Spielberg’s ‘Amistad’

The gist of your article on Steven Spielberg’s new movie about the Amistad revolt is that this famous incident has somehow been suppressed through the ages (“Remember the Amistad?,” Calendar, March 28). In fact, the subheading proclaims the movie as “The slave ship revolt that history books forgot gets a Spielbergian chapter.” And producer Debbie Allen goes even further, citing this story as an example of real history being “castrated” by one culture dominating another.

Yet last year when I was studying the Amistad case for a project, I easily found a wealth of material on this subject, both at my local library and on the Internet.

I agree with the filmmakers that they’re telling a terrific story and am excited to see it coming to the screen. But to sell it as a panacea for castrated history seems a bit disingenuous when the only thing “forgotten” is how to use a library card.

BRENDA MILES

Playa del Rey