"The Ghosts of Mississippi" Film Review

     The movie Ghosts of Mississippi opens with original, historical films. The first things to be scene by the audience are black and white films of protests, African-American men voting, famous African-American athletes, a "colored entrance" sign, a "segregation forever" poster, a dance hall, etc., which are all original footage according to the IMDb review of the film. Immediately following the historical clips, the audience reads "This story is true." on the screen. However, in my opinion - and the opinion of many others - although this is based on the true events of the murder of Medgar Evers, the film Ghosts of Mississippi does not focus enough on the right things in order to be used as a good teaching tool. Ghosts of Mississippi focuses more on the life of Bobby DeLaughter - the lawyer who proved Byron de la Beckwith guilty of Medgar Ever's murder - than anything else. Much like the film Glory, Ghosts of Mississippi is based off of primary sources (such as newspaper articles), but certain things are added, dramatized, or simplified in the film.
     After the black screen with the words "This story is true." fades out, the audience is transported to "Mississippi Delta, June 1963". The first thing the audience views is a Shriner's Symbol - a symbol often worn or carried by members of the KKK - hanging from the rear view mirror of a car. Then the camera pans over to show the face of who the viewer will later come to understand is Byron de la Beckwith. The audience sees Beckwith (played by James Woods) waiting outside Ever's home, then shooting Evers (played by James Pickens Jr.) in the back as he gets out of his car. According to FindLaw.com, this scene accurately - if not a little dramatically - depicts how the murder happened, with Myrlie Evers (played by Whoopi Goldberg) and the three Evers children running out to their father has he dies. The viewer then sees as Medgar Wiley Evers is buried in Arlington National Cemetery - where Evers is actually buried (The Mississippi Writer's Page).
     The next scenes take place in Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi. They show Beckwith casually walking into the courthouse, cuffed but jovially speaking to all the white police officers. As he walks in he is treated as if he is an old friend of the police officers, not as if he is being tried for the murder of another person. Then in the courtroom, the former governor of Mississippi walks in and shakes Beckwith's hand. The audience sees Beckwith being treated much more nicely than Mrs. Evers, then reads the titles of several newspapers saying "Mistrial Decreed in Beckwith Case", "Second Beckwith Trial To Be Held In April", and "Beckwith Goes Home After Second Mistrial". The murder, the burial, and the following two trials are depicted correctly in the movie, but after that the film shifts its focus to something that - in my opinion - is not as important.
     Once the film is done showing Ever's murder and the events immediately following, the audience is introduced to Bobby DeLaughter in "October, 1989", who takes on Evers case twenty-five years after the murder. The rest of the movie focuses on his home life and his work on the case, and the audience rarely sees the Evers family until the end of the movie. The viewer sees Bobby at home with his kids, separating from his wife, getting married to a new wife, talking with his parents, etc. While most of these things are historically what happened, the producers of Ghosts of Mississippi could have tried focusing a little less on what was happening in his life, and more on what was happening in the Evers' lives and the progress of integration over those years.

Film Project - Post 4

Bibliography
1. Ghosts of Mississippi. Dir. Rob Reiner. Perf. Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, and James Woods. Colombia Pictures, 1996. Amazon.

2. Coxwell, Merrida. "FindLaw's Supreme Court of Mississippi Case and Opinions." Findlaw. Thomson Reuters Business, Dec. 1990. Web. 17 May 2017.

3. Raymond, Henry J. "Breaking News, World News & Multimedia." The New York Times. The New York Times, 1990. Web. 17 May 2017.

4. Padgett, John B. "Medgar Evers." MWP: Medgar Evers (1925-1963). The University of Mississippi English Departmet, Aug. 1997. Web. 17 May 2017.

5. History.com Staff. "Ku Klux Klan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 17 May 2017.

6.  "Race Discrimination: U.S. Supreme Court Cases." Findlaw. Thomson Reuters, 2013. Web. 17 May 2017.

7. Colick, Lewis. "Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)." IMDb. IMDb.com, 3 Jan. 1997. Web. 17 May 2017.

8. Bond, Julian. "Ku Klux Klan A History of Racism and Violence." SPL Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011. Web. 17 May 2017.

9. Johnson, Malcolm. "Historical Accuracy Is Dramatic Weakness In `Ghosts Of Mississippi'."Tribunedigital-thecourant. Hartford Courant, 03 Jan. 1997. Web. 17 May 2017.

Film Project - Post 3

Ghosts of Mississippi Party
Dinner Menu

 Main Course:

Mississippi Dinner

 - Chicken Fried Steak (without the gravy)
 - Collard Greens (without the bacon/ham)
 - Cornbread & Purple Hull Peas
 - Mashed Potatoes (without the gravy)
 *each food item is missing something just like America was missing something it needed in order to be "whole"
 *the theme of the food is a typical Mississippi dinner

Dessert:
 Mud Pie with Whipped Cream Ghosts

Film Project - Post 2

Ghosts of Mississippi Party
Exhibit:
1. The films from the beginning of Ghosts of Mississippi (which are original films) to play on repeat.      Featuring original films of protests, a speech given by Medgar Evers, famous African-                          American athletes, dance halls, etc.

