Fielder Cooks Film I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings :: essays research papers

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings, a 1979 movie directed by Fielder Cook, is a world-renowned autobiography of Maya Angelous youth during the Great Depression. This movie has been reworked from Maya Angelous best selling novel and the story takes place in a bigoted town in Stamps, Arkansas where Maya and her brother, Bailey, grow up with their grandmother and uncle. The Angelous were African Americans, they had to deal with racism from the infamous Ku Klux Klan and the other Caucasians in town. Despite self-conceit from the Caucasians, Maya also has familial problems. She travels back and forth between her mothers and grandmothers house not being able to situate herself in eithers home. However, Maya perseveres. She begins school and excels in academics. The turning point of the movie is when Maya is sexually assaulted, consequently, she withdraws into total silence. It is with the help of her kind teacher that Maya is mentally restored to herself enthusiastic, joyful and br ight. She makes an emotional valedictory speech at her graduation where she expressed her feelings and emotions towards her friends, fellow classmates, teachers and life at Stamps. Her eventful time from her youth to her graduation serve to teach a person to define themselves, not for others to define a person. I enjoyed watching I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings because we learn the pains and lessons that Maya Angelou endured dapple she grew up. The movie is separated into episodes, in which suspense is created and kept as each episode finishes with a climatic scene. For example, Angelou slowly builds tension around the graduation by relating to the childrens excitement and the parents pride.