Social Injustice and White Supremacy in:
To Kill a Mockingbird
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To Kill a Mockingbird, released in 1962 and directed by Robert Mulligan, is a film based off of Harper Lees famous hit book. In the movie, Mulligan portrays the unequal “equal rights” of the South in the 60’s through a local lawyer defending an innocent African American worker in a rape case. At the start of the film we are introduced to the narrator of the story, Scout, who at the time was 6 years old, but as the narrator is clearly Scout as a grown women reflecting on her time growing up in Maycomb, Alabama. The opening scene falls right into Scout playing with her older brother, Jem, in their front yard as their widowed father heads out for work. The siblings father goes by Atticus Finch and is introduced as a lawyer with a new controversial town case where he is defending a negro man, named Tom Robinson, in a rape accusation against the daughter of Bob Ewell, the poor town drunk. In this major motion picture portraying life in the South during the 60’s, white men and women are still given unfair advantage and treatment compared to their black counterparts, no matter how severe the scenario, ultimately destroying the new idea of equality.
Analysis
Bob Ewell is one of the main reasons on why this film was seen as so harshly racist. Ewell is the father of the girl who Tom Robinson “raped”. As they all sit in trial you can see that all the colored people supporting Tom were only allowed in the upper balcony as opposed to all the white citizens sitting below, front and center. This separate but equal was clearly not equal at all as all the black families in the balcony had to stand and lean over the railings to get a better look. As the trial begins Atticus makes some very hard hitting points as to why Tom is innocent. He shows the jury how Tom's right hand was torn apart in a cotton mill when he was younger and can no longer use it. Meanwhile, Mr. Ewell’s dominant hand is his right, matching up perfectly with the injury to the left side of Ms. Ewell’s face. It becomes clear to the room that Ms. Ewell is lying and convicting Tom of rape to cover up her guilt and shame of being sexual with a black man. However, in the common theme of white power, the all white jury comes back with the verdict that Tom Robinson is guilty even though there is clear evidence proving he is not. As the white citizens clear out it is just Atticus left in the room. Panning towards his confused face, he then looks up to the balcony. Here Mulligan uses a POV shot to show the balcony of black men and women from Atticus’ point of view. He then proceeds down the aisle with his head down and the camera jumps up to the balcony point of view as the black section stands in respect for Atticus. This scene truly emphasized the gratitude from the black community to Atticus as well as the deep sadness and defeat that Atticus was feeling as he left the room. The severe racism in the deep south during this time was exemplified greatly during the trial scene and further expressed the privilege that white people had over anyone else solely due to the color of their skin.
The jury of this trial played a large part in the underlying message of this famous film. It was clear by the judge as well as everyone in the audience that Tom Robinson had not committed this terrible crime. However, the pressure of society ultimately made the final decision in the end. “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution,” Atticus pleads to the jury of entirely white men, “but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.” Although the jury clearly knows who committed the crime, they follow the rules of society and give in to the racist pressure of the town. The jury becomes “followers” and even though they know what they are doing is wrong, they continue with the social norms of Maycomb and convict Tom as guilty. This scene symbolized the “mockingbird” metaphor of To Kill a Mockingbird. The idea that mockingbirds, “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy,” which explains why it is considered a sin to kill them. However, mockingbirds mimic the songs of birds around them, no matter the bird. Further, it explains how the mockingbird is thought to never have their own song, but to copy those around them and agree with whatever birds they are surrounded by. As Thomas DiPiero from the University of Rochester explains, “When we presume easy identification with other people, we assume that, like mockingbirds, they will sing our song, conform to our worldview, abandon their own unique voice, and sing in unison along with us-all for us to enjoy,” (DiPiero 3). The jury in this case is the mockingbird and the white townspeople of Maycomb are the birds they mimic. Although the verdict is contradictory, as long as the townspeople agree, so do the jury creating the idea of social inequality and white supremacy. Ultimately, the jury become followers who do not make their own decisions but make their decision due to the racist pressure they feel from Maycomb.
