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Membership in the KKK implies a support for hate crime; membership in the KKK is equivalent to membership in a domestic terrorist group. No Klan member can plead ignorance about the motives and tactics used by the organization. The organization exists to perpetuate a culture of white supremacy, by whatever means possible. Using violence, intimidation, infiltration of law enforcement, and conspiracy all point to terrorist acts. The KKK is highly organized and systematic, designed with clear motives in mind. One of the reasons why Lester Cowans becomes such a significant character in the film is because he is among the members who does not participate in the
... In one of the strongest scenes of the movie, Agent Rupert Anderson tortures one of the prime suspects in the case. Anderson holds a barber's straight razor to Clinton's neck, making him bleed and beating him brutally in the shop. Anderson admits that his actions might reflect poorly on him professionally when he states, "Make no mistake, I'll cut your fucking head off and I don't give a shit how it reads in the report sheet." The scene is chilling and yet, there is nothing that Anderson does that he would not do to any other uncooperative suspect in another murder trial. Significantly, the FBI also uses entrapment as another questionable tactic in the film. Their tactics are used consciously and judiciously. The main reason why their tactics are necessary is because the law enforcement officers in Jessup County are KKK members themselves. When officers of the law can no longer be trusted to maintain the laws of the land, the FBI is forced to intervene.
Mississippi Burning is an evocative movie that arouses horror over racial hatred. In fact, Director Alan Parker, in an interview, stated that the film's objective was precisely to "...cause them to react...because of the racism that's around them now..." (King, 1988, para.7). Parker does this by questioning the origins of the hatred through the characters in the film. Ward, the by the book FBI agent, expresses it eloquently when he
Mississippi Burning The 1988 film Mississippi Burning depicts the total infestation of Mississippi government and civic society by racist rednecks. The Ku Klux Klan serves as a quasi-governmental and paramilitary authority that defies federal law. Their total infiltration into local governments makes the KKK an incredibly dangerous and powerful organization. Civil Rights legislation presents real threats to Klan authority. The KKK have no respect for the mandate of the federal government and
The fact that the local police authorities and local governing officials (like the mayor) were all of the same mindset as the perpetrators and that a deputy sheriff was involved first-hand in the murders virtually ensured that the crimes would remain unsolved unless the investigating authorities deviated from the normal guidelines for criminal investigations. Nevertheless, the specific tactics used by the FBI agents were themselves criminal actions that, in other
The efforts of the FBI to solve this case were certainly in the greater good, and they did solve the case, even though the trial was a mockery. It seems the FBI could have done more to have the case moved to a more neutral location to help ensure a fair trial, which certainly did not happen. Indeed, the FBI gave high priority to the case, and even opened an
A film that does not have this power, be it narrative or documentary will either simply not get made, or not get supported in such as way that anyone of import will view it or know its title and plot. Conclusion Both narrative and documentary films, in order to be viewed and understood must have a compelling social interest to the viewer, be it emotional, political or both, which it usually
" The Aftermath Uncle Tom characters were common in both white and black productions of the time, yet no director before Micheaux had so much as dared to shine a light on the psychology that ravages such characters. By essentially bowing to the two white men, Micheaux implied that Old Ned was less than a man; an individual whittled down to nothing more than yes-man and wholly deprived of self-worth. At this