Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (2022)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches is a documentary film which premiered on US television (HBO) in 2022. The topic is the life and times of Frederick Douglass, an African American social reformer and an ardent abolitionist.

 

Born as a slave in the south, he escaped to the north. Once he was a free man, he campaigned against slavery. Once slavery was abolished, after the end of the civil war, he campaigned for equal rights for African Americans.

 

He is regarded as one of the most important civil rights activists in African American history.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Directed by Julia Marchesi

** Presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

** Inspired by the book Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight (2018) (2020)

** Run time: 58 minutes

 

THE CAST

Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):

 

** David W. Blight – a historian

** Bisa Butler – an artist

** Nzadi Keita – a poet

** Sarah Lewis – an art historian

** Kenneth B. Morris, Jr. – third great grandson of Frederick Douglass

** Keidrick Roy – a historian

 

INTRODUCTION

As stated above, Frederick Douglass was born as a slave. We know he was born in Maryland, but we do not know when he was born.

 

Frederick estimated that he was born in February 1817. Modern scholars estimate that he was born in February 1818. He escaped to the north in 1838, when he was around twenty years old. He died in 1895.

 

As a free man in the north, he gave many public speeches and wrote many articles. His autobiography appeared in three stages:

 

** Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave was published in 1845.

 

** My Bondage and My Freedom was published ten years later, in 1855.

 

** Life and Times of Frederick Douglass was published in 1881. A revised edition appeared in 1892, only three years before his death.

 

Excerpts from his autobiographies are read by André Holland.

 

THE FIVE SPEECHES

As the title says, the director wants to cover the life of Frederick Douglass in five speeches. Each of the five speeches is read by a modern actor.

 

Here is the list:

 

Speech # 1

I have come to tell you something about slavery (1841) 

This speech is read by Denzel Whitaker

Speech # 2

Country, conscience, and the anti-slavery cause (1847) 

This speech is read by Jonathan Majors

 

Speech # 3

What to the slave is the Fourth of July? (1852)

This speech is read by Nicole Beharie

 

Speech # 4

The proclamation and a Negro army (1863)

This speech is read by Colman Domingo

 

Speech # 5

Lessons of the hour (1894)

This speech is read by Jeffrey Wright

 

RATINGS AND REVIEWS

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 79 percent which corresponds to four stars on Amazon. There are five user reviews on IMDb. Here are the headlines and the ratings:

 

100 = Utterly riveting…

100 = Brilliant

80 = Snapshot of a great man in US history

70 = Told very well but the rereading of speeches was awful

30 = Fails to dive deep into what he stood for and his vision

 

The average rating of these five reviews is 76 percent, which is close to the average rating on the website.

 

On the Roger Ebert website, Matt Fagerholm offers 3.5 of 4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.

 

I understand the positive reviews and I agree with them. Regarding the not so positive user reviews on IMDb, I will say the following:

 

** The reviewer, who offers a rating of 70 percent, says the reading of the speeches is “awful.”

 

I do not agree with this point. 

 

I find the negative word unfair.

 

** The reviewer, who offers a rating of 30 percent, says the film “fails to dive deep into what he stood for and his vision.”

 

I do not agree with this point. 

 

I find the low rating unfair.

 

Obviously, there is a limit to how much you can say and do in a film which runs for less than one hour, but given the time available, I think the director manages to cover a lot of ground. 

 

This film is, in my opinion, an ABC product:

 

** Accurate

** Balanced

** Comprehensive

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

** Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight (2018) (2020) (there are more than 1,900 reviews of this book on Amazon; the average rating is 4.8 stars)

 

** Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July by James A. Colaiaco (2006) (2007)

 

** Slave and Citizen: The Life of Frederick Douglass by Nathan Irvin Huggins (1980)

 

** Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) (2020) (this is the first version of his autobiography)

 

** My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) (2020) (this is the second version of his autobiography)

 

** Life and times of Frederick Douglass (1881) (revised edition 1892) (2008) (this is the third and final version of his autobiography)

 

*****

Frederick Douglass

(born 1817 or 1818) (died 1895)

 

*****

Frederick Douglass:

Prophet of Freedom

By David W. Blight

(Hardcover 2018)

(Paperback 2020)

*****