Examples Of Family Values In A Time To Kill

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The film A time to kill published in 1996 by Joel Schumacher is an American crime drama which promotes human rights and strong moral values among African Americans and southern whites. . The film, which is based on John Grisham’s fictional novel tells the story of an African American man who takes the law into his own hands to protect his daughter and the subsequent generations from racial discrimination. Carl Lee Hailey a heartbroken father, avenges his daughter’s brutal rape by shooting the men responsible for the crime against Tonya Hailey, however this leads to a civil uproar. A variety of values and attitudes which are represented too the audience through film techniques are the strong value of family, the attitude courage and the violation …show more content…

Family values are traditional cultural values which a passed on through generation to generation. Carl Lee Hailey’s family has always been close to his heart and since the dramatic events his daughter was put through it’s made him realise just how important they are. An example of valuing his close family is Carl Lee organises a meeting in jail to confront the organisation of money, which was meant to go towards his family, however instead has been told it would help his court trial. “How much of that cash you offering my wife and kids?” are the brave words Carl Lee states towards the leader of the church. “Oh, that moneys to pay for Lawyer fees and stuff like that”, “That aint what you told the church now, is it?” Through this scene the tension builds between Carl Lee Hailey and reverent Isaiah Street through Schumacher’s use of direct dialogue and complete silence throughout the scene. The value of family is clearly promoted to the audience and it’s clear that Carl Lee isn’t just doing this for himself, but for his family and the rest of the African American population. Together the use of film techniques and dialogue, promotes the importance of family no matter how hard life can be. Family must always come first and is a clear value displayed throughout A time to

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