The Long Story of Desegregation
This week, we’ll continue our discussion of desgregation in the South. As we saw in Ghosts of Ole Miss (Dir. Fritz Mitchell 2012), sometimes things that seem entirely unconnected such as football and integration become powerful mutually-informing symbols. Thus, while we might initially think of desegregation as a legal, state process, in reality, it’s often undergirdded by cultural practices that seem as if they should be unrelated or separate from the law. Though I think most people can agree that Mitchell’s film as narrated by Wright Thompson is a powerful statement on Mississippi’s past and future, it also might be read within a filmic tradition that looks at the Civil Rights movement through the lens of white leadership and guilt.
As a companion to Ghosts, I particularly like Prom Night In Mississippi (Dir. Paul Saltzman 2009). Though it is also directed by an outsider, I find the use of individual “diary” cameras to be a compelling choice. Anyone who has worked with high schoolers knows that they can clam up when asked to articulate their feelings regarding the ideas handed to them by the adults in their lives. They have opinions, be assured, but they are also feeling out these ideas, trying them on, and testing them against the world they see around them and their own consciences. This film does an excellent job mitigating against the potential embarrassment kids may feel when faced with a camera and pointed questions while also embracing this sensation as a component of the film’s form.
In any case, that’s enough from me. Enjoy this film. Y0u can find it at this link: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/prom_night_in_mississippi, or you can watch it in parts on YouTube:
