Chapter 29: Blood will out: the Intersections of Race and Class in Belle: Film: Belle (2013) 

Blood Will Out: The Intersections of Race and Class in Belle

Belle (2013) is a historical drama recounting the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761–1804) while intersecting with the court hearing on the Zong massacre. Sir John Lindsay, a British naval officer, brings Dido to England to be raised by his aunt and uncle, Lord and Lady Murray. Dido’s mother was enslaved in the Caribbean and had died. Dido was raised alongside her cousin Elizabeth and as they become of marriageable age the differences between them grow. Dido inherits a fortune but is still unable to take meals with guests due to her illegitimacy and race. Dido breaks her engagement when it becomes clear that her in-laws see her race as a burden for their social standing. She falls in love with abolitionist John Davinier, an apprentice lawyer who challenges Murray to view the Zong case as more than an insurance claim. The movie concludes with Murray ruling that the insurance companies were not liable as the ship’s captain knowingly refused to stop at port to restock fresh water, offering Davinier sponsorship for his studies, and giving his approval of Belle’s relationship with Davinier.