FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

 The image of the bird in the cage singing about freedom - it runs like a red thread through the work of Maya Angelou: the struggle for women's rights and liberation from the shackles of racism.  Her biography comprises a total of six books. Her early childhood is haunted by the painful feeling of not being wanted. At the age of three, her family moves to the musty small town of Arkansas. When the parents decide to end their terrible marriage, the children are sent to California to live with their grandmother. But they do not feel safe anywhere. In the general store and on the street they feel exposed to racist attacks. Maya is sent to live with her mother and endures the trauma of being raped by her mother's partner. But Maya finds her voice. She writes. She writes that she herself is the measure of what a human being can be. She overcomes her inferiority complex and develops self-confidence. That's the only way she can tackle this tangled puzzle of hate and racism. Maya becomes the first black tram conductor in San Francisco. It is the story of a black girl who grew up during the Great Depression in the southern United States and emancipated herself, gaining knowledge and affirmation. If you wonder about the not very glamorous picture quality; the film adaptation from 1979 was conceived for TV. Angelou himself wrote the script for it! He divides the six books into two large parts. The first deals with racism in the South during the 1930s. The second part shows life in the big city of St. Louis. Here Maya gets an insight into what it means to be a black woman. A life of value! If you pay attention to the background, you will notice the outstanding moments of current events, such as when a group of men gathers around the small suitcase radio. That's when the black community learns that Joe Louis won the heavyweight title!