To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

What is it about movies that captivate us? Do they merely tickle our fantasies, or do they evoke a much stronger emotional response? Perhaps one of the hallmarks of cinema is the ability of the scenes and the characters on film to connect with audiences, establishing a very powerful link between the viewer and the screen. Often, clever directors will use that association—created through a variety of cinematic techniques—to carefully craft a world on screen that will win over their audience.

A perfect example of this method of persuasion is used in 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird. Adapted from Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1960, the film follows the family of widowed father Atticus Finch as he tries to raise his two children, Jem and Scout, in Depression-era Alabama during the thick of racial tensions. Atticus, an attorney, accepts the defense of a black man, Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white girl, named Mayella Ewell. Told through the eyes of the daughter, Scout, the film follows Atticus's affirmation to morality as he raises his children amidst a town screaming with prejudice. The townspeople torment Atticus, and his family, for his defense of Robinson. Yet, in the face of overwhelming hostility, Atticus neither falters nor buckles as he remains a tall, confident beacon of morality and truth.

Paralleling the racial drama is a subplot involving a mysterious neighbor of the children, named Boo Radley. He is a quiet, lonesome and misunderstood man living in a deliberately dark and ominous home. The kids, curious about Boo, brave the myriad of haunting stories and his own creepy, dark house to catch a glimpse of him. But as the

story unfolds, Boo is shown to be just an in...

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...derstanding the world from someone else's point of view is the only way people can truly overcome their misconceptions, stereotypes, and prejudices about other people or groups. To Kill a Mockingbird seizes the opportunity to take advantage of a temporarily subdued audience to introduce the simple, yet bold, postulate that all people from all walks of life be tolerated and appreciated for their differences, not persecuted for them. While made during the turbulent 1960's era, the ideals this film represent echo across time. The efforts of Mockingbird's filmmaking team captivate their audience through their use of subtle and direct methods of persuasion. They tell a story that, as critic John J. Puccio says, is "never preachy; and the lessons one learns about human dignity are more far-reaching than the movie's trappings of racial prejudice and bigotry might suggest."