Have You Seen “Abraham Lincoln” In Theatres Yet? Interesting ‘Swirl’ Storyline…

Nov 25th, in Pop Culture, by Christelyn Karazin

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you’d better hurry up and go. It’s sure to be on the short list for Academy Awards. Daniel Day-Lewis plays our 16th president so convincingly you’d swear old Abe rose from his grave and possessed him. Remember Lewis’ brash, assholiness in Gangs of New York? Well, he’s nothing like that in Lincoln. His voice is so meek and sweet, and he spits parables like Jesus.

Author : Christelyn Karazin

Author's Website | Articles from Christelyn Karazin

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you’d better hurry up and go. It’s sure to be on the short list for Academy Awards. Daniel Day-Lewis plays our 16th president so convincingly you’d swear old Abe rose from his grave and possessed him. Remember Lewis’ brash, assholiness in Gangs of New York? Well, he’s nothing like that in Lincoln. His voice is so meek and sweet, and he spits parables like Jesus. Here’s the trailer…

This movie is teeming with great actors…nobody sucks. Everyone brings it. Sally Fields was a very convincing first lady, who played the hysterical and borderline bad-shite crazy “Molly Lincoln.” But what struck me as applicable for reportage on BB&W was the brief, although poignant side story of radical Republican, Thaddeus Stevens, the congressman who fervently pushed for the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which would outlaw human slavery in America forever.

When the amendment is passed, Thaddeus requests the original copy of the vote record, hobbles home and is greeted by a black woman, ostensibly his maid. In bed, we see Thaddeus pass the document to his left, where we see the same black woman lying in bedclothes by his side. He says, “A present of for you,” and she takes it, pleased at the outcome. They kiss. In that slip of a scene, we discover which might be Thaddeus’ motivation for being such a cantankerous old goat during the congressional debates.

Thaddeus was not the hottie, but he sure was an integral part of enacting the 13th Amendment.

ddwight 5 pts

No matter what one thinks about his motives or beliefs, no one would be where they are today without his actions. It is easy to look back and say what one has done wrong, but you have to remember the times. Small steps for greater gains in the future. If not for what ever his reasons were at the time; where would be as a people, as a country? It is easy in today's time to criticize those in the past. We need to step back and thank God we are where we are. We need to stop criticizing those that did what they could for the situation they were in. Ask any president.

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Kathy Henry 247 pts

I hate to sound like a Debbie Downer but any relationship between a black woman and a white man at that time was coerced because she was a slave and did not have a choice. Nothing romantic about that at all.

Brenda55 20865 pts moderator

Kathy Henry Sorry that was not always true.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=61911136

AminahMatthews 603 pts

Brenda55 Thanks for that info too Brenda.

Brenda55 Her case was not the norm. I am talking the many slave women who were coerced into being the mistresses of the men who owned them. There is nothing romantic about having to have sex with a man that is your owner. That is an unequal relationship on so many levels.

Kathy Henry

No there was not anything romantice about that.

Same goes for any coerced marrage of which there were plenty during that time for poor women or even women of means via arranged marriage. Most women were he property of their fathers and then their husband.

So while the Thaddaus Stevens situation may have been a love match you are correct that that was not the case for most black women at the time.

While it is good to know and remember the past it is also important to see it as it is. The past. A lot of people both black and white. Men and women fought and died on the battle field and they fought in the legilatures to change things between the races in this countery for the better. That fight continues but on a diffrent front.

Thankfully we no longer live in times like those. Black women are no longer slaves and women of all races in the US are free to make love matches with what ever man they chose who returnes their affection.

Um, my understanding about this movie is it was over-exaggerated. Lincoln DID NOT make the 13 amendment but HELP with it. Correct me if Im wrong but it was the Abolitionist who really pushed for the 13 amendment. Not Lincoln.

And I'm confused...wasn't Old Abe a RACIST? Did he not call black people were nonhuman? I need to do some more research because we all know how hollywood can lie in there movies.

Maxine 1006 pts

AminahMatthews Yes, he was. He believed blacks were inferior to whites, but didn't want the country torn apart by slavery.

@ Maxine. So what makes this guy so great? Because, "he didn't want the country torn apart by slavery?"...yet he still believe blacks were 3/5ths of a human being and inferior? And people (especially President Obama) say this man was great?

((((scratching head)))) :/

AminahMatthews We as a nation, united would not be here is it were not for him.

Lincoln maintained the United States of America. At all cost. That was always the goal. If he could have done that and not free the slaves then fine but he had to emancipate the slaves AND push for the legislation that made it more than just a wartime order to accomplish that goal. This was about breaking the back of the South's economic structure thus weakening the South's ability to try and leave the Union again.

