Fakultet Dramskih Umetnosti, Beograd

Seminarski rad iz predmeta: ENGLESKI JEZIK

Tema:

Profesor: Ljiljana Bogojeva Sedlar

Student: Andrijana Krmar / montaa I

Beograd, oktobar 2012

Before I start processing this theme I would like to make a short analysis of the films that are narrowly related to this subject. First of them and a better one, in my opinion, is the BBCs documentary production Black power salute which deals with the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968. and the assault of the American Athletes of AfricanAmerican descent. Besides the event itself, which I occupy with further on, the film explains the causes as well as the consequences that followed. The great value of this film comes from the fact that each viewer can understand the essence of the very protest, without any specific background or previous knowledge. The authors themselves also made an effort to conjure up by archive footage and numerous interviews the spirit of that era as well the problems that African-Americans were facing all over America. In contrast to this one, the film The Olympic flame by Duci Simonovid brings out same of the well-known facts and leaving out some of the less known but shocking facts. Here by I refer to the part of the film which is dedicated to the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936. I apologies if Im being rude, but I dont need Duci Simonovid to tell me that Hitler was bad. Actually in this part of the film Duci deals with Hitler and Coubertin and their relation towards sport, forgetting or deliberately omitting the facts like the one that all of the Romanies were moved away by force out of Berlin during the Olympics. I wont waste my breath talking about the creative aspects of this film. But as not to treat everything in a bad manner, I like the idea itself, I just didnt like the way it was presented. Here I will stop commenting on these films and start analyzing the specific events. As for better and easier overview I will make my analysis of the Olympic Games chronologically.

Berlin 1936

That year, 1936, German chancellor, Adolph Hitler, on the insisting of his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebels, organized the Olympic games so as to show to the world the superiority of the Nazi Germany and the Arian race. In that time and for the very same cause the only athletes who could be the part of the German team had to fit the Arian type of character and personality. As reason more for these acts was also the fact that those were the first Olympics to be broadcast live on Television. For those purposes there were twenty-eight public premises opened where it was possible to follow the Games. At the same time all the Romanies were moved away out of Berlin so as not to ruin the image of the city.

But faith has funny twists and a sense of humor as well. The American athlete of AfricanAmerican origin won four golden medals. Probably upset by this the German chancellor Adolph Hitler refused to congratulate the winner by shaking hands. Many non Nazis countries made compromise in order to maintain good relations with Germany. So at the Opening ceremony the French and Canadian sportsmen saluted Hitler in a Nazi salutation and the

American team withdrew Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman the only two jews out of their team. I cant help to notice that these facts werent mentioned in Ducis film. Instead of this the story line continues in a way and it talks about the close connection between Hitler and Coubertin as well as of Capitalism of the Olympics. I myself was more shocked by these facts of injustice then the amount of money which was given to Coubertin by Hitler. So that is way I consider this film a failure in some way.

Mexico 1968

The Olympic Games held in Mexico in 1968 stayed remembered by the protest of the American athletes of African-American descent. To understand the reasons of the American athletes we have to go a few years back. The Sixties in America are the years of the constant fighting for the civil rights of the African-American people in America. In that time several black students attend at the San Jose State college. They all adopt the ideas of Malcom X and dr. King. In 1965. Malcom X is assassinated as well as dr. King in 1968. The facts above are essential as to understand the circumstances under which these sportsmen expressed their protest. Under the influence of their college mate Harry Edwards, the American athletes (of the AfricanAmerican origin) decided to boycott the Olympic Games. But, the boycott failed because of the differences they had. Above all, they were athletes and their will to compete over floated. At the head of the International Olympic Committee is Avery Brundage a proven racist. The black athletes who still came to the Olympics were in a special Olympic village separated from the other white athletes.

To describe the boiling atmosphere at its best terms is to think of Tommy Smiths reaction to a mild muscle and his fear of being shot, after the semi-finals race. Besides that, the category 200m run, the American athletes won two medals. Tommy won the gold medal and John Carlos the bronze. Minutes before the ceremony, Tommys wife brought two black gloves to him. He put the one on his right hand while Carlos put the other one on his left hand. They came out to the field barefoot, which symbolized the poverty of the black people in America. Right before their entrance to the filed the Australian athlete who had won the silver medal offered to take part in their protest, but Smith refused out because of his belief that there was no need for him to interfere. While the American national Anthem was played both Smith and Carlos raised their fists high with the black gloves on, which was the symbol of the Power to the people movement. For this assault the two athletes were moved out of the Games and years later they couldnt find a job proper to their education and abilities nor could they ever participate in official competitions. Their example was further followed by other African-American athletes at the Olympics. According to their own statements they were only seeking for freedom and equal rights and that was the only way they could fight for it.

Racism exists practically in all countries, but in certain places and situations it is especially common. Some of the very common reasons for racism to arise are fear or the need for a "scapegoat". If things are going badly many peoples natural reaction is to blame somebody else. This is exactly what often causes racism, if the unemployment is rising or the national economy is very weak, many people will look for a scapegoat to blame, and in most cases they will choose the people that they do not know, such as those with a different ethnical or cultural background. In some cases racism can generate such an enormous amount of anger that it can cause a war. The thing that causes this anger is mainly fear. Fear that the stranger will take your house, your job, your wife. You dont know who this stranger is, and he doesnt know you. To fight racism we have to get to know each other and learn more about each others cultures. We have got to share each others jo ys, but also learn that we often have the same problems and worries.

The fact that there are people that are deeply occupied with injustice that the world has inflicted among the part of the mankind that is different from us just by skin color and culture, makes me believe that someday, maybe by watching their films, interviews or just by reading the articles, racists will understand that we are all human and in Gods eyes we are all equal and that's all that matters. Thank you,

GREAT DIRECTORS!