This is just a prompt to help guide you with your writing; you do not need to answer all of these questions. If you want to write about a different aspect of the readings and the film, you can do so, but make sure that it pertains to the film and reading: Selma explores a recent history, but what do you make of the fact that this actually happened only fifty years ago?

What do you make of these racial representations? You may know that Ava Duvernay was not allowed to use MLK's actual words verbatim because Steven Spielberg owns the rights to all of MLK's speeches. What do you think that does to this film and the history it is trying to depict? Unlike other films that take place around this time, such as The Help, Selma does not shy away from the violence of the time; in fact, it begins with an explosion. What does the inclusion of this violence do to the film and its reception?

Do you think that this film highlights the "new racism" that Bonilla-Silva writes about, and/or does it resonate with the contemporary moment? Common and John Legend said during their Oscar accpetance speech, "Selma is now." What does that mean?