It is the oldest political game in the book. The right thing gets done for the wrong reason. Or better said for a reason different than you think.

Brenda55 Thank you.

imahrtbrkbeat 88 pts

I don't think I can handle Tommy Lee Jones' wig game...it is not on point. Who approved this? It's got too much curl up in there. Thaddeus Steven's hair was not that laid!

Christelyn Karazin 95 pts

imahrtbrkbeat lol!

Christelyn Karazin I'm sorry. It's been bothering me since the trailer was released. It's just sitting there waiting to fly away. Waiting for it's own emancipation.

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Christelyn 9250 pts moderator

imahrtbrkbeat Christelyn Karazin AHAHAHAHAHA!

blackpanthershay 8308 pts

@imahrtbrkbeat @Christelyn Karazin lol ha ha ha

Christelyn Karazin imahrtbrkbeat

lol!

undEfeated 6 pts

imahrtbrkbeat

imahrtbrkbeatLmao yeah it does look real strange on his head

heyimPearlilikefries 2104 pts

I want to see this movie for ONE reason. Lincoln LOVED cats. That's it.

astringofpearls

What?! Seriously?

AminahMatthews Well not like "Oh mah gawd I loove cats!" but he had a couple of them in the White House. Once you get a cat.. how can you not freak out over how much you love it?

“No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.”

- Abraham Lincoln

I think he had.. about like two cats? LOL

FriendsofJay 1961 pts

The Thaddeus Stevens incident is based on true history. As I've said so many times, many WM have found BW attractive for centuries. D. W. Griffith's still controversial 1915 film THE BIRTH OF A NATION shows Stevens foundling his black maid and has the title card, "The great man's weakness that will blight a nation." In those days of course, AAs were portrayed on stage and screen by white actors in Black Face. When I was still teaching film I showed the complete film--almost three hours long---to a class.

One girl-----my only black student-----came to my office the day before and asked about it and how it praised the KKK as its heroes. I explained to her that it was a mistake to judge an almost 100 year old film by modern standards. I also said that if it started to bother her she could leave the screening without penalty. She watched the entire film through and told me the next day, during discussion, that it wasn't as bad as she expected. She understood that during reconstruction in the old South things were different. I used to have my students write very short papers about what they thought of a film. I told them not to put their names to these short papers so they could tell me how they really felt. I was quite surprised to read that three student wrote that they thought black Americans had gone too far, too fast and were given too many privileges that were taken away from whites. Until that moment I had foolishly thought that race prejudice was dying in America. I was saddened to see that it hadn't.

Keith and I have just returned from seeing this Movie. We will go and see it again. This is one of the best films that we have seen in a long time. This should win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best supporting Actor. See this.

Karla 19100 pts

Brenda55 Super agree! My mother and I went to see it at the matinee showing along with two of my friends. I'm telling you, if this movie doesn't get everything Brenda said, I will be done with Oscar. It's suspect as it is. What was really stunning was my mother loved it and she's hard to please at movies. We're going again on Saturday so Don can see it with us.

emmerdale94 143 pts

This movie was AMAZING. As a Lincoln fanatic, it was so great to finally see a portrayal of him that seemed so incredibly real. DDL nailed Lincoln's voice and even his walk/gait. It was really like seeing him come to life. I definitely teared up at some moments...I am perpetually humbled by the fact that people like Lincoln and Stevens and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers were willing to "fight" for the freedom of our people from slavery. Watching some of the scenes in Lincoln and the fiery debates...I was like "wow, thank you White man from the 1860s for voting for the 13th amendment. You helped start the long, winding domino fall of events in this country that makes it possible for me to sit in this nice movie theater in Bethesda, MD on a Sunday afternoon in 2012."

emmerdale94 "I was like "wow, thank you White man from the 1860s for voting for the 13th amendment."

That part almost made me spit out my coffee. LOL!

Steven27 124 pts

I bypassed this movie, thinking it wasn't going to be any good. Now I plan to watch it this week. Thanks for sharing-I am looking forward to seeing it! :)

SisterRainbow 215 pts

You know what? I didn't really want to see this movie before reading this article and the comments. But, now I do want to see it. I have already watched the trailer on the YouTube channel I upload videos on. But, I didn't really watch it except to ensure my editing was okay. Actually, I didn't even notice the Black woman character. My editorial eye was all that mattered at the time.

I glanced at the cast members and DDL is surrounded by some greats. Both he and Sally Field are double Academy Award winners; Tommy Lee Jones has won one; Jackie Earle Haley, John Hawkes, David Strathairn, and Hal Holbrook are Oscar nominees. I've always thought that David Strathairn was underrated. There's something about him that's always attracted me since I saw him in "The Return of the Seacaucus Seven". A lot of his roles have him skating on the edge of a villain and he does it well. Yeah, I'm a bit weird like that; sue me.

