Overview on Mississippi Burning

Rating: 7/10 (1 September 2005)

Mississippi Burning Directed by Alan Parker, Mississippi Burning (1988) tells the story about a small town turned upside down by the FBI coming there to investigate the disappearance of three young men. The movie deals with harsh reality of racism in the South of USA. It is set in 1964 when racial segregation blossomed and blacks were seen as a lower class. The movie evokes sympathy and knowing that it's based on true story and true events it really gets the viewer thinking: "How could these things have happened?" The main characters are the two agents from the North of USA investigating the crime and the members of the Ku Klux Klan. The agents are very different from each other but have the same goal to solve the crime. Through the investigations the truth of the widely spread violence committed against the blacks by the white racists is revealed to the agents. The difference between the North and the South is highlighted as the agents are using methods that question the traditional cultural norms in solving the crime, like interviewing the black people. Another interesting character in the movie is Mrs Pell, wife of a sheriff who is a member of Ku Klux Klan. Mr Anderson, the other agent and her go through interesting conversations in the movie. Mrs Pell, like most white people in the town is brought up teaching that whites a better people than blacks. She says hate isn't born it's taught. In the end the killers are caught and they are convicted to prison.