Reel American HistoryHistory on trial Main Page

AboutFilmsFor StudentsFor TeachersBibliographyResources

Films >> Jefferson in Paris (1995) >>

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal (2000)
This is the must-see comparison film -- a post-DNA television mini-series that makes an intellectually sharp, drop-down gorgeous Sally the central character in the relationship, even the initiator of the sexual side of things. Sally even assumes the role of care-taker for the aging Jefferson, and her love for him transcends his death. The image of Sally here is closer to that in Barbara Chase-Riboud's novel and the polar opposite of the stereotypical slave Sally in Jefferson in Paris. The comparisons are even more significant when we know that the writer of this film is an African American woman intent on making Sally a symbol of African American women.

See Also

1776 (1972)

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)

JFK (1991)

The Journey of August King (1995)

Nixon (1995)

W. (2008)