What is the law? The dictionary defines it as a system of rules that a community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which can be enforced through the imposition of sanctions. Should they be perfect? No. But to quote civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, “an unjust law is no law at all,” it shows that there is more to the legal system than just regulation. The civil rights movement played a huge role in American culture. It has opened up the public's perception of how there are some basic social rights and equality rights that must be respected for justice to be true. Through the analysis of current films that arise from American history such as “12 Years a Slave” and “Fruitvale Station” one can reveal some of the legal and ethical concerns that are important today: historically the law has been altered but the integrity of the law still remains under discussion. Literature Review Let's start with some of the issues raised in the film “12 Years a Slave”. After seeing the film twice, it not only demonstrated that slavery was an important phenomenon (1841), but also that human rights were being violated. The main scenario of the film was that there was an African American man (Solomon Northup) who was a free man in America. He lived in Saratoga, New York with his family. The reason this is important is because New York was a non-slave state. His profession at that time was as an entertainer due to his talent with the violin. His talent not only fed his family, but also led him on a twelve-year journey where he fights every day to survive as a slave. The first injustice brought to viewers' attention occurred when Solomon Northup was kidnapped... middle of paper......some moral situations. Works Cited Corn, G.S. (2011). THE MISSING MIRANDA WARNING: WHY WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN REALLY HURT YOU. Utah Law Review, 2011(3), 761-796 Explore newly discovered documents. (n.d.). Finally free? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th centuries. Retrieved from http://www.library.pitt.edu/freeatlast/papers_listing.htmlLambrose, R. J. (2000). THE ABUSABLE PAST. Radical History Review, (77), 162.Phillips, S.W. (2010). Police officers' views on other officers' unnecessary use of force. Police Practice and Research, 11(3), 197-210.Scarpa, S. (2006). TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN: INTERNATIONAL TOOLS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE MOST VULNERABLE VICTIMS. Family Court Review, 44(3), 429-447. Wahl B. Jenny (March 1996) The Case Law on the Sale of American Slaves. The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 143-169