Background
for Teachers
Alan
Parker’s Mississippi Burning is an important film
because it is rooted in the history of the Civil Rights era and
the history of American cinema. On one level, it is a faithful
account of the effort to bring the murderers of three young Civil
Rights workers in 1964 to justice. Michael Schwerner, Andy Goodman,
and James Chaney came to Neshoba County, Mississippi to register
blacks to vote and to investigate the burning of a Black church.
Harassed, arrested and then released by the Neshoba sheriff, the
three were hunted down one evening in June 1964 and murdered by
Neshoba KKK members. In 1967, only seven of the original nineteen
conspirators were convicted on federal conspiracy charges. It
was not until 2005--38 years after the crime-- that Edgar Ray
Killen, 80, would be convicted on three charges of murder. The
roots of this story, then, are firmly planted in the soil of this
country’s Civil Rights history.
Mississippi
Burning is tied to the history of American film as well.
Parker chose to dramatize the events of 1964 using a familiar
film structure—that of the Hollywood Western (Howe).
The good guys (FBI agents) wear standard issue black suits; the
bad guys are “good ol’ boys” who wear white
hoods; Neshoba becomes a frontier town; lynchings replace gunfights;
and the love interest of one of the heroes (Frances McDormand)
is immediately worthy of being saved. The elements of the
genre of are all there but they do not eclipse the historical
significance of this great film.
Teaching
Suggestion: We do not recommend teaching Mississippi Burning
apart from the events it recounts. Readings and discussions
about the Civil Rights era should precede viewing the film. Newspaper
and magazine articles on the deaths of the three activists and
the fire-bombings of Black churches have been digitized and are
available online. We have included the University of Missouri
School of Law website in our List of Works Consulted. It
is perhaps the most comprehensive online site for information
on the victims, their activities and chronology, the Neshoba County
conspirators and KKK activities, and reviews of the film.
“Googling” the victims’ names will generate
hundreds of hits. The Internet Movie Database is an excellent
source for information about the film, but its historical references
are scant. While it is possible to find elements in the
structure of MB that tie it to the genre of the
film Western, we do not recommend spending class time on these
connections. Imagine reading Anne Frank’s Diary
with your students and spending the bulk of your time discussing
its connection to the history of journal writing. The importance
of the book is its insight into the life and mind of a girl swept
up in the maelstrom of horrific events. Similarly, the significance
of Mississippi Burning for high school students in the
21st century lies in its connection to history, not in the technical
decisions of its director.
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