2. The rifle used by Byron de la Beckwith to murder Evers.

Beckwith's Rifle

3. The Shriner's Symbol prop from Ghosts of Mississippi found in Beckwith's car (often used by members of the KKK). 

Shriner's Symbol

4. KKK Uniform

Uniform worn by KKK members

5. Klandestine by William H. McIlhany II

Klandestine

6. Newspaper Articles about the murder

Newspaper article about Ever's murder

7. Newspaper Articles from First Two Trials in 1964

      NY Times

8. Newspaper Articles from Third Trial 1990's

       NY Times

Film Project - Post 1

Ghosts of Mississippi Party
Guest List:

Medgar Evers

1. Medgar Evers (deceased) - could tell us about his work in the NAACP and other groups working toward integration

Myrlie Evers

2. Delmar Dennis (living?) - former KKK member, then left and worked for the FBI; could give insight into what it was like in the KKK

3. Myrlie Evers (living) - could tell us firsthand about her experience in the trials (where the entire jury was white and the odds were stacked against her)

4. Byron de la Beckwith (deceased) - could give us his perspective and mindset (it's not a real party until an argument breaks out)

5. William H. McIlhany II (living) - author of Klandestine and The ACLU on Trial; could tell us about his research on the KKK and other subjects

Byron de la Beckwith

6. Bobby DeLaughter (living) - could tell us about his experience trying to prove a white man guilty of murdering a black man 25 years after it happened

7. James Picken Jr. (living) - actor who played Medgar Evers in Ghosts of Mississippi (also Dr. Webber in Grey's Anatomy)

8. Darrell Evers (deceased) - could tell us about his experience growing up and watching the changes happen

WWI Poster Analysis

1. Propaganda is a method used by the government to get people to do or think something through the use of ads, signs, posters, etc.

2. Propaganda (as defined by dictionary.com): information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, institution, nation, etc.

3. Set #1

4-6.  On the first poster, the reader's eyes are immediately drawn to the words "WAKE UP, AMERICA!" at the top of the page. After that, the audience notices the woman asleep in a chair wearing a hat and dress with the pattern of the American flag on them. Finally, the viewer notices the words at the bottom "CIVILIZATION CALLS EVERY MAN WOMAN AND CHILD!" The author of this poster is targeting everyone in America (including women and children) to do their patriotic duty instead of "slacking off" like the woman on the poster.
        In the second poster, the audience first sees the giant gorilla wearing a German helmet, carrying a woman in distress, and wielding a club with the word "kultur" on it (meaning "culture" in German). Then the reader notices the words "DESTROY THIS MAD BRUTE" and "ENLIST, US ARMY". The author of this poster was reaching out to young, American men to join the army and "save the young maidens" who are being "held captive" by the monstrous Germans.
        In the third and final poster, the viewer first notices the giant "Hun" (meant to represent the barbaric Germans) looking across the ocean from the pile of rubble it created from the countries it's "destroyed". Next the audience's eyes are drawn to the words "Beat back the HUN with LIBERTY BONDS". The author of this poster wanted to convince all American citizens to buy liberty bonds to "defend their country" from the Germans.

7. I think that propaganda was a smart idea: using people's emotional response to a picture and/or phrase to convince or coerce them into doing something. I also think that it can be good when it's used for the right reasons, but can also be an "abuse of power" so-to-speak if used for the wrong reasons.

8. The federal government felt it necessary to invest in producing propaganda posters during WWI, because if they didn't remind everyone that there was a war going on across the ocean, the people in America would be able to just pretend it wasn't happening. So the government needed to create and circulate propaganda to remind the Americans and encourage them to participate.

Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau

Eddie Aikau

      Even though the film Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau focuses on the life and surfing career of Eddie Aikau, it allows the viewer to gain a deeper understanding of imperialism in the 19th century. Several people are interviewed in the film; during his interview, one of Eddie's siblings talks about the arrival of the Australians. He said that they came in, took over, and offended the native Hawaiians in the process. The Australians who had come to Hawaii to surf (which is a sport that was created by Hawaiians) were rude to the natives that had grown up there. Just like the United States did with the smaller nations of whom they had taken control. They came in, took over, and used the resources they found to their advantage - all while completely disregarding the native peoples and their cultures. The filmmakers interviewed one of the Australian surfers, and he told the audience that he hadn't even aware that he was offending the Hawaiians until Eddie Aikau sat him down and told him about the history of the Hawaiians. Likewise, the US was probably unaware - or just didn't care - that they were changing everything for the native peoples without taking a minute to ask them about their history or what they wanted.