“Selma” retold history through a dramatic depiction of Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by protesting through Selma, Alabama.

Throughout the movie, there were many faces thrown about that would have meant a lot to anyone who had gotten their dissertation on the Civil Rights movement. For the average high school student, that meant that there were many pieces of history that our text books forgot to teach us.

The man who played King, David Oyelowo, was chosen because he did not look like King’s doppelganger. It was important to the director to ensure that the film would not confuse people with the real King.

What is a hollywood movie without some sort of sex scene? The answer: Disney-Pixar short films. That said, “Selma” had its own version of the hot and nasty. In a heart wrenching scene between Mr. and Mrs. King where someone has left a blackmail-esque recording of Mr. King having sexual intercourse with another woman– it hit me. The most shocking part was the realization that no teacher, ever, had admitted that Martin Luther King Jr., peaceful leader of the Civil Rights Movement, preacher, father, and husband, was also a lover to multiple women besides his wife.

Oprah Winfrey reminds us in her role as Annie Lee Cooper why we fell in love with her as a nation. Annie Lee Cooper was best known for punching Sheriff Jim Clark (Stan Houston). I was rooting for Winfrey as she threw down her arm onto Houston’s skull.

Overall, the film was incredibly historically accurate while maintaining that it was not history itself, just a cinematic version of the story. It moved me to tears, and I look forward to seeing it again.