Film Review: Prom Night In Mississippi – Directed by Paul Saltzman
November 6th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - Film by admin
Film Review – Prom Night In Mississippi
Directed by Paul Saltzman
Emerging Pictures/Kinosmith
Unbelievable as it may seem to today’s urbane, politically correct viewers, the entrenched racism and segregation of a previous era are alive and well in Charleston Mississippi, hometown of widely respected actor and activist Morgan Freeman. Incensed upon discovering that the local High School still maintained a tradition of segregated black and white Homecoming events for its graduates, he first inquired of the students whether or not they would prefer an integrated prom. With a resounding yes from at least ninety percent of the students, Freeman made the magnanimous offer to foot the bill for the entire event. What resulted was not only a new tradition of integrated proms (while some of the white students still attended a white-only event, paid for by parents…), but a profound dialogue on the deep issues of racial segregation and longstanding prejudice.
While white students rarely express overt bigotry, they echo the sentiments of their anachronistic parents who may threaten savage beatings on kids who are seen with black youth (and god forbid they be of the other sex…), or merely try to politely frame their hillbilly worldview in terms of “respecting differences”, claiming that “god made everyone different and if we mixed we’d all be the same!”. As convinced as they may sound to themselves, there is clearly a self imposed ban on logic and compassion that even a hardened redneck father can admit to. “Just don’t ask me to change, and we’ll do fine” – decent country manners indeed, but when the horrifying spectres of slavery and lynchings are cast into view, this is exactly the morbidly inhuman attitude of the past massas passed on into new vessels.
The youth of 2008 however have a different perspective. While there are few biracial couples in the school, most students express interest in dating someone of another race, and yet are mostly constrained by their families. Black kids are told to avoid white so as to stay away from potential trouble, while one white student (who concealed his face to protect his family) speaks candidly of his people’s overt hatred and his own compassion for them in their ignorance. Just as the white-only prom goes humourously awry, with awkward dancing and a drunken brawl over a girl, their own insular culture is just too surrounded by the “other” to ever feel at ease and away from conflict. As Morgan Freeman so eloquently puts it – “if I choose to hate blue eyed, blond haired people, I’m doomed. Doomed means you can have no future, can never truly be happy…because there’s just too many of you!!!”.
As for the event itself, it is a raging success, complete with Rock band, Crunk style Hip Hop crew, DJ, dance offs, and general exuberance. Parental fears of potential violence are quelled by the overall joyful vibe, making this a true feel-good film, one that could even be shown to younger children (if you’re not afraid to let your joy be framed in hard edged truth…), and should definitely be shown in High schools around the world.
Now if such a film were made in Canada, perhaps in a small northern town right next to a Native Reservation, would people believe segregation is also alive and well in the Great White (?!) North? Well they’d better, because the South Afrikan Apartheid system was based on the Canadian Native Reserve and Residential School System, and genocide, eugenics, and overall population control have always been the mandate of this colonial system, and that’s real talk.
Prom Night in Mississippi Opens in Vancouver November 20th
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