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Racism in Film
Racism remains a pertinent issue in modern society and is articulated effectively even in film, music and other forms of entertainment media. Race relations in the United States have been in the country’s political and social order up to the end of the 20th century. The issue of “blackness” and “whiteness” in the United States remains a controversial issue up to date. The film adoption of Harper Lee’s award winning novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird” illustrates the prevalence of racial basis and stratification in the 1900s. In addition, the film can also be likened to “Hurricane” that raises critical issuers such as historical integrity and artistic license in the United States. The film was effective in examination of the institutionalization of racism in the United States that continues to impede execution of justice in amerces criminal justice system.
The film, “The Hurricane” effectively alternates scenes between Carter and Lesra Martin, who are African Americans. Lesra Martin is a young adolescent boy adopted by three Canadian idealists, despite being originally from Brooklyn. In the year 1980, Martin is able to read an autobiography by Carter and is able to relate in terms of ideals and experiences of the former boxer. Given that martin has been adopted by an idealist family, they embark on a process of freeing Carter. The film is able to provide a recollection of the life of Carter, and more so his troubled youth. Carter was incarcerated for stabbing a white pedophile who was viewed as a “pillar of the community”, his escape from a juvenile detention centre, enrollment into the Army and subsequent entry into professional boxing.
However, after his discharge from the Army, he was incarcerated for his escape from a reformatory institution. His release from prison prompted him to venture into professional boxing as an escapist strategy to release the anger he possessed towards institutionalized racism and blatant discrimination that expressed by American institutions, during the 1960s, he had been able to gain extensive publicity as an up and coming middleweight professional boxer. This period was marked by volatility in American race relations, with one particular incident where two African American men shot three white people in a bar in New Jersey.
Carter and a young African American fan by the name John Artis were accused of murdering the three white men by the authorities due to their racial profiles. Furthermore, their arrest was as a result of their proximity to scene of the shooting and use of a car similar to the one utilized by the assailants. One of the victims who survived the shooting noted that Carter and Artis were not the assailants. However, given that some dubious claims were already made by the authorities, and an all-white jury. On the other hand, given that some dubious claims were already made by the authorities, and an all white jury affirmed the conviction for the two individuals. The remainder of the film covers Carter’s experience in prison and his external and internal struggles with a wrongful conviction. Furthermore, the film also covers the efforts of Martin and his foster parents to vindicate him from any wrongdoing. The film culminates with a white and black recollection as Carter recalls his glorious moments as a middleweight professional.
The film “Hurricane” can be likened to the film adoption of Harper Lee’s award winning novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Harper Lee’s award winning novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird” includes the civil rights movement that prevailed in the United States because of tensions from poor race relations. In the late 1930s, there were numerous incidences of violence propagated towards African Americans as well as retaliatory attacks by the African American community. In the year 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established by W.E.B. Du Bois with the aim of providing support to African Americans. By the 1930s, the NAACP played a critical role in repealing policies and laws that affirmed that status quo through discrimination against African Americans that was prevalent areas such as healthcare and education.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed some African American individuals to various administrative positions within the Committee of Civil Rights Services, to initiate desegregation in federal institutions. Despite the growing efforts towards desegregation, various events acted as impediments towards inequality and discrimination against African Americans. The migration of African Americans from the south to urban areas in the north took place in the early 1900s. This gave rise to racial tensions in the urban north that experienced an influx in African Americans. African Americans were segregated in employment, access to social services such as healthcare, housing, and education.
The two films highlight the presence of what can be termed as “racially restricted covenants” whereby Africans Americans were restricted from living in specific areas that were presumed to be only fit for the majority white Americans. The African Americans were predominantly housed in overcrowded and dilapidated buildings that were lacking in basic social amenities. The migration to north by the African Americans was primarily because of the extensive discrimination and poor conditions that were marked by the “Jim Crow” system of governance that was extensively utilized in the south as a means of affirming segregation.
