Mississippi Burning Review

1. Did you like the movie? Why or why not?
   Overall, I felt that the movie is worth watching. The movie is a powerful one that reflects the true incident that happened in 1964. With the three Civil activists gone missing, the FBI agents investigate the matter and spared off a series of killings and deaths. The show reflects the evil and cruelty of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) towards the Blacks by using scenes that really touch the heart and makes us think and reflect upon racial discrimination.
   
   
   Even after I read the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, I did not fully realise how racial discrimination could be so dark. It was only through the movie that I saw how these Blacks were being abused, dominated and controlled by the Whites and especially the KKK. The KKK abducted Black children from their homes and beat them up without any mercy as if they were a piece of thrash. The KKK also burnt down homes and churches and numerous blacks were injured and killed through these incidents. The most powerful scene to me was the scene where the KKK set a Black's house on fire and an old women fled with two young children, who I guess were her grandchildren. However, the KKK did not let the matter off so easily and even attacked the grandmother and hung her in front of the burning house and cross. This was a pure act of hatred and violence and should never be emulated. At that point of time, I felt intense hatred for the KKK. How could they do this to Blacks who were defenseless and innocent? They were cowards who expressed their opinions through violence instead of other means.
   
   
   All in all, through the movie, I learned that we can never full understand racial discrimination unless we are the victims. I also learned more about the history of America and how the Blacks were discriminated against in the South. I am glad that Singapore does not have such incidents happening and we coexist harmoniously so that there are no racial riots.
   
   
2. Reflect on the phrase, 'Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing'. What have you done when you have seen people being discriminated against? What more can you do the next time you witness discrimination taking place?
   
   
   I am guilty of the crime mentioned above in the question. However, I believe that there are also others who are also guilty of the same crime. Using an analogy, the watching of people being discriminated against is similar to watching a case of bullying. In this case, when we see someone being bullied and the bully finds out, there would be two options the bully would ask us to take. One, would be to join the group of bullies and bully other students who were weaker than us. Second, reject them and end up being the victim of the bullying. As seen from the example, it can be very hard to make a decision even if an option might be morally right than the other. Eventually, the question would be whether one would sacrifice one's life to uphold moral justice. The answer to this question is based on a personal opinion but I would say that most people would say no including myself. Who knows? I might change my perspective after I have more experiences.
   
   
   The next time I witness discrimination taking place, I will still not risk my life in stopping the behaviour but probably inform higher authorities or find a group of other people to chase away the people who are discriminating, in the hope that they might be frightened by the size of the group and run away.