual life. While his conversion and religious motivation are treated respectfully in the film, they are purposefully not preachy. For those who actually have read up on Wilberforce, the depiction is a considerably toned-down version of his religious pulse. Even though the film will definitely be attractive to Christians, director Michael Apted emphasizes a story built around political intrigue, personal courage, and even a dash of British romance.
Gruffudd does sweet justice to Wilberforce. He is fittingly zealous when he stands up in the middle of a refined gentleman’s club and robustly sings “Amazing Grace” to show his well-heeled peers what he believes. In other segments of the film, he is convincingly weak under the weight of various illnesses. These two elements—strength and weakness—are essential to telling Wilberforce’s story and portraying his stoutness of character.
Despite suffering from perpetually bad health, Wilberforce even stopped taking the prescribed opium for his pain because it diminished his mental alertness and rhetorical agility. He collected evidence against the slave trade, introduced abolition legislation, and collected more than 390,000 signatures demanding its end.
Although his accomplishments and courage are celebrated in our modern era, Wilberforce was reviled by many within British society. He was attacked in newspapers, physically assaulted, and forced to travel with a bodyguard because of death threats.
Nevertheless, he was encouraged by lovers of justice such as Newton and John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. While on his death bed, Wesley wrote to encourage Wilberforce in 1791: “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be fore you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.”
The British slave trade was shut down in 1807 because of Wilberforce’s tireless efforts, yet he continued to work until the end of his life to completely abolish slavery in England. In 1833, a bill to outlaw slavery was finally passed. Wilberforce died three days later.
The filmmakers hope to use Amazing Grace to alert audiences that the global battle against slavery is far from over. “Although most nations have eliminated servitude as a state-sanctioned practice, a modern form of human slavery has emerged,” declares the 2006 U.S. State Department “Trafficking in Persons Report.” “It is a growing global threat to the lives and freedom of millions of men, women, and children. Today, only in the most brutal and repressive regimes, such as Burma and North Korea, is slavery still state sponsored. Instead, human trafficking often involves organized crime groups who make huge sums of money at the expense of trafficking victims and our societies.”
“Twenty-seven million slaves exist in our world today,” writes David Batstone in his book Not For Sale—a companion resource to the film. “Girls and boys, women and men of all ages are forced to toil in the rug looms of Nepal, sell their bodies in the brothels of Rome, break rocks in the quarries of Pakistan, and fight wars in the jungles of Africa. Go behind the façade in any major town or city in the world today and you are likely to find a thriving commerce in human beings.”
At the conclusion of Crash, Anthony finds a moment of redemption by freeing the Asian slaves from the back of the van. That cinematic scenario is what modern-day abolitionists hope will take place with the spread of awareness of this injustice. Supported by more than sixty human-rights and religious groups, the filmmakers initiated “The Amazing Change Campaign” in order to promote grassroots activism to end modern day slavery.
In his first speech to Parliament regarding the slave trade, Wilberforce described the unfathomable conditions upon the slave ships and the despicable practice of slavery. After three hours, he concluded by telling his colleagues: “Having heard all this you may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.” The producers of Amazing Grace hope to relay the same message.
bttt
Saw a tombstone in an old cemetery in Franklin Twp. NJ from 1805, of a twenty seven year old woman. Engraved on it was the first stanza of Amazing Grace.
Shows it was a well known hymn back then.
"I feel confident that you will see precious little of the momentous force that inspired Wilberforce--his faith in Christ."
Well I guess that would be a good reason to avoid an inspiring and positive movie.
Thanks to you both for reminding me of the Hornblower series. I first saw this actor (I cannot figure how to pronounce his name) there and loved the series.
I will definitely see this film and report back.
FYI, Ioan Gruffudd pronounces his name "Yo-an Griffith". The spelling is the Welsh form of his name. Both his parents are teachers in their homeland in Wales, and he was raised to speak both English and Welsh at home. As a youth, Ioan starred for several years in a Welsh-language soap opera on the BBC.
Too bad that Islam has no similar impulse... most slaver nations today are Muslim-dominated (as they were back in our colonial period).
I just saw the movie and was so blessed by the obvious impact of his Christian faith. It is a GREAT movie, with a great message. Hope you see it.
bump
That is great news. We need more pro-Christian messages.
Does anyone know opening weekend numbers for this movie? Hope it was good.
Sorry... but you would be mistaken. I saw it this past weekend. Excellent movie. Every Christian should see it.
Members of Congress Inspired by Amazing Grace
"What we've seen on Capitol Hill, and in state capitols, is that both parties...love Wilberforce." [quoth the film producer]
Pete Winn/AH (Mar 5th, 2007)
Source: Citizen Link
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004039.cfm
The new film depicting the life and inspirational stand of William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace, is apparently making an impact on members of the U.S. Congress.
Giving the movie a standing ovation, is Sen. Sam Brownback from Kansas. "Wilberforce has been a model for me for many years," said Brownback. "I've studied his life and what he did—and bringing, in a positive way, his active faith into the public square and the fight for human dignity. It is a fabulous film," he added. "It is a modern-day story of commitment and grit, and active faith in the public square."
Likewise, Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado, agreed that the film was an "inspiration" to fight for what is right—for as long as is needed. "It may take years, it may even take decades," Lamborn said. "This story is a real inspiration, because we have those kinds of issues today that really need to be turned around."
The movie was recommended to other members of Congress at a recent bipartisan prayer breakfast, by Rep. Todd Akin. According to the Citizen Link report, Erik Lokkesmoe, the project manager for Bristol Bay Productions, producer of the film, pointed out its bipartisan appeal.
"What we've seen on Capitol Hill, and in state capitals, is that both parties—Republicans and Democrats—as well as conservatives and liberals in each of those parties, love Wilberforce," he said.
The producers of the film also created The Amazing Change campaign to expose the harsh reality of modern-day slavery—in the form of human trafficking. Lokkesmoe says, "We've seen 75,000 people sign petitions to end modern-day slavery. We've seen people give money to organizations working to end slavery."
Similar to what Wilberforce did in the movie, the producers of Amazing Grace plan to present the petitions to members of Congress on the third week of March.
Sen. Brownback, who has also been working to stop human trafficking, said the petitions would be welcome. "We've got to be active in banning this trade," he added, warning that modern-day slavery is "expanding in some regions of the world."
Have you seen it yet?
I saw it and I think it was very Christian. Would be curious as to your opinion, though.
I thought it was much more Christian than Tip of the Spear, and that was pitched to us as a Christian film.
Slavery is past, now we must stop baby sacrifice."
To me, this was the message for today. It didn't look like Wilberforce had much of a chance for long periods of time. Eventually, right prevailed. It will yet again, but only if we are diligent, like he was, and never give up.
No, I've not seen the movie yet.
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