It is evident that the “Hurricane” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” are effective in the modification and subsequent manipulation of historical events and characters with the sole aim of enhancing dramatic coherence, narrative efficiency, and artistic license. The combination of such elements is driven by the need to illustrate the incidence of social inequalities and more so the prevalence of racial discrimination that marked the united states in the late 1900s. This is usually a characteristic of playwrights, filmmakers, and novelists in their ability to dramatize and reanimate past events.
The racism experienced by African Americans in the south was different from the racial relations in northern United States. Critics claim that although racism in the urban north was subtle, it was deeply affirmed through institutionalization as evidenced in the film Hurricane. The film “To Kill a Mockingbird” covers the life of a widower by the name Atticus Finch as she raises two children in the town of Maycomb located in Alabama in the midst of a sever economic recession (Great Depression of 1930s) and extensive segregation in America’s south. Finch, given that he is one of the few attorneys in the community, is called upon by the local authorities to defend a black laborer by the name Tom Robinson (Bloom 31). Robinson has been accused falsely of raping a Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a white man.
However, it is apparent that Mayella Ewell had committed an unforgivable act of seducing a colored man, Tom Robinson. The Ewells can be termed as the “poor White trash” given that they live in the outskirts of the town, away from the civilized effects of an urban setting. An all white jury that is conventionally racist convicts Tom Robinson, despite his innocence and a heroic defense by Finch, for his presumed role in sexually abusing Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson lacks hope and tires to escape prison where he is shot dead by the prison authorities.
Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, is an alcoholic who resorts to take vengeance against Finch given that he is exposed and humiliated by the trial, by attacking finch’s two children. In turn, he is stabbed by Finch’s reclusive and mysterious neighbor named Boo Radley. Jean Louise is able to experience numerous issues such as class divisions, intolerance, racism, and injustice that were affirmed by institutionalized discrimination and racism. The film is able to affirm a similarly held perspective of institutionalized racism that characterized the United States in the 20th century and remains a critical concern to date (Bloom 39).
Segregation in the United States played a critical role in the subsequent disenfranchisement of the African American population. It was utilized by the ruling white elite and majority to affirm the status quo and amass power from the perceived threat of a growing African American population. Race relations in the 1930s through to the 1960s were marked by extensive levels of de jure segregation that brought about the emergence of a civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The civil rights movement was marked by Black Power movements and urban riots that sought to eliminate the race system that was affirmed through extensive racial divisions in the American society. Racial divisions in the United States continue to exist in the form of unconscious racism.
In addition, the de jure form of segregation, also known as Jim Crow system was utilized by the majority white community to affirm the status quo through extreme inequalities, relative powerlessness, and extensive limitations of liberties of the African American population. Group relations played an important role in the control of the lives of a majority of African Americans especially those living in the south. Modernization and mechanization that took place in the Southern part of the United States had a critical effect on the overall race relations. Based on the scenes from the two movies, it is evident that farm-work was relatively less labor intensive as laborers became replaced with machinery. The Jim Crow segregation system, as noted in the two film lacked relevance as the African American community sought new avenues to end desegregation (Seitles 14).
Modernization in the south inspired the migration of the African American population as noted in the film “The Hurricane” inspired migration to the urban north to explore new economic and employment opportunities. African Americans viewed life away from the south better as they were provided with economic and employment opportunities. However, racism and discriminatory practices were firmly entrenched in the entire country. The North had similar policies and regulations that sought to ensure segregation and discrimination against African Americans and other racial minority groups (Seitles 12).
A growing African American population, based on the political environment in the United States in the 1930s was adequate to make significant changes in state, local, and national elections in the 1940s. In the year 1948, President Harry S. Truman affirmed the importance of focusing on the African American community to gain reelection (Fitzgerald). This influenced the Democratic Party to adopt a civil rights approach for the first time after the Reconstruction. The influence of such changes was gradually becoming visible in the United States leading to the end of the traditional de jure segregation system that prevailed in the country. In “The Hurricane” the film illustrates that by the mid 20th century the resistance towards racial equality and ending the de jure segregation system was declining (Seitles 16).
