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Review

Harriet (2019) – Comprehensive Review

Transfiguring Adoption’s Overview:

As a work of art this film was absolutely amazing from start to finish. The acting in particular was incredible, with each character being very well cast and delivering outstanding performances. I would not be surprised if the film ends up taking home several Academy Awards. Throughout the movie Harriet Tubman is portrayed as an incredibly inspiring historical figure and is an empowering role model for young girls, especially young girls of color. She overcame significant trauma and went on to become a strong and important hero of the Civil War, not only leading numerous other slaves to their freedom but also leading soldiers in several battles and to this day is one of the few women to ever have done so in the United States.

All that being said, the movie was incredibly emotionally intense, violently graphic at times, and filled with words and imagery that will likely be extremely triggering to children who have been through trauma. The film opens with an extremely emotional flashback where we see young girls being ripped away from their parents and sold to another master, screaming for their mother as the wagon rolls away. And this is just one of many such scenes throughout the film.

This movie may be appropriate for older teens or young adults who have had a chance to process some of their trauma. Harriet is an extremely inspiring character, especially for young women of color, and seeing all that she is able to accomplish during her life could be empowering. However, it is likely a better choice to view at home so that breaks can be taken as needed- it is an incredibly emotional and intense viewing experience which may be overwhelming in a two-hour sitting.


** Spoilers Could Be Ahead **


How Is This Relevant To Adoption & Foster Care?

One of the central themes of this film was overcoming trauma and having to build a new life. This is something our children who have been through foster care and adoption are all too familiar with and they can likely relate to the feelings and experience of Minty (renamed Harriet Tubman) throughout the film.

There are also overarching themes about the importance of family, as families being separated and fighting to be together is a reoccurring plot point. Harriet’s main motivation for starting to work on the underground railroad was to bring her husband, parents, and siblings to live with her in freedom, stating that her life wasn’t worth living without her loved ones. These are feeling our children can likely relate to as they may wish that they could be reunited with siblings or other family members or feel guilty for being happy in their new adoptive or foster family while their loved ones may be in a worse situation.


Discussion Points:

  • Being Separated from Family
    We learn early on in the film that that Minty/Harriet has two sisters who were sold to another master and she has never seen them again. Often in foster care and adoption, siblings end up split up from one another for various reasons, so this is something they can likely relate to. They may have siblings they have not seen since they were very young, or even if they have some contact it may not be as much as they would like. Later, Harriet makes a choice to run away to freedom leaving her parents and the rest of her family behind. While our children did not choose to leave their biological families behind, they can likely still relate to the feeling of being in a new place without them.
  • Starting Over in a New Place
    When Harriet finally makes it to freedom she is in Philadelphia, a big and busy city that is a far cry from the rural farm community in the South where she comes from. Everything from seeing African Americans walking around freely, to the ocean and ships is new and surprising to her. It takes her some time to get used to all of this and to learn the expectations of how to act in this new situation. This can mirror how children feel when they come into a new foster or adoptive home. They have to learn a new set of behaviors and norms as they adapt to the environment and new living situation they find themselves in.
  • Self Confidence/Inner Strength
    Harriet spends the entire movie (and her entire life) fighting back against slavery because she knows in her heart that it’s wrong. Despite the fact that she is a fugitive slave and would likely be killed if she were caught, she repeatedly goes back to the South to try and bring more slaves to freedom and to stand up to the slave owners, even fighting in the Civil War. Despite being told again and again that she can’t, she believes that she is strong enough and smart enough to achieve what she sets out to do. Children, especially children who have dealt with trauma and rejection, are used to hearing about their flaws and shortcomings. This could be an opportunity to discuss their strengths, and how they were able to overcome their own trauma

Cautionary Points:

