Respond to the seven questions below about Harriet Tubman
1. Most films depicting slavery focus on enslaved people in the Deep South. What did this film provide the audience by taking place in Maryland?
2. The film’s director is insistent in saying “Harriet” is a freedom movie, not a slave film. Why is that distinction important?
3. Harriet sings to signal to her mom she’s leaving. Later, she uses it as a calling card to let enslaved people know she’s there if they want to run. Discuss the culture and history of enslaved songs as a communication tool. What power did these songs hold and still hold today?
4. When Harriet first arrives in Philadelphia, a man tells her to “walk like you got a right to it and no one will pay you no mind.” How can this advice be applied to life in general?
5. How were Still and Marie different from Harriet? How were their lives and experiences different? Were they at all the same?
6. Harriet says in the film, “I will give every last drop of blood in my veins until this monster called slavery is dead.” What do you think drove Harriet to risk her life to save so many from slavery, even though she was free? What character traits do you believe she possessed to be able to conduct this dangerous and exhausting work?
7. Harriet Tubman is one of the most consequential figures in U.S. history, yet this is the first Hollywood film devoted to her story. Why do you think it took Hollywood so long to create a biopic about her amazing story?
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