Cross cultural discourse between Spartacus and Nat Turner

In the October 1968 issue of “Ebony Magazine”, Lerone Benett, Jr., and 10 other African-American Scholars argue that the portrayal of Nat Turner, the leader of the greatest slave uprising in the United States, in William Styron’s “Confessions of Nat Turner” is racially influenced and inaccurate.  I find this to be an excellent cross cultural discourse between the portrayal of Spartacus in the 1960 film, because 1968, the date of publication of this essay, was still in the midst of the civil rights movement.  The 1960 film represents Spartacus as a larger than life character and a visionary, even asserting that Spartacus sought an end to “the wrongs of slavery,” as opposed to simply wanting his own freedom and getting lucky with the circumstances.  Bennett, Jr. and the other scholar’s view of Styron’s portrayal of Nat Turner represents an anthesis of the portrayal of Spartacus in the film.  They assert Styron’s background as a wealthy, Virginia-born White, not only taints his view of Turner, but offends the African-American community.  They claim that Styron strips Turner of his courage, masculinity, leadership, intellect, and other admirable qualities.  What accounts for the disparity between the portrayal of two of History’s most successful leaders of slave rebellions?  I argue that the main deviation of the portrayal is racially influenced; the civil rights movement was still very active.  Furthermore, the idea that History remembers people more fondly could apply: Spartacus lived over 2000 years before his portrayal in the 1960 film, Turner only about 110 years.  I maintain that this huge difference in the length of time could account for the variance in portrayal.  What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

If you care to read  the article, I have attached a link to it at the Google Books site:

http://books.google.com/books?id=RNsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=%22a+deliberate+attempt+to+steal+the+meaning+of+a+man%27s+life&source=bl&ots=B1Gz4fhryQ&sig=OnmV0BfqEUl_ZR3VXtxMshLlv_Q&hl=en&ei=YdABS_mpNYqesgPTmIyICw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22a%20deliberate%20attempt%20to%20steal%20the%20meaning%20of%20a%20man%27s%20life&f=false