New movie distorts civil rights struggle

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Mississippi Burning, a new film directed by Alan Parker.

Last month, "Mississippi Burning," a film dealing with the battle for civil rights in the South, swept the National Board of Review's 1988 awards. It received the best film, best actor, best supporting actress, and best director prizes.

The film's director (Alan Parker of "Midnight Express" and "Angel Heart") goes to great lengths to remind us how bad the situation was for Southern Blacks during the 1960s. He doesn't exaggerate. The church burnings shown in the film, for instance, reflect the fact that between June 1964 and January 1965 alone, KKK nightriders burned 31 Black churches across Mississippi.

But in attempting to make his message more urgent, Parker comes up with a film that is less about civil rights struggles and more about the struggle between two cops over how violent and ruthless their investigation should be.

Rough and dirty

The story focuses on FBI agents Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Anderson (Gene Hackman), who are assigned to find out what happened to three young civil rights workers (based on the 1964 murders of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney). Their investigation initially provides no results other than increased Blacks are sheriff and violence-as terrorized by local Klansmen, including the his deputy, to keep them from talking.

Anderson, a former Mississippi sheriff, feels it's necessary to play rough. After several setbacks, Ward, who is in charge, agrees. By using intimidation, force, deceit-Anderson's methods-—the bodies of the three civil rights workers are found, and the murderers are prosecuted.

The message is that justice can only be accomplished by governmental authorities playing as rough and dirty as the criminals—the same message as in films like "Dirty Harry." Eventually, the FBI investigators adopt the methods of the Klan to the point where several of them masquerade as KKK members.

The film presents no other recourse for justice; the northern activists are killed in the first scene and no others are shown. By implying that basic freedoms for Blacks were won through the ruthless tactics of white FBI agents, therefore, "Mississippi Burning" distorts history.

No mention is made of Blacks and whites who marched, organized, fought, and died in the 1950s and 1960s for basic civil rights such as voting. There is not one individualized Black character, and the only strong Blacks (who are not passive and frightened) are a young boy and an FBI agent who appears in one scene.

"Being poor was killing him"

While the FBI is presented positively (although inaccurately—it had no Black agents in 1964), it was in fact guilty of violating civil rights in its persecution and harassment of Black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. Moreover, it has recently been plagued with racial discrimination suits.

Since the film is mainly concerned with the most sensational effects of racism-such as church burnings, castrations, and murder—it is not surprising that it doesn't attempt to explore the causes of racism.

The film only briefly refers to the hatred of poor whites toward poor Blacks (which works to divert them from fighting back against the bosses). In one scene, Anderson explains his father's attitude toward Black farmers: "He was so filled with hate, he didn't know it was being poor that was killing him."

Even though "Mississippi Burning" shows a subject that is not often treated, it is hard to recommend it. It directs us to the wrong source for justice. As history demonstrates, we cannot depend on the government and its police to obtain equality for Blacks and other minorities. We have to obtain justice by our own mass actions. Mississippi 1964: Sheriff Lawrence Raine] at his arraignment for murder of three young civil rights workers. Movie is based on this incident.