Not long afterwards, Atticus is seen driving home when he gets news that Bob Ewell claimed Tom Robinson was “running away” so he shot him and killed him. Although Ewell had “won” the trial, he believed the judge as well as Atticus had made a fool out of him and now was on the hunt for revenge. With no repercussions for killing Mr. Robinson, it shows the harsh reality that the white people during this time could get away with almost anything, even murder and even rape. As Atticus pulls up to the Robinson house he expresses the news to the family. As the camera uses a tracking shot to follow Atticus up the steps, shocked expressions fall across each family member's face. Unstable, his wife and children run into the house crying as Atticus turns around from hearing a sound behind him. Mulligan uses another POV shot and the camera faces out towards to road where Atticus locks eyes with Bob Ewell. This scene creates a lot of dramatic suspense in a time of high tension and sadness. As the entire family weeps on the steps Bob shows no remorse or sympathy for killing their family member. Instead, he calls over Atticus and spits straight in his face. With no reaction, Atticus whips off the spit, gets in his car and drives away. This scene represented the utmost disrespect the white people of Maycomb had for their black citizens. Ewell not only came to the Robinson property after killing their innocent son, but he came to spit in Atticus Finch's face in a malicious way. How Atticus handled the situation showed the respect he had for himself, the Robinson family and his children who were sitting in the car. He did not stoop to Ewell’s level and fight back he simply moved on knowing the last thing the Robinson family needed at that time was a fight. Once again showing the disrespect and white power the citizens of Maycomb believed they deserved.
However, Ewell is not done yet and next sets out for Atticus’s children, Scout and Jem. After walking home from a Halloween party late at night the two are attacked by a man. After knocking out Jem, the man comes for Scout however, out of nowhere another man appears grabbing Jem and throwing Ewell to the ground. Later it is known that the man who saved Jem and Scout was Boo Radley, their mistreated neighbor who the children had been scared of for years. Boo ended up killing Ewell and for once a sense of social justice had been apparent. The town sheriff arrived and explained to Atticus, “Let the dead bury the dead.” This is the first sense of equality that is seen in this movie so far. By the town not acknowledging the death of Ewell due to the fact he purposely killed an innocent black man, we see a “what goes around comes around” type of scenario. When the town sheriff does not report the case, it is almost as if he is respecting the Robinson family as well as sending a message to the town of Maycomb to emphasize that this is not the way we should live. In a town of predominately white people and racism, the black citizens finally can catch a break and bury the man who took the life of their innocent good friend.
Overview
In this major motion picture portraying life in the South during the 60’s, white men and women are still given unfair advantage and treatment compared to their black counterparts, no matter how severe the scenario, ultimately destroying the new idea of equality. Mulligan uses this famous film as a way to bring attention to the underlying problems happening during the 60’s by creating a story of social inequality through the everyday life of a small Alabama family. As Stephan Goodwin of the American Scholar explained, with the novel coming out in 1960 and the movie coming out in 1962, the two pieces together “…created an alternative narrative to the bloody events that marked the Civil Rights Movement of that decade. In the actual South in the 1960s, there were church bombings, murders of activists, assassinations of black leaders,” (Goodwin 2) all around so many societal problems with little to address them. It is clear throughout the film the social injustice present and the disrespect the African Americans of Maycomb experience for having different color skin. Overall, the major motion picture created great publicity and attention to the idea of unequal equality and white supremacy during a time of change and social justice.
In this major motion picture portraying life in the South during the 60’s, white men and women are still given unfair advantage and treatment compared to their black counterparts, no matter how severe the scenario, ultimately destroying the new idea of equality. Mulligan uses this famous film as a way to bring attention to the underlying problems happening during the 60’s by creating a story of social inequality through the everyday life of a small Alabama family. As Stephan Goodwin of the American Scholar explained, with the novel coming out in 1960 and the movie coming out in 1962, the two pieces together “…created an alternative narrative to the bloody events that marked the Civil Rights Movement of that decade. In the actual South in the 1960s, there were church bombings, murders of activists, assassinations of black leaders,” (Goodwin 2) all around so many societal problems with little to address them. It is clear throughout the film the social injustice present and the disrespect the African Americans of Maycomb experience for having different color skin. Overall, the major motion picture created great publicity and attention to the idea of unequal equality and white supremacy during a time of change and social justice.