Good day to my avid readers. Today I will be discussing a film named "Mississipi Burning".
"Mississpi Burning" is a movie based on prejudice and discrimination against Negroes. It is set in the 20th century in the southern part of America. It mainly focuses on the predominance of apartheid psychology during that time period, thus in the movie blacks are discriminated against. Segregation also takes place in the movie.
I have mixed feelings towards the movie. I like it because it is based on real life facts. It is rare that the truth is interesting or exciting or captivating. However, this movie has managed to capture excellently the horror that blacks faced in the 20th century, especially the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK was a white supremacist organisation that lynched blacks, burnt down black churches, and raided black homes. They did not spare children or old folks, killing them indiscriminately. Although I already knew about how blacks were shunned and killed during the 20th century, it was a whole other thing to watch explicit graphic detail of how the KKK killed and tortured the negroes. I also like it because of the change that occurs. The movie started off with three civil rights activists being shot dead by police officers. However, at the end there was an integrated mourning of those activists and the people who had been mindlessly killed by the KKK.
That said, the movie also has flaws. My opinion is that it is not very suitable for easily frightened people, since the gory details would scare them. I also felt quite frightened and horrified when the KKK lynched a negro in the movie. As the Negro was being lynched, blood spattered everywhere, and it was a very gory scene. I also do not like it because the transition seems too abrupt. The movie starts with shooting, then it deteriorates into the arson of several different negro homes and churches. Finally, the masterminds are arrested, and suddenly people think negroes are not so bad. It would have been better if it did not change so abruptly since there is no significant change in life that occurs abruptly.
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteSuperb job with the description and the response towards the movie. I have a few comments to make on your blog post.
First, I agree with you that that the movie has flaws (I didn't mention it in my blog post, however you pointed it out), however, I would be happy if you would elaborate on the gory details of the movie. When the KKK lynched a Negro in the movie, I didn't remember the "blood splattering everywhere". Also remember that the movie tries to accurately portray how the KKK members treated the Negroes, but there were some acts that were over-emphasized or dramatized.
Secondly, I didn't feel that the movie transition was too abrupt. Yes, the movie moved through scenes quickly, but it did not miss out on the important events and also used the transition to create some suspense for the audience. In my opinion, the movie could also have been trying to show how a simple matter could escalate to something complex in just a matter of a short period of type. There are also changes in life that occurs abruptly without any precursor,and that is a part of our life we cannot deny and need to adapt to.
Finally, in the movies, did the people in Mississippi think "Negroes are not so bad" at the end of the movie? There had not been much evidence to back up that statement, thus you could have explained further. As I know, the last scene was a gathering (mourning) of the dead people outside the burnt church, and the significance was that it was comprised of Black and white people. This shows that some of them have accepted the Blacks, but it does not explain anything about "Blacks are not so bad".
To summarize everything in a nutshell, I felt that there were specific reasons which led to why you think the movie has flaws. But truthfully speaking, a critic can always find flaws in a movie, because no movie is perfect and it always has a message to convey. Whether it is negative or positive will depend on the scriptwriter.
Keven Loo (2i114)
Actually, I disagree that the scene transition is too abrupt. I feel that the transition is actually quite slow throughout many parts of the movie. I believe that the few times where the transition is fast is to show the fast speed the KKK do their deeds, and how fast they react to threats.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I know that this movie has many violent and gory scenes. However, I think that these scenes are actually essential in the movie to show the sheer violence of the KKK.
Just a footnote, at the time of the movie release, the movie was rated R. The movie is rated R for its violence, disturbing scenes and coarse language. However, the rating has been reduced to PG-13 now.