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Salute Reviews
Constructive, Matter Of Fact Piece Of Reflection Upon An Unending Issue That Plagues Humanity. It Is Tastefully Done, In A Methodical Manner That Explores Social Justice Issues. Comparisons Are Made On The Current Thinking Of The Time Still Holding Mis-Steps In The Social Airs-&-Graces As Politics Runs Deep Through What Is Touted As An Equal Stage Upon Which All Can Compete Freely. Hopefully Humanity Can Reach A Place Where Social Divides Are Not So Clearly Entwined With Racial Divides, But I Guess This Issue Has A Long While To Run, Considering It Really Has Been Going Since The Dawn Of The Modern Era In Human Conquest. A Difficult Issue To Solve, But Some Steps In The Right Direction Are Taken By Some Unexpected Heroes.
A story about an incredibly decent man...
Inspiring documentary! Just such a shame that Norman never got to see it premier, or to know that the Australian Parliament had officially apologized to him.
Fascinating stuff, a bit rough around the edges production wise, but Matt Norman's tribute to his father is a captivating watch.
My nerd senses sure is tingling...=D
This film opens the door on Peter Norman, the Australian 200m silver medal winner in Mexico who, because of his support for tommie smith and john Carlos when they made their stand for civil rights during the medal ceremony, was shunned by his own authorities. Archive interviews with the three men (Norman died a few years ago) + archive footage of the three issued to good effect and I discovered, among other things, that Norman's Mexico time would have won the 2000 Olympics and also Australia didn't send any sprinters to the Munich games because they would have had to send Norman (he was the fastest) and he was a "non person" as far as the Australian authorities were concerned. He wasn't invited to any of the Sydney Olympics celebrations by his own country. He had to attend with the Americans! A good film about a brave group of men.....
A moving and fascinating piece of Olympic history that I'm sure the Olympic committee would rather it wasn't mentioned again, especially after their treatment of 3 fantastic athletes. Recommended viewing.
Inspirational stuff.
Eye opening, emotional & inspirational story ... must see for any Australian
Inspirational, if a bit Goddy.
This was a big part of Australian and American history I was unaware of, I'd seen the famous picture before and knew it was a black power statement but that was it. i was stuck on a bus for 12 hours and this was the highlight for me...Peter Norman was a amazing guy who didn't see colour just people and he knew that wearing that badge was the right thing to do...We lost a great and humble man...I'm glad they made this Documentry about him to show the world who this man was and what he was involved in... I felt very proud knowing an Australian man stood up for what was right... His story inspires me to be a better person...and help people stand up for what is right no matter what the consequences might be. A must see for anyone you loves a true and up lifting story...
I as a -relatively new- Australian am interested in everything about Australia... This one opened my eyes to a whole new chapter of Asutralia i never knew much about! Racism, politics, backstabbing, all in "God's Country"!! I know it is -still- rampant in Australia, but this movie shows that not all people in America and Australia are racist. This movie is a 'must watch' for every Australian child, so that they never forget what Peter Norman did!!
A good insight into both the race itself, the politics of the time, and the influence of the Salute on the lives of the three men on the dais. That being said, the final moments were disappointingly overt in their glowing focus on Norman rather than some of the wider issues...or indeed Carlos and Smith who are of course equally interesting characters and whose lives and feelings in relation to how far race relations haven't advanced over the past 40 years would have been far more interesting.
Reveals so much about a moment that is so well known.
Undeniably a great moment in civil rights; however, as a doco this fell slightly short of the mark.
It's amazing how influential one moment can be. On both those around you who witness it, and those who are involved intimately in that moment. Since 1968 generations have looked at the images of these men and have seen in them a spirit and strength that cannot fade. This documentary is wonderful in that, it gives detail to this image that we have become familiar with through the voices of the men involved, and those who surrounded them.
A simple raising of a clenched fist, a silent and momentary protest by two men that became the most enduring image in the history of the modern Olympic games. Desiring nothing but to draw world attention to the plight of the impoverished black man and woman in the Land of the Free, the Land of Prosperity, they were punished as a reward for winning gold and a bronze for the USA at the 1968 Mexico City games. In the middle, in 2nd place, a young white Australian athlete that ran the 200m in 20 seconds flat. His decision to side with his two co-victors was to embroil him in the controversy too. This story details his small, chance involvement in a most significant, fateful moment. A fantastic overview of the turmoil that was the year of 1968, where the USA was on the brink in Vietnam, while Russia invaded Czecheslovakia, China's Cultural Revolution began, and Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. Couldn't help but feel that this film was trying to elevate Peter Norman's involvement in the moment beyond what it was. Perhaps it should have just told it through his eyes and left it at that rather than trying to make him into an accidental hero of the moment. The moment belonged to the Carlos and Tommy. It was an immense privilege for our very own Peter Norman to share the dias with these men on this fateful day. Very proud of the stand that he took with them in the events that unfolded afterward.
Gets very emotional, but a bit too repetitive.