On of the most critical events that illustrated the growing strength of black power resources took place in the year 1941 as the united states prepared mobilized to go to war against Japan and Germany. Racial discrimination was common even in the disciplined forces. The Civil Rights movement can be associated with Tom Robinson’s ability to gain representation despite significant challenges in terms of a biased all-white jury and a criminal justice system that was marked by inequalities and inconsistencies. The Civil Rights Movement utilized a multi-pronged approach towards elimination of legal segregation. In addition, the movement was intent on the amelioration of the significant inequalities that were constantly endured by African Americans (Fitzgerald). The movement included courtroom battles, which are evidently noted in both films. The two films are illustrative that the African American community sought to eliminate the inequalities and segregation faced through legal processes despite opposition from well-resourced white elites.
The NAACP was intent on attacking the Jim Crow system by focusing on the violations of civil rights of the African Americans. Individual prejudice can be likened to cultural and institutional racism, which are manifested in subtle means without intention and consciousness. However, in the two films, racism is manifested expressly given that it is part of the culture of the white majority, who use it as a means of affirming their predominant position in the American society. The white community communicated their radial attitudes through the Jim Crow system that ensured high levels of disenfranchisement of the African American community (Seitles 20).
The form of racism expressed in the two films can termed as a dominative as it primarily focuses on the use of stereotyped beliefs and expression of prejudice towards racial minorities. Subtle racism that is manifested in contemporary expression of individual biases and institutional racism plated a critical role in the racial mistrust that was expressed in the two films. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Finch, Radley can be termed as holding similar dislike for radical racism that prevailed the United States at the time given that reactions towards prejudicial acts expressed by the community and the Ewell family.
Lesra Martin, his Canadian guardians and Finch illustrate a high sense of moral value given that they are primarily focused on ensuring that the defendants, Carter and Robinson, are accorded the much-needed justice. The two have varied effects as they embark on advocating for justice for the two convicted individuals. It is apparent that justice was elusive for African Americans due to the racial profile of an individual.
The film “Hurricane” can be likened to the film adoption of Harper Lee’s award winning novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The two films provide an elaborate overview of the historical justices faced by the African American community. The institutionalized and individualized racism was expressed openly, as compared to contemporary settings where only subtle forms of racism exist. Harper Lee’s award winning novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird” includes the civil rights movement that prevailed in the United States because of tensions from poor race relations. In the late 1930s, there were numerous incidences of violence propagated towards African Americans as well as retaliatory attacks by the African American community (Seitles 23).
The civil rights movement was effective in bringing about necessary changes, which brought about realization and enjoyment of civil liberties that are experienced to date by all racial groups. The two films are effective in highlighting the importance of ensuring adequacy of institutions to confer appropriate judgment irrespective of racial profile of a defendant or plaintiff.
In conclusion the “Hurricane” and “To Kill a
Mockingbird” are effective in the modification and subsequent manipulation of
historical events and characters with the sole aim of enhancing dramatic
coherence, narrative efficiency, and artistic license. The combination of such
elements is driven by the need to illustrate the incidence of social
inequalities and more so the prevalence of racial discrimination that marked
the united states in the late 1900s. This is usually a characteristic of
playwrights, filmmakers, and novelists in their ability to dramatize and
reanimate past events.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Susan. “The Hurricane Exposes Racism and Injustice.” NoDeathPentalty. N.d.Web. 9th December 2015. Accessed from http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/new_abolitionist/february-2000-issue-14/hurricane-exposes-racism-and-injustice
Bloom, Harold. Harper Lee’s to Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1996. Print.
Seitles, Marc. “The perpetuation of residential racial segregation in America: Historical discrimination, modern forms of exclusion, and inclusionary remedies.” Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law, 14.1(1996):1–30. Print.