The film Selma, tells the story of how Pastor and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., led marches in 1965, demanding equal voting rights. And by no means is this an easy task. Although the South was tecniqually desegregated from the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, race problems still were hotter than ever in the South. So MLK Jr. and other Civil Rights leaders planned a march in 1965 to demand Equal Voting Rights for people of color. The marches were violent, they were bloody and cruel, and the movie shows this to depict just how hard African Americans fought to finally get President Johnson to sign in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This is considered one of the biggest wins for the Civil Rights Movement.
As all of this hardship, violence, and disdain are very prevalent in the movie, one has to keep in mind the religion sprinkled throughout the whole movie. There are many theological and ideological, (as defined by Conrad E. Ostwalt in his paper Religion and Popular Movies published in the Journal of Religion and Film), that can be made from the movie Selma.
Starting out, King is a Pastor, and he makes it known. There are multiple times in the movie that directly brings up the concept of religion. For example, his speeches often cite the bible. One quote which really stood out was when King sought out the singer Mahalia Jackson to sing him a song, (while the FBI had his phone tapped, by the way), because he “need[ed] to heat the Lord’s voice.” There are many points in the movie where explicit references to God and religion are made. This enhances the tone of the film, and makes it more powerful.
The soundtrack of the film also features hymn-like songs, with a real gospel feel to transport the viewer into the mood of the marchers. Glory, preformed by John Legend and Common, is a song that captures the whole concept of how religion plays into this film. They sing, “hands to the Heavens, no man, no weapon. Formed against, yes glory is destined.” This illustrates the reason for the protests, within a religious context.
As Martin Luther King Jr. and the other protesters march from Selma to Montgomery, King states “I’ll be focusing on what God wants.” He truly believed that his destiny was to gain equality for his people because that was God’s destiny. He is not in it for selfish reasons. He wants his people to benefit from the actions he takes, and ultimately, the actions are motivated by God’s will.
This leads to the ideological qualities of the film. Ostwalt defines this as a movie that explores “historical and social context and explore the relationship between society's values and the religious force such values might have in a particular culture.” Race issues are at the center of this movie, and King makes it clear that this is what God wants, not just what he and his people want.
One of the heaviest parts of the movie, in my opinion, is the depiction of “Bloody Sunday.” Historically, this took place on March 7, 1965. The marchers were disrupted, and completely and viciously attacked, beaten, and tear-gassed by state troopers once they crossed the county lines. This event was reported worldwide due to the graphic images it produced. But sometimes the greatest good comes out of the ugliest of times. Thousands of people from around the country, of all different backgrounds, races, and religions show support for the cause. What is being done is inhumane, and the country slowly is starting to realize this.
A white Pastor who was participating in the marches was killed for being affiliated with the marchers. His murderer told him “now you know what being a n—er down here feels like.” But right before this encounter, the priest is talking about God and the moving force. Like King, he is drawn to this movement, and thinks that this is God’s destiny for him. Again, this brings attention towards the issues at hand.
Persistence is a major theme of the movie, and God is the fuel that feeds the people fighting for their rights. This movie is about going through the worst, to eventually see some light at the end of the tunnel, (with the signing of the Equal Voting Rights Act). God works in mysterious ways, but eventually delivers, and Selma is a great representation of this idea.