Domestic Terrorism

Rating: 9/10 (16 March 2008)

The movie "Mississippi Burning" is the story of two FBI agents investigating the murder of three civil right workers in Mississippi in 1964. The tactics used by the perpetrators included hangings, burning barns, churches, livestock, and homes. The locals intimidated the blacks who they believed were cooperating with the FBI, instilling scare tactics to terrify them into avoiding the agents. The more the FBI tried to gain information, the more the violence escalated. The sheriff's office was involved in the terror and used it to maintain their power. They were bullies, believing their behavior was justified. They wouldn't tolerate opposition. Everyone involved was responsible, even the mayor, who one agent pointed out wasn't "in on it" yet Agent Ward reciprocated by saying his knowledge of the incident was enough to involve him. Agent Ward was baffled at the behavior of the locals, being a naïve, straight-arrow D.C. agent while Agent Anderson was realistically unsurprised, having been raised in northern Mississippi.
The mutation of the FBI tactics in the investigation was the most thought provoking part of the movie. Agents Ward and Anderson were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Ward was trying to be polite and accomplish goals by the book while Anderson was a street-smart, unorthodox, fearless, and empathetic agent. At first, they sought and expected cooperation from the sheriff; that never happened. Their questioning of the black community was met with resistance. Agent Anderson established a rapport with Deputy Pell's wife. He sensed her overwhelming desire to break away, yet she was at first reluctant to help, being a dutiful wife and southern woman, but eventually became an informant. Anderson had no qualms assaulting one of the members at their "social club", letting them know early on that he didn't take kindly to threats.
There were two very pivotal points in the movie that made the FBI change its tactics, even to the point of Agent Ward growing a backbone and adopting some of Anderson's philosophies. First was organizing a "secret meeting" of the key members in a church. When they realized it was a set up and bailed, Lester ignorantly spilled and the FBI quickly took advantage of his vulnerability. As Agent Anderson put it, "the rattlesnakes were beginning to commit suicide". The story took a very dramatic turn when Deputy Pell's wife finally broke down and identified the location of the bodies. After the discovery and processing, the sheriff insisted Pell settle the "problem at home", even sending 3 fellow members to watch over Pell violently assault his wife for her betrayal. They had finally struck a vital nerve with the FBI and Anderson was finished relying on Ward's protocol. Ward's pressed-suit, pen-and-paper, rookie agents were out and Anderson's seasoned, no-nonsense "fixer" agents were in. I found an interesting correlation in the FBI measures to the perpetrator's. They spared no expense for a desired outcome, to include a rouse hanging of Lester, an extremely coercive interrogation of the mayor in a desolate shack, and, my favorite scene of the entire movie, Agent Anderson's retaliation against Deputy Pell at a barber shop, asking Pell if "he struck a blow for the white man" the night he killed the civil rights workers as well as the night he remorselessly beat his wife.
I believe the FBIs tactics, although unorthodox, were justified. They tried to play it by the book and it didn't work. Perhaps they pushed the envelope to gain results but justice prevailed. Agents Ward and Anderson learned a thing or two about each other and the ethics of "bureau procedure".