“Harriet” hit theaters for the first time on Nov. 1, and it has the potential to be one of the best films of the year. It revolves around the life and adventures of Harriet Tubman, one of the most memorable and influential abolitionists. She was headstrong from the beginning, eventually being moved to harsh field labor after standing up to her oppressors one too many times.
The movie was as close to the history of Harriet Tubman as it could be, while still having the characteristics of a Hollywood film. The old and weary Tubman was played by 32-year-old actress, Cynthia Erivo, but besides this age difference, there was very little the movie depicted incorrectly about Tubman’s life.
The story was completely accurate in showing that Tubman rescued around 70 slaves, and it is also showed true details like the fact that Harriet carried a revolver with her at all times. In children’s books, she is all too often dulled down to appear feminine and ladylike while on her dangerous missions. Many books on Tubman also neglect to include her spells where she believes she spoke with God. Historians speculate that these conversations with God may have come in the form of epilepsy, narcolepsy or both.The movie was conscious of the common modifications made to Tubman’s story, and tried its best to make her story as realistic as possible.
One of the most surprising elements of the film was the way it maintained Tubman’s relationship with God. After receiving a blow from a slave owner as a teenager, Tubman began to have “conversations with God,” as she often described. She attributed her ability to make the right decisions and save her family to God’s guidance, and her navigation skills made her an incredible leader. Tubman’s ability to successfully escape captivity and lead others out of it soon caused abolitionists everywhere to refer to her as a sort of “Moses,” as she led people to freedom.
The movie ends on a high note, as we see Tubman delivering a speech to a group of black soldiers. Two years into the Civil War, she led 150 soldiers to destroy Confederate supply lines and rescue 750 fugitive slaves in what is known as the Combahee River Raid. This image of her courageous nature is fitting for the last few final scenes. Tubman was not just a hero in her feats of saving slaves directly, as she also served as a Union spy, a nurse and a scout.
There is one theme that is prominent throughout the entirety of the film: Tubman as a “Joan of Arc” figure. She was an incredible woman who did something that several men before her tried to do: she did God’s work. It is because of her legacy many people believe she was simply a myth. Tubman was no myth. “Harriet” is as much a true story as Tubman herself was, and this film solidifies that fact as it portrays Tubman as a real figure in American history. That’s why “Harriet” is a film unlike any other: it tells the story of a real American legend.
By Grace Usala , Staff Writer
usalagc19@bonaventure.edu
