Mississippi Burning

Mississippi Burning – Extended Response

“Mississippi Burning” is a film based a real-life FBI investigation into the disappearances of three civil rights workers: Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman. After they are reported missing two FBI agents, Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson are sent out to investigate. Alan Ward, a young northerner takes a very direct approach to the investigation whereas Anderson, former sheriff of Neshoba County understands the race relations in the south and takes a more subtle approach#. The film was directed by Alan Parker and is set in 1964 in Mississippi. At this time segregation laws were in place which prevented African-Americans from interacting with or even sitting next to a white person. The civil rights workers were part of a civil rights movement which became known as “Freedom Summer” dedicated to voter’s registration. In those times it was difficult for African-Americans to register to vote. Not many people agreed to the idea of civil rights so lynchings were very common. The African-American community were very intimidated by a group named the Ku Klux Klan who were white supremacists. This film has many different themes which will be discussed below.
One theme that constantly appears in this film is prejudice towards African-Americans. In the south blacks and those who supported them were discriminated against to the point where they would be lynched. The Ku Klux Klan carried out many lynchings in Mississippi. The FBI agents acknowledge the racism as it is very different to their lifestyle. At the beginning of the film when Anderson says “What has four eyes and can’t see? The state of Mississippi.” This shows the blindness of citizens of Mississippi.  In the scene where the civil rights workers are protesting, the police take the American flags off the black activists in the rally. By doing this they are implying that African-Americans are inferior to white Americans. Mrs. Pell tells Anderson that if you hear something enough times when you’re young, you believe it to be true. This is probably how the racism is developed by white people in the community. This protest was part of “Freedom Summer” this was to register as many African-Americans as possible in Mississippi.
An issue in this film is corruption in the legal system and links with the Ku Klux Klan. This occurs in different parts in the film for example, in the court scene a white man is put on trial for assault and is not convicted because the white man was “provoked.” The judge was obviously discriminating against the black man by ignoring the crime the white man committed. Another example of corruption in the town is the sheriff and deputy. Mr. Pell, the deputy is pulls over the civil rights activists and shoots them. The sheriff watches Klan members chase after an African-American. He allows the Klan members to perform their criminal acts without pursuing them. This corruption hinders the FBI investigation as false information is provided.
The films name, Mississippi Burning, is very relevant as literally half the film is buildings going up into smoke. The Ku Klux Klan carries out most of these acts of hatred and in some cases receive commemoration from white members of the community. The historical accuracy of this film has been a topic debated on by many, some believing that Hollywood “over exaggerated” many parts in this film and added a side story (the relationship between Mrs. Pell and Anderson) to draw in viewers. The movie was fairly accurate except for the small details, for example: the boys the civil rights workers were killed in their car whereas they were actually taken to a different location before they were killed# but, aside from that the film appealed to the younger audience very well whilst staying true to the historical events presented. During a telephone interview Alan Parker said “I’m trying to reach an entire generation who knows nothing of that historical event,”# the director’s intentions were clearly not to receive large amounts of money but rather to educate a younger generation. Due to this he would have attempted to stay true to the actual story. Unlike his other film Midnight Express, director Alan Parker doesn’t say that Mississippi Burning is based on a true story. He has done this to avoid criticism about the accuracy of the film. Although not many people were happy with the film the themes in it are portrayed very well as well as the attitude towards African-Americans.
We can see that the director of this film has put much effort into capturing the views of the white Americans for example: Alan Ward sits in the coloured section of a diner. He tries unsuccessfully to begin a conversation with a black man, later on in the movie this man is beaten by Klan members for speaking to the FBI#. Whether this event actually happened or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that such beatings actually occurred. Alan Parker doesn’t exaggerate the churches and homes torched in the movie, in fact: from June 1964 to January 1965, 31 black churches were burned down across Mississippi. The title of the film is the actual FBI code name for the operation. All in all the film was very accurately portrayed and the director tried very well to capture the audience’s attention. This film is easier to study when viewed in segments and discussed so that you are always following the story line.