Mississippi Burning Movie Controversy - Essay Example

Sociology Mississippi Burning Introduction The 1988 film Mississippi Burning depicts racial slurs and situations through symbolic approaches. Director Alan Parker depicts the idea of a perfect white South American community that was then held dear by residents of Jessop County. In time, racial segregation of whites and African Americans became rampant in this part of the United States. The origin of racial hatred remains a debatable spectacle in contemporary society, with scientific studies producing findings from psychodynamic perspectives that rival “nature versus nurture” arguments. What is certain is that racism still exists today despite centuries of attempting to eradicate it. The cue of superiority between races is an obvious sign of the opinions of whites against minorities. Mississippi Burning is a near ideal example of this racial conundrum (Parker 1988). The following paper analyzes racial hatred, its origin, and future in the lens of the film Mississippi Burning. Even though Mississippi Burning shows many shocking and widely accurate cases of racial hatred and aggression, its narrative emphasis is on the prioritization of race politics by Whites during the 1960s. Question 1 Researchers Navarro, Marchena, and Menacho define general hatred as a profound and emotional dislike whose targets differ vastly. Hatred frequently relates to disposition towards unfriendliness against the targets of hatred and can propel someone to extreme actions like violence and killing. Racial hatred is nearly a type of hatred that best explains the consequences of hatred. Understanding the nature of overall hatred helps in understanding racial hatred. Since Navarro, Marchena, and Menacho agree that overall hatred is an inherent effect of a natural disposition, racial hatred too has to be a natural product. The researchers’ study found that the dispositions of intolerance, fused with hatred, are created amongst children and teenagers and very hard to get rid of afterwards. Taking the upright pipe as the most important factor of Mississippi Burning as a mis-en-scene, the source of water for both fountains is a symbol of the origin of racial hatred in the town. First, the fountain literally splits the image into two (Parker 1988). It is certainly crucial that both fountains get their water from the same source, which is on top and outside the mis-en-scene. Parker indirectly stresses that the water is acquired from a single source and forms an image that is in the form of a dialogue and realistic with viewers. Second, understanding that what occurs to it after the water is averted is not simply inequality, but segregation as a way of sustaining racial superiority (Parker 1988). The water fountain scene did not just show the role of segregation was to keep the significance of ethnicity as a sign of inequality but that racial separation is natural. This symbolic reference can be seen as the film’s argument about the origin of racial hatred in Mississippi during the 1960s. Question 2 From Navarro, Marchena, and Menacho’s logic of overall hatred, one race can feel superior to another because of racial hatred. As a result, I can argue that racism is a system of oppression. Expounding on Sternberg’s Theory of Hate, Navarro, Marchena, and Menacho’s study include a purely psychological dynamic that sheds light on racism. One of the fundamental aspects of Sternberg’s Theory of Hate is that hatred is associated with love psychologically. According to Sternberg, hatred is not the opposite of love and neither is it its lack. Mississippi Burning sends this message in the form of logic for extreme courses of actions by Whites against African Americans. Strong bonds amongst Whites are the basis of affection for each other as well as hatred for any non-Whites. Whites in the film resort to extremism to frighten blacks and cause the rest of the Whites in the state to join in on their racist agenda. The fear of the Ku Klux Klan targeting an African American was enough cause him or her to migrate out of Mississippi (Parker 1988). Evidently, the love expressed by whites amongst each other drove their hatred for African Americans, which proves Sternberg’s theory of hatred. Question 3 Combating this new but improved version of racism, especially in the workforce is possible despite its natural and psychological nature. As downscaling, reorganization, and privatization have become more widespread in the corporate world today, combating this new improved version of racism is almost if not already a priority. Second, employers can pinpoint and assist individuals and groups directly fighting all racism. For instance, non-native personnel groups, trade and worker unions, and certain NGOs formulate measures for fighting racism at workplaces. These organizations require the support of employees from private and public sectors to succeed. Third, acquiring primary data on how widespread racism is in workplaces can help in this fight. Insufficient information or primary data exist pertaining to racial ubiquitous in organizations, which leads to racism. Lastly, workforces can undertake overall racism through legal and justice systems. Legal mechanisms accessible to all residents today should be used to confront racism at places of work. Question 4 Racism is not here to stay. However, this does not mean measures that can prevent the translation of racial hatred into violent behavior should not be undertaken. A psychodynamic perspective of hatred allowed the researchers to analyze the inherent origin and nature of overall and even racial hatred amongst human beings from an early age. extreme acts of violence were a product of the mechanisms of racial hatred, especially that portrayed by Whites against African Americans. Astoundingly, this hatred surpassed the one shared amongst blacks against Whites during the 1960s and Parker depicts this dichotomy in the film (Parker 1988). This is achieved by Parker’s conveyance of sympathy for African Americans in the opening scene of the movie that reveals how Negroes were barred from multiple public facilities and services and treated unjustly. To combat racism at places of work, people need to first comprehend and combat general racism. Overall racism is not a far-off or theoretical idea. The effects of this type of hatred are measurable and devastating to employees of minority groups and native groups more so today than in America’s history. Conclusion Even though Mississippi Burning shows many shocking and widely accurate cases of racial hatred and aggression, its narrative emphasis is on the prioritization of race politics by Whites during the 1960s. Racism is not here to stay. Even so, this does not mean measures that can prevent the translation of racial hatred into violent behavior should not be undertaken. The film Mississippi Burning is a good example of this rationale. The film portrays several ambitions to freedom between whites and minorities. The national workforce exhibits the same ambitions today as groups and individuals strive to eradicate racial hatred in organizations. This hatred can be eradicated by pursuing given steps to combat overall racism and racial hatred in specific. Works Cited Parker, Alan. Mississippi Burning. 1988. Orion Pictures. Video. 2014, Oct. 16. Read More