Harriet tells the true story of abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, but how much did the film get about this remarkable figure? Directed and co-written by Kasi Lemmons (with fellow co-writer Gregory Allen Howard), Harriet stars Cynthia Erivo in the titular role, leading a cast that also includes Hamilton stars Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn and Clarke Peters. This team of exceptional talents has come together to bring Tubman’s life and extraordinary deeds to the screen. Still, like all biopics, creative liberties were necessary to fill in the gaps in the true story.
The story of Araminta Ross, later called Harriet Tubman, took a long time to be adapted for the screen. However, the time it took to start filming Harriet It was totally worth it, as the film did beautiful justice to the historical figure and his works to free slaves before and during the American Civil War. Lemmons’ direction ensured a respectful and masterful film, portraying Tubman as the superhero she truly was. Erivo’s efforts to bring the characters’ anguish and determination to life Harriet earned her Oscar nominations. Of course, the story told in the film is not exactly how Tubman’s story was recorded, but it is very close.
Real Harriet Tubman’s Upbringing in Slavery Explained
The historical figure was born into forced servitude
As seen in HarrietTubman grew up on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland, where Araminta “Minty” Ross was born. Despite what the film suggests, the name “Harriet” did not strike her as a tangible recognition of her freedom. Instead, Tubman took her mother’s name, Harriet, when she married her husband, John (portrayed in the film by Zackary Momoh). There is no definitive reason recorded in history for this change, so Harrietthe decision to make it her”name released” served as an effective creative decision on Lemmons’ part.
It is seen at the beginning Harriet that Tubman suffered from frequent bouts of hallucinations, which she described as visions of God. Just like in the film, these spells, now believed to have been seizures, arose as a result of head trauma suffered by Tubman when she was hit in the head with a weight that had been thrown at another slave by an overseer. According to Tubman’s own account, she owed her survival, and that of the people she led to freedom, to the visions she received during these episodes. Although the story told by Tubman of Erivo in Harriet about receiving the injury while trying to protect his brother is false, the consequences of the injury were practically the same.
Harriet Tubman’s real escape differed from the film
The 2019 film made several changes
In HarrietMinty and John hire a lawyer to investigate the will left by their owner’s great-grandfather, Edward Brodess, who allegedly claimed that the day Minty’s mother turned 45, she and her children would be freed; a statement that Brodess tears up in the faces of his slaves. In reality, although Tubman hired a lawyer to investigate the will, the document stipulated that Harriet and her siblings would be released when they themselves turned 45 – not at the same time as their mother. Regardless, Brodess refused to honor this will, as seen in Harriet.
In real life and in the film, Edward Brodess died shortly after refusing to free Harriet Ross, triggering Minty’s escape into action. In the film, Brodess’ son Gideon (played by Chat with friends‘ Alwyn) caught Minty praying for Edward’s death, and when the prophecy seemed to have come true, Gideon decided to put her up for sale. Although Minty actually prayed for her master’s death, Gideon was conceived for the film’s dramatic and narrative purposes. Tubman was likely put up for sale due to the financial trouble the plantation owners faced after Brodess’ death.
Soon after realizing the possibility of being involuntarily sold away from her family – as three of her sisters had been long before – Harriet decided to voluntarily leave them in search of freedom. Although never mentioned in HarrietHistory dictates that Tubman and her two brothers first tried to escape together. However, one of her brothers changed his mind about leaving his wife and children behind, and Tubman was forced to return with them.
Still determined to escape, Tubman decided to go alone. As seen in HarrietTubman sought help from the local black preacher, Reverend Samuel Green. However, his journey from here on out was significantly different from that in the film. There is no record of the events on the bridge, and much of their 100-mile journey was spent in covered wagons with the help of a series of abolitionists from one point to another. However, Tubman’s arrival in Pennsylvania in Harrietwith her arms outstretched in front of her as she experienced her first touch of freedom, is exactly as described in the woman’s first-hand account.
Harriet Tubman as Underground Railroad Conductor
The historical figure played an essential role in freeing other slaves
Once in Philadelphia, Harriet is referred to black abolitionist and underground railroad conductor William Still (played in Harriet by Odom Jr.). Just as he did in the film, Still actually kept detailed records of virtually every escaped slave he encountered (he would eventually publish them as The Underground Railroad Records). However, as Still destroyed many of his notes before the Civil War – more than likely out of fear of retaliation provoked by the Fugitive Slave Act –there is no evidence that Still greeted Tubman upon her arrival in Philadelphiaalthough there are notes that indicate the two worked closely together.
THE Harriet The character of Marie Buchanon (Monáe), a free black woman and business owner who taught Tubman how to live as a free woman, was entirely fictional. Still, Harriet Tubman’s life in Philadelphia was confusing, if not unhappy. With the rest of the family stuck in Maryland, she felt like “a stranger in a strange land.” So, not long after arriving in Philadelphia, Tubman decided to venture back to the hostile land she had just escaped from to rescue her loved ones. According to the story, Tubman returned to her family first and only tried to get her husband , John, later, but, having remarried, decided to stay.
Tubman became a regular conductor on the Underground Railroad. Between 1850 and 1860, armed with a gun, she went on 13 adventures in Maryland, helping more than 70 people achieve freedom. As seen in HarrietBecause of the financial hardships she brought to her former homeland, a bounty was placed on the runaway slave called “Moses.” The slave hunter in HarrietBigger Long (Omar Dorsey) was not a real person in the story, although the character represented the black slave hunters that existed in the 19th century South.
Harriet Tubman during and after the American Civil War
Tubman’s fight against slavery was incredibly literal
At the end of Harrietaudiences see the titular hero at the forefront of an all-black Union battalion, preparing them to participate in the Combahee River Raid. During this, Tubman, who was also a nurse, spy, and scout for the Union Army, helped destroy Confederate supply lines and rescued about 700 escaped slaves. This, like most of the film, is accurate – as is the postscript, which describes Harriet Tubman as the first woman in history to lead an armed military attack.
The film’s final moments included a summary of Tubman’s life after the Civil War, which was historically accurate. Along with his family, the legendary figure continued to live in Auburn, New York. Tubman continued to be an activist for black and women’s rights and, although unlikely, lived a long life and died at the age of 91, surrounded by her loved ones. As described in HarrietTubman’s final words were “I go prepare a place for yourself”, just as she prepared their lives of freedom.
Did the changes made to Harriet help or hurt the film?
The 2019 biopic is still a solid story
2019 biopic by writer-director Kasi Lemmons Harriet made several changes to the story of Harriet Tubman’s life. However, while historical accuracy is always important for biopics (especially when focusing on figures as significant as Tubman), the creative license exercised by Lemmons and co-writer Gregory Allen Howard had no impact on the film’s quality. Harriet like a movie, or the story it told. While it may have changed some important details about Harriet Tubman’s life, Harriet managed to capture the emotional essence of her story – especially, and most importantly, why her struggle was so emotional, intense and necessary.
While Harriet may have made some changes, all the creative liberties taken only served to highlight the importance of the real historical figure.
This is reflected in critical reviews and public response. Harriet currently has a 74% critic score and a 97% audience score on Rotten tomatoes, showing how intensely Lemmons and Howard’s story resonated with viewers. The film is incredibly powerful, and the changes made to the real story were made specifically to create this effect. The impact that Harriet Tubman had on the Emancipation movement and the history of the United States cannot be overstated. While Harriet may have made some changes, all the creative liberties taken only served to highlight the importance of the real historical figure.
Critics were not blind to the fact that Harriet changed the real story too. However, rather than viewing this as a negative, many reviews highlighted the creative decisions Lemmons and Howard made as a benefit. Writing to The New York Observer, critic Rex Reed summarized why the differences between Harriet and the true story worked incredibly well for the film:
“With enough horror to satisfy modern audiences and enough understated plot movement to save it from conventional biographical trajectory, Harriet maintains interest and invites respect.”
In simpler terms, the differences between Harriet the film and the true story allowed the film to convey its message, and the importance of Harriet Tubman, in a way that contemporary viewers understood. All changes were made with complete respect to Tubman’s story, with the ultimate goal always being for the retelling to resonate emotionally with modern viewers, rather than giving them a history lesson. The many compliments received by Harriet, including two Golden Globe nominations, only serve to highlight the fact that exercising a little creative license was the right decision.