Mississippi Burning1988

Seeing that I didn’t actually talk about the film in my last review I thought I would make somewhat of a part two.  First off I am shocked by the amount of reviews calling this white saviorism and that the fbi are glorified as the heroes of the film. This is such a misreading of the film that it’s crazy to me. One, I can understand the criticism that black characters don’t have much agency in the film but that’s because they had no agency in the south in real life. Two, this actually happened. Maybe not quite how it is depicted but that’s how movies work. And those fbi investigators would have been white. And they are the main characters of the story. Three, the fbi are actually depicted as being harmful to the black community and perceivably causing more hurt than they would have if they had left well enough alone. But I believe Willam Defoe rightfully said “it would have happened anyway.” Four, I’ve also seen the movie criticized for how blatantly evil and racist the southerners talk. Have you been on Facebook? Have you seen the headlines? This is how they talk. They don’t hide it. They say it out loud and the racists cheer and the willfully ignorant nod in agreement.  You’ve got to be carefully taught. This film is fantastically shot and incredibly written and performed. The two agents are opposed in their methods but united in their mission. I think more of us should be like Anderson.  It is harrowing and horrifying. We must never forget this happened and that it is still happening.