Let’s talk about movies, shall we?

The anticipation of new movies is sure to bring in the big bucks at the box office. And when you have a renowned director, the anticipation of the movie is just a little bit higher. When you hear the name Steven Spielberg, doesn’t that just scream big box office sales?

Well, how about that new Amistad movie that has been getting such rave reviews?

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I’m wondering if the audiences in Carbondale will be deprived of the historic content and the compelling story that this movie is sure to bring. You know, the middle passage. The release date for this movie in selected cities was Dec. 12, and it will not be in Carbondale theaters until Jan. 16.

I know that select cities means large cities like New York or Chicago, but usually, the movie is shown in other cities a week later. Why not in Carbondale?

The same thing happened with Eve’s Bayou. Many people I know including myself were all set and ready to see this movie. And yet on opening night, there were no theaters in Carbondale showing it. For some reason unbeknownst to me, this movie was not shown in Carbondale until two weeks after the opening date.

Now, the same thing is happening with Amistad. Coincidence? I think not.

For Richer Or Poorer opened on its original release date. So did Anastasia, Home Alone 3, Bean and a plethora of other movies, but not Amistad and not Eve’s Bayou. At first, I was quick to cry racism, but I decided to open my mind and drive to Marion to see if the theaters there had this movie.

I don’t know how long this has been going on, or if it is a new trend not to show predominantly African-American movies that do not deal with comedy or farce until it is almost time for them to hit the home video shelf. But if this is the new norm, it needs to end now. Right now.

Although the two movies are different in content, they do seem to have a couple of things in common. First, the casts are both predominantly African-American. Second, they are both dramas. Not comedies a genre that Carbondale theaters are quick to put on their movie screens.

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I would just like to know who decides when the different movies will be released and why. And if there is a reasonable explanation, I will retract my claims. But the vague answer that I got so far is that the movie is only opening in major cities so as not to compete with Titanic, which does not open until Dec. 19.

Why not hold off on showing Titanic for a week in Carbondale instead of keeping Amistad out of theaters for more than a month? I’m sorry, but this explanation is not working for me, and as viewers, it should not work for you.

Both Titanic and Amistad deal with major events in history, both are dramatic, and both are extreme tragedies, so what makes one more important than the other?

Could it be big names? Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is directed by James Cameron.

Amistad stars Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins and is directed by Steven Spielberg

Perhaps it is the importance of the event in history. Titanic involved many people losing their lives on a ship.

Amistad deals with the slave trade and many people who were dragged onto boats, enslaved and died on a ship.

Some might say that this is not a big cause for concern because they are just movies, but it is more than that. For this movie to have to wait so long to get to this town is a tragedy. Just because we push things to the side, or try to look away, does not mean that they did not happen. Amistad is a part of history that the Carbondale community is being robbed of, and we should not take it sitting down.