To compare Pedagogy of the oppressed by Paulo Freire with the movie The Slave Narratives - Essay Example

On the other side of the coin, the ones who are oppressed are in search and yearn for their freedom and liberty and this deep seated struggle is a constant quest to regain their lost humanity. Liberation seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel, but how many of the oppressed gain their liberty? This oppressed group is looked down upon as the downtrodden lot who suffers and endures violence and exploitation meted out to them. When this vicious circle becomes too hard to bear, the oppressed who are not in a position to put up a fight become oppressors in return.

Such incidents are brought out clearly in the movie ‘The Slave Narratives.’ This essay is going to analyze what takes place in ‘The Slave Narratives’ against the backdrop of Paulo Freire’s ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ that portrays an incessant struggle by the oppressed to gain their freedom and humanity. According to Paulo, ‘The pedagogy of the oppressed is an instrument for their critical discovery that both they and their oppressors are manifestations of dehumanization.” (Paulo Freire,) The heartrending movie titled “Unchained Memories” was scripted from readings taken from the ‘Slave Narratives” which is an exclusive collection of documents based on the true stories and incidents of those people who lived beneath the yoke of slavery in ancient times.

These true life narratives were transcribed by the ‘Federal Writer’s Project’ (WPA’s) writers and were made use of to film a very touching story filled with tragic life experiences of the oppressed slaves under their cruel white masters. ‘Unchained Memories’ belongs to the genre of social history based on race and ethnicity. The movie which is 74 minutes in length was shot in the United States. ‘The Slave Narratives’ which were housed safely in the Library of Congress, was made use of by directors Ed Bell