Mississippi Burning Character Essay
Mississippi Burning character essay
In the film “Mississippi Burning”, directed by Alan Parker, characterisation is employed very effectively to illuminate the themes of tolerance and social change in the southern United States in the 1960s. Parker uses the buddy/buddy formula through Ward and Anderson to act as a focal point for the plot; as well as being an analogy for the greater conflict in society, in that they have polar opposite personality traits and initially cannot stand each other, but their shared belief in justice allows them to tolerate each other and eventually work together to solve the case. From the beginning of the movie, Parker clearly shows that Ward and Anderson are a mismatched duo in every way possible. Several contrasting personality traits are explored in various scenes; such as Ward’s youth and naïvety compared to Anderson’s experience and cynicism, and Ward’s conventional way of doing things compared to Anderson’s unorthodox, personal style. The progression of their relationship towards co-operation is used to represent themes of tolerance, but highlights the difference between personal conflicts and societal conflicts. It also reveals the director’s message: that tolerance and co-existence is always possible; however, some issues and prejudices are too deep-rooted to enable co-operation and result in overall social change.
One of the major differences between Ward and Anderson that is explored in the early scenes of the film are their levels of experience, especially regarding southern culture. Ward is a young and naïve character who has grown up in the north, and has no knowledge of life in the southern states, and does not relate easily to the locals. In contrast to this, Anderson is several years older than Ward and was raised in Mississippi, and therefore understands the ways of the locals and finds it much easier to get along with them; despite this, he possesses a veiled sense of loathing and cynicism towards the culture. This
In the film “Mississippi Burning”, directed by Alan Parker, characterisation is employed very effectively to illuminate the themes of tolerance and social change in the southern United States in the 1960s. Parker uses the buddy/buddy formula through Ward and Anderson to act as a focal point for the plot; as well as being an analogy for the greater conflict in society, in that they have polar opposite personality traits and initially cannot stand each other, but their shared belief in justice allows them to tolerate each other and eventually work together to solve the case. From the beginning of the movie, Parker clearly shows that Ward and Anderson are a mismatched duo in every way possible. Several contrasting personality traits are explored in various scenes; such as Ward’s youth and naïvety compared to Anderson’s experience and cynicism, and Ward’s conventional way of doing things compared to Anderson’s unorthodox, personal style. The progression of their relationship towards co-operation is used to represent themes of tolerance, but highlights the difference between personal conflicts and societal conflicts. It also reveals the director’s message: that tolerance and co-existence is always possible; however, some issues and prejudices are too deep-rooted to enable co-operation and result in overall social change.
One of the major differences between Ward and Anderson that is explored in the early scenes of the film are their levels of experience, especially regarding southern culture. Ward is a young and naïve character who has grown up in the north, and has no knowledge of life in the southern states, and does not relate easily to the locals. In contrast to this, Anderson is several years older than Ward and was raised in Mississippi, and therefore understands the ways of the locals and finds it much easier to get along with them; despite this, he possesses a veiled sense of loathing and cynicism towards the culture. This