History Revealed in "Mississippi Burning"

893 Words2 Pages

What exactly was the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi? It was a time during the 1960s that had affected people even up to this day, and had also initiated the formations of documentaries and cinematic material that were created to renovate events. It was a time when the privilege and opportunity of drinking from a publicly-used water fountain depended on your race and color of skin. A not so recent film, Mississippi Burning, was produced in order to show detailed happenings that occurred during this time period. The movie talks about many characters that actually existed throughout history. It was shocking to experience the way people were treated in Mississippi. People were murdered for racist reasons, organizations were created to pursue horrible deeds, and people that were looked up upon were a part of these organizations. This film reenacts certain situations and was talked about frequently when it was first released. Reviews stated that the movie was somewhat historically accurate. However there were also those who explained that the film was superficial in a way that abused what really did happen during that time. Mississippi Burning was historically factual in introducing characters who were actually alive during this time. However it failed to realistically demonstrate how actual quarrels took place, and included unnecessary, dramatic events for entertainment and economic reasons. History was often displayed in the film Mississippi Burning. For example, three civil rights workers known as James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, were murdered in the year 1964. These young men were real human beings visiting Philadelphia, Mississippi to help register African-Americans’ voting rights. Throughout the 1960’s,... ... middle of paper ... ...make the film more interesting to watch, Parker added the romance between Agent Rupert Anderson and Mrs. Pell. In the film, Agent Anderson seduces Mrs. Pell in order to retrieve information of the whereabouts of the boys’ bodies. In reality, the FBI Agents found the bodies by searching everywhere around the location they were abducted. The secretive attraction between the two was additional details that gave the film a better storyline; or at least Alan Parker thought so (Twain). The film demonstrates nonfictional occurrences by revealing the three civil rights workers, Sheriff Cecil Price, and the KKK members. It also includes events that didn’t take place: the exaggeration of the beatings of African Americans and the romance between Agent Rupert Anderson and Mrs. Pell. Thus, Mississippi Burning consists of both Historical information and Fictional data.

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