KingsDaughter 4960 pts

Karla :)

introvertedwanderer 1056 pts

Saw this movie a few days ago, and what I enjoyed most about it was Daniel Day Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln, especially the voice, that Lewis crafted for the part, which I fell in love with, upon first hearing it. I didn't care too much for the other actors, and sometimes felt like scenes that were meant to be touching or manipulate the audience into having a certain response, failed to do so, such as a couple of scenes of Gordon Levitt, who seemed out of place in the movie, and also an emotional scene from the young actor, playing Lincoln's younger son, at the end.

Also, that scene of Stevens and his maid laying together in bed, definitely shocked me and the person with whom I saw the movie. We were like "What!", cool stuff."

a_maria 7 pts

introvertedwanderer I scratched my head when I saw Gordon Levitt in the trailers, but oh well, feels like he's been in just about everything lately. Either way, I can't wait to see this - I've always loved Daniel Day Lewis's acting!

a_maria

Yeah, the thing is that Gordon Levitt is a good actor in my opinion, but as I said, I think he just seems out of place in this movie, and the scenes with him fell flat. I've read some peoples opinions of the movie over on Imdb, and it seems to be a mixed bag of opinions. Some really liked it, some were disappointed in it, as was I, and some just didn't like it. Before I went into the theatre, I told the person who had accompanied me to the movie, that I hope the best part of this movie isn't the trailer, because I hate when that happens, and then that's exactly what happened. After the movie, I said "wow, this movie seemed to be missing Lincoln a lot of the time" and then I went home and read this opinion of it from an Imdb poster "HootieDean":

"Daniel Day Lewis starred in the Age of Innocence, one of my top 5 movies. Stephen Spielberg directed the Color Purple, one of my top 5 movies. Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America, top 5...But all of those films had something that Lincoln didn't and that was insight into the human condition, not insight into a law. That Linocoln based its whole story around the clinical workings of a law and basically left out Lincoln himself is the biggest crime. I'm black so yes, I am thankful for the 13 amendment but that doesn't mean it's a good or strong enough premise to base entire almost 3 hour movie around."

I was like yeah, this statement pretty much sums up how I felt while watching the movie. But I hope you enjoy the movie though, Daniel Day Lewis most definitely proves himself to be one of, if not the greatest living actor, with his protrayal of Lincoln.

introvertedwanderer a_maria "Stephen Spielberg directed the Color Purple"

Really?

astringofpearls a_maria

Yeah, he did. I remember watching a special once about the movie, and how it was a long shot that Steven Spielberg would have done it, but indeed he did decide to direct it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbhFofvttAs

introvertedwanderer a_maria How many movies has that guy directed! I'm losing my mind right now!

introvertedwanderer a_maria

In the video Spielberg says that he loved all the characters and wanted to bring them to life, and to do them justice. I'm just wowing to myself right now! LOL I had NO idea.. even my MOM knew!

I love how he said that the movie was personal for him.

astringofpearls introvertedwanderer a_maria He was a prodigy.

Kiwiwriter 649 pts

I thought that Thaddeus Stevens had a black mistress...I see the folks here have shown such was the case. If Andrew Johnson had been impeached, Thaddeus Stevens would have become President of the United States, and imposed harsh (on the whites) Reconstruction. Harry Truman says that doing so would have been bad for rebuilding the United States. I tend to agree with stuff Harry Truman says, but I really need to read more about that subject. I do know that Reconstruction did not work out well for the black community in the long run.

I haven't seen this movie yet, but I intend to. A pal of mine saw it on opening night, and said that it was tremendous. As in all Stephen Spielberg films, it has the dysfunctional father-son relationship in the problems Robert Todd Lincoln had with his parents. Robert, back from Harvard, desperately wanted to fight in the war. Mary Todd Lincoln, having lost two sons to illness and three relatives in battle (as Confederates) did not want to see a third son die. So there you have some conflict.

Interestingly, Robert Todd Lincoln was present at the assassinations of three American presidents: Lincoln in 1865, Garfield in 1881, and McKinley in 1901. In 1881, Robert Todd Lincoln was Garfield's Attorney General, and was standing at the train station with Garfield, waiting for the train. Up came Charles Guiteau, and down went Garfield. In 1901, Robert Todd Lincoln, by then a railroad president, was in the Mechanics' Pavilion at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, where President McKinley was shaking hands. Up came Leon Czolgosz, and down went McKinley.

