Today is Martin Luther King Day, the day that commemorates the legacy of one of the greatest and most unique historical figures in the United States. His fight for civil rights was one of the few nonviolent protests and was inspired by Mahatma Ghandi’s philosophy and actions. Reverend King’s determination and relentlessness ultimately prevailed on July 2nd 1964, when the Congress enacted the Civil Rights act, a law prohibiting discrimination and racial segregation in America. Dr. King kept reminding Americans that they were the ones who said “all men were created equal”, until eventually the message sunk in. A few months later he became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He didn’t seek office, he didn’t seek power, he only wanted justice. Only a handful of people in the history of the world are as humble as MLK. It was never about him, and he kept his eyes on the goal, never wanting to better himself, but to better society. We’ve come a long way since then, through trials and tribulations, to the day where the first black President was elected. Racism

sadly and apparently still exists and will probably be here for ever. Our nature is to generalize, and over-generalization could lead to bigotry, but the trick is to be aware of it and constantly check if your generalization fits with reality (the one outside of your TV). So in honor of this icon, I have selected ten titles that deal with themes such as fighting the system, racism, race-relations and civil rights in the spirit of Dr. King:

1. Roots (1977) – The story of early black experience in America is told in this 12-part mini-series, from the beginning, in 18th century Africa, to 1867. The series focuses on the story of one particular slave, Kunta Kinte, from his capture in Africa, his arrival to America, his acclamation to his new environment, his new social status, and his rebelliousness. The fact that the story focuses on one man helps us relate to the history on a more personal level. By seeing Kunta Kinte’s life turned upside down and him needing to learn a new language and suffer humiliation and dehumanization, we gain a better understanding of what slavery means to the slave. This saga expands to a blueprint of America. The greatness of this series is that it is educational and thought provoking without being didactic, instead it captivated audiences across the USA.

2. Do the Right Thing (1989) – Spike Lee’s movie sums up the problem between races in America, not in a historical way like Roots, but by painting a current picture of the American society of the time. And it does so in a very original way. The strong colors, the eccentric characters, the great monologues aimed straight at the viewer, and, of course, the hip hop score make Lee’s stylized meditation on interracial relations and violence an essential watch for any movie lover. The movie ends with two conflicting quotes, one from Dr. King that states that violence is never justified, and the other, from black leader Malcolm X, that violence as self defense is intelligence. These two conflicting philosophies lead the struggle for equality of the African Americans since its beginning.

3. La Haine (1995) – USA is not the only country where there are tensions between races. Set on the background of real riots that broke out in the suburbs of Paris (suburbs being equivalent to the urban ghetto in the US), three buddies, from different races (Jewish, Arab and African) make a semi-aimless trip to the heart of Paris. Their friend has just been critically injured in the riots, by the hand of a cop, and being small time criminals themselves they contemplate revenge. During their meanderings we get a pretty bleak picture of social decay in 90s France, which is emphasized by the black and white picture. And like in Spike Lee’s movie, the question of the use of violence arises, with the title being taken from the line “Hatred breeds hatred”.

4. City of Hope (1991) – Let’s go back to the States, with John Sayles’ powerful drama, set in a fictional city in the USA. Sayles uses multiple stories to show us a broad depiction of what is wrong with America, and how corruption from the top leads to tragedy at the bottom. This is one of the best movies about city life, bringing a story from all of its facets and showing how they affect each other. Sayles’ use of unknown actors and how his roaming camera jumps from one conversation to another, gives the film a very authentic feel.

5. District 9 (2009) – What if the aliens that come to earth do not have an obvious mission to destroy our planet, enslave our people or probe our behinds? What if the alien encounter doesn’t happen in America? Is that even possible? Shot in a fake documentary style, this South African movie confronts racism from an original angle – the alien one. The cinematography, mostly used in horror films, gives this sci-fi flick a real feeling. From the government’s interest in alien technology, through curiosity and condescension to basic human xenophobia, this is a great study of human nature. Hopefully, this will serve as a cautionary tale so that when they do come, we’ll treat them differently.

6. In the Heat of the Night (1988 – 1994) – Based on the film by the same name. This hit TV series tells the story of African American police detective Virgil Tibbs (Howard E. Rollins Jr.) returning to his home town in Mississippi and being persuaded to stay and work there in order to improve the town’s racist reputation. The town’s police chief (Carroll O’Connor, who played a likeable bigot in All in the Family) is at first reluctant to work with someone he didn’t choose (and who is black), but over time their relationship grows to become a real friendship. All the facets of small town life were explored in this Emmy award winning series that dealt with interracial relations, prejudice and racism in a sincere way.

7. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) – The 80s in England were very tense times. During Margaret Thatcher’s reign as Prime Minister, many race-related riots broke out across England. On the background of these hard times, Hanif Kureishi wrote and Stephen Frears directed a touching and clever love story, between a young Pakistani man (Gordon Warnecke) trying to make a life for himself while taking care of his alcoholic father, and his old friend from high school, Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), a white British punk. Frears and Kureishi handle the very delicate themes of racism and being gay in a conservative environment with lots of restraint and humor, making this seemingly impossible love story between two young men as natural as any other love story seen on screen.

8. Milk (2008) – Today’s main fight for equal civil rights in America centers around gay rights. Between “don’t ask, don’t tell,” gay marriage, and the fight against bullying gay youths in schools, this subject rose to media prominence in recent years. Gus van Sant’s movie tells a captivating biography of one of the most important leaders of the fight for gay rights in America. It’s interesting to predict what MLK would have thought of Milk and the gay rights movement, as he was a clergyman, and religion is and has always been the biggest obstacle between gays and their rights, but I think he could have been persuaded over time.

9. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) – Frank Capra’s classic comedy drama has a lot of  points in common with Dr. King’s biography. James Stewart plays an idealistic ordinary person put in the senate.  Corrupt politicians, think they can exploit his naiveté and manipulate him for their own devious schemes. But Mr. Smith’s Idealism prevails as he never loses sight of his goal, even when risking his well-being in order to fight the corrupted system. Unfortunately, Mr. Smith’s fate was far brighter than Dr. King’s, but that’s reality for you – it doesn’t answer to anyone. It has its own agenda.

10. Budrus (2009) – Most documentaries depicting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict offers viewers little or no hope. They are bleak and disturbing, leaving you angry and depressed, with a feeling of helplessness. And because MLK is all about hope, I chose this documentary that shows the idealistic and nonviolent fight against the building of the controversial Separation Barrier. The Palestinian village of Budrus finds out that the barrier that the Israeli government is building annexes their land to Israel. Instead of the usual violent outbreaks we see so often they decide to lead a peaceful fight in order to stop this injustice. That’s not all, the representatives of Fatah and Hamas, two rival organizations involved in a violent power struggle for the Palestinian vote, come together to fight for the same cause, and by the same peaceful means. Israeli activists join them and together they succeed in overturning the decision, and save the land. It’s a story about human spirit, and that’s what Dr. King was all about.

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