"The Rage of Broken Lock" is a blockbuster film shot in 1997 by the great director Spielberg. The film is about a group of black Africans who were sold as slaves. They revolted during transportation and took control of the slave ship. Unfortunately, they were captured by the U.S. Navy and faced prosecution for murder. In the end, two abolitionists and The story of a lawyer's joint efforts (including the efforts of others), overcoming numerous difficulties and helping the black people regain their freedom through judicial channels.
I just saw the beginning of the film, which is the process of the slaves' uprising. I thought it was another movie that used violence and sea adventures to earn money from the audience, but the development of the plot made me realize that I was always eager to draw conclusions. I was wrong again!
It can be said that "The Rage of Broken Lock" is an epic movie with rich and exciting content and ups and downs in the plot. In the movie, you can see the abolitionists with noble selfless dedication and humanitarian spirit and the spectacular abolitionist movement. You can also see the crimes of slave traffickers, as well as the political struggles between and within countries ( The political struggle between the United States and Spain and between the United States government departments), and finally involved the Civil War, etc., but the film most attracted me to face the "slave crisis." Although the various interest groups throughout the United States have their own Advocate, but they fight for their own interests under a set of existing conflict resolution rules, that is, under the constitutional system, rather than through the government's forceful resolution or various groups using guns and swords. Whose fist is bigger. The film allows us to see the tremendous power of constitutionalism in the face of crises.
The so-called constitutional government can be simply understood as the strict definition of government power and the regulation of power operation, so as to protect the fragile individual rights. All of this is inseparable from the rule of law. To define government powers and regulate the operation of government powers through laws requires first of all a good constitution and people's respect for the authority of the constitution, as well as judicial independence. All this is vividly reflected in the film "The Rage of Broken Lock".
The film always focuses on court battles. From basic courts to state courts to the Federal Supreme Court, although conflicts continue to escalate, they are always within the judicial system, insisting on "using the court as the battlefield and the law as the weapon". When the nine justices, who symbolized the highest judicial authority, made the final verdict, the whole case came to an end, which embodies the supreme authority of the judiciary in the United States.
At that time, the conservative forces opposed to the abolition of slavery in the United States were strong, and the president who was seeking re-election did not dare to offend them, so he tried every means to interfere with the court’s trial, but what we saw was that those interferences were indirect interference within the rules, rather than misbehaving. . The typical method is to appoint people of the same faction as judges, but we see that the independence of the judges is not affected at all. The entire trial process is conducted under their own control, and finally the verdict is made under the voting result of the jury.
Of course, the law is not a panacea, it cannot solve all problems, especially political problems, which is also reflected in the film. When the Supreme Court ruled that the slaves were free, the unconvinced conservative forces took up arms to "defend" their claims, and finally had to use war to solve the problem. This is just as someone said, "War is the last resort to solve political problems" (It seems that Mao Zedong said, but I'm not sure).
Nevertheless, we cannot deny the role of the rule of law. American history is a good textbook. In addition to the Civil War, many of its crises, including many political crises, can be resolved through judicial means. The country has always maintained political stability, which has made a huge contribution to its economic take-off. In a sense, I say that governance is the foundation of Anbang and a strong country.
In this sense, I think "Broken Lock Rage" is very worth watching. It is a good film that popularizes the thought of constitutional government and the rule of law. But what is puzzling is that it was also released in 1997, and it did not receive the welcome it deserves like the "Titanic" of the same period. This reflects from one aspect the weak foundation of our country's legal thinking. However, this lesson has to be filled.
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