  • Family Separation
    The movie opens with the main character’s flashback of an emotional scene of slave children being taken away and screaming for their parents. We later find out these are Harriet’s sisters whom she hasn’t seen since and we are shown this flashback several more times throughout the film.  In another scene, a master threatens to sell his slave’s children in order to get her to give up information. There are also several times during the movie where Harriet says an emotional goodbye to her parents, fully anticipating that she will not see them again. These scenes could be difficult for foster or adoptive children to watch, especially if they or other children in the home were forcibly removed.
  • Cultural/Racial Discrimination
    Due to the nature of this film and its plot revolving entirely around slavery and the Civil War, the way African American characters are treated throughout the film may be triggering to children and adults, especially children of color. Derogatory names for African American are used freely, especially during the first half of the film. The African American characters are often referred to as property and animals, even going so far as in one scene to call them “mares and foals”. There are also several mentions of ‘papers’ and one scene where a character is asked to show her papers and quizzed on the personal information contained in them. This may be triggering to children of Hispanic descent, due to recent immigration policies and the requirement to carry proof of legality or risk deportation.
  • Detailed Descriptions of Abuse/Trauma
    When each new slave reaches Philadelphia, their histories are recorded. During this process the characters describe in detail past traumas and acts of physical abuse they experienced. There are also several scenes where a slave character removes their clothing and we see their back with extreme scars from beatings. These descriptions and images will likely be upsetting for children who have been physically abused, or watched parents or siblings suffer abuse.
  • Graphic Violence and Intense Action Sequences
    There are a number of scenes of crowd violence towards the midpoint and final act of the film as they portray the lead-up to the Civil War, though very little is seen of actual battles. However, there are a number of intensely graphic scenes, especially in the latter half of the movie. A character is beaten to death trying to protect Harriet and dies in her arms. Another character is shot in the head and another loses a hand, both of these acts are shown in rather graphic detail.
    There are also many scenes of slaves running away to freedom throughout the movie, often paired with tense music and intense sequences of the slaves being chased by men with guns, horses, and dogs, and they are even shot at.
  • Suicidal Themes
    When Minty/Harriet first runs away she is cornered on a bridge by her master and many men with guns. She climbs onto the railing and threatens to jump. The Master tells her it is surely suicide to do so and she replies that, “I’m gonna be free or die” before jumping anyway. This becomes a catchphrase of sorts as both she and other characters repeat that mantra throughout the movie. While this is an appropriate sentiment, given the circumstances and horrors of slavery, it could be triggering in children who have contemplated suicide, especially as a way out of a difficult situation they experienced in life.
  • Self-Sacrificing Behavior
    There are several times in the film where Harriet risks her own life and safety in order to protect others. One of the more notable times, she sends her parents and niece ahead of her to safety and stays behind to lead their pursuers off their trail, fully expecting to die in this pursuit. She also repeatedly risks her life going back into slave territory to bring more slaves to freedom. While this is inspiring behavior in the context, it could be problematic for foster or adoptive children who may have the tendency to engage in risky and self-sacrificing behavior of their own. Viewing these actions through a ‘heroic’ lens may encourage and reward this behavior in their eyes.
  • Self-Blame
    Harriet tends to take on the blame for much that happens to those around her. Despite all the work she does and the numerous family members, friends, and strangers she is able to lead to freedom, she still feels like she ‘failed’ because she was not able to save her sister and states, “I failed her” when she learns that Mary died in captivity. Many children who have experienced trauma can have similar feelings, feeling like they ‘failed’ a sibling or parent that got hurt or left behind in a bad situation. Hearing these statements reflected in Harriet, who is a strong/heroic character may intensify the similar feelings in foster and adoptive children.
  • Promises of Better Treatment Based on Behavior
    When her Master first catches Minty/Harriet trying to run away, he tries to reason with her and convince her to come back with him. He makes false promises that if she is good and if she comes with him, he “won’t hurt her too bad.” Later, at the end of the movie he says to her, “It didn’t have to be like this. You could have stayed with us, if only you knew how to behave. You were unruly and untamed.” This line could be incredibly triggering to foster and adoptive youth as it gives voice to a fear most of these children have had at one point- the idea that where they get to live and how they are treated is directly related to their behavior, and if only they had been good they could have stayed in that home, been adopted, etc. While it is a Master speaking to his slave, rather than a parent speaking to a child, it is still an extremely harmful phrase.

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About the Author: Jenn Ehlers

Jenn is a central Virginia native who received her BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2012. Since then she has worked for a local mental health agency and the Department of Social Services in various capacities and has been involved in her community’s efforts to create a Trauma Informed Network. Currently Jenn works in vocational rehab and mentors youth in foster care. When she isn’t working, Jenn enjoys writing stories, anything and everything Harry Potter, and spending time with her niece and nephew.


**Transfiguring Adoption is a nonprofit organization seeking to nurture growth in foster and adoptive families by giving a HOOT about their families. Transfiguring Adoption does not intend for its reviewers nor its review to be professional, medical or legal advice. These reviews and discussion guides are intended to help parents to better be able to connect and understand their children who come from traumatic backgrounds.

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