After that, Lincoln refused all requests to run for the presidency, or be at presidential events. He was convinced he carried a curse, and said "There is a certain fatality about presidential functions when I am present."

I'm told that in this movie, President Lincoln does NOT kill vampires, thank goodness. I'm glad that movie was up quick and down quick...we are so ignorant in this country that many people would have probably believed that the Civil War was fought over vampire control of North America, and Pickett's Charge was made by vampires. Already people are chiming in on Twitter, amazed to discover that the movie "Titanic" is a true story (except for the insipid love triangle at its core) and expressing bafflement over who is Rodney King, who died this year.

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Kiwiwriter A President who hunted vampires... Maybe it was a metaphor that represented other politicians of the day. Either way, that was the oddest Lincoln story ever. Serious privileges were taken with that concept.

I am almost certain that people believe in a secret society of vampires dating back to some time in European history. I like vampires. But, I thought Hollywood had lost its mind with that movie twist. So unbelievable...some people might actually believe it.

People on Twitter are largely young and mostly uninformed of factual things, especially if they are not related to a celebrity.

At first I thought that Gloria Ruebens is her name? was his daughter

Hubby and I are seeing this tomorrow. Did not know about the touch of swirl in the film.

Just watch. someone some where is going to complain that Hollywood is attempting to "push" bw/wm IRRs on, well who ever they are afraid they are being pushed on..

Toni_M 20019 pts moderator

Actually, it turns out that Lydia Hamilton Smith was pretty much an "open secret" and considered to be his common law wife. From Wiki:

"During her time with Stevens—neighbors considered her his common law wife[8], and she was frequently called "Mrs. Stevens" by people who knew her, according to Sandburg[9]—she invested in real estate and other businesses and owned a prosperous boarding house.[4]

When Stevens died, Smith was at his bedside, along with his nephews Simon and Thaddeus Stevens Jr., two African-American nuns, and several other individuals.[10] Under Stevens' will, Smith was allowed to choose between a lump sum of $5,000 or a $500 annual allowance; she was also allowed to take any furniture in his house.[11] With the inheritance, she purchased Stevens's house, where she had lived for many years, and the adjoining lot."

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Five grand may not sound like anything at all today, but trust that it was a lot of money for that time period.

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Toni_M There are so many things about history that we do not know. Some truths we have only found out within the last 20-30 years. Relationships that were kept secret, because they didn't fit the big picture of what was being promoted politically and socially. Potential families ripped apart by the system of enslavement where the Black woman was forced away and the White man had to tolerate it or lose everything, or even be hunted down...with his family's permission...and killed if he protested. Involvements that had nothing to do with enslavement. Et cetera.

Love can exist and survive in the most twisted of times. But, Black women are only told the horrible things. To be absolutely clear, the horrible things did happen, and quite often. Most likely the majority of time. But, those facts are allowed to fester, even today, to the point that so many people believe that no one, other than a Black man, can really, truly love a Black woman. We all know that to be a straight up lie from the depths of hell. But, the nonsense still sells far and wide.

Today, Black women are still spoken of as history's dirty little secret. I hope the Black woman's character in this movie is not only seen in sexual situations or bed-related scenes. I realize that the character represents her in that historical timeline. But, we all know that she will be taken as a collective (representing Black women). Too many times, even if the producers DO have the time, they don't flesh out the Black woman's character. But, I haven't seen this movie yet. Some of you may be able to shed light on that for me, since you have already seen it.

It would be great to finally be accepted as individuals. When Black women accomplish anything of note, we are seen as different. Different from whom? "You're not like other Black women." Yeah, different like that. It pisses me off. My comment would probably be more suited for another article. But. when a Black woman is cast in a movie, I wonder what the character is, if the movie has anything racial about it, and how the woman is being portrayed. If the movie is a comedy, I don't care, since they are usually boring and not serious. Plus, you can almost guarantee that most Black comedy movies add stereotypical characters a lot of the time. But, it's sooo funny how she be akkin! Okay ladies, use your Ebonics hat. I just typed "acting" just so you don't see it as a typo. Hahahaha!

I would love to see a modern portrayal of pilot Bessie Coleman. But, please no pathetic casting. I am so done with the extreme reaching that Hollywood does when casting characters. Yeah, sure that person can act. But, we don't all look alike. One size does not fit all. Some of us look "day and night" different. I love our diversity. But, all the makeup, prosthetics, weaves, and fake booties do not cut it. Why is our diversity lost on Hollywood? It boggles the mind.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txecm/bessie_coleman.htm

SheThrives 11 pts

Totally surprised by the swirlicious ending! It kind of makes me wonder how many other men during that time in history used the maid position to disguise the fact that their "lover was of another color" and living with them?