Mississippi Burning and Context Deviance Theory
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In the American South in the 1960's racism was rampant. The Civil Rights movement was underway and various forces had given impetus to radical changes between the races. The South, still based on the plantation lifestyle, found it difficult to give blacks equal status socially and economically. Many had escaped to the north following the Civil War, where they found better opportunities. Because of the plantation mentality, the whites in the South found it difficult to give up the white supremacist attitudes, resulting in dramatic clashes, riots, demonstrations, and murders. At a time when separate restrooms, hotels, and restaurants for the races were the norm, the 1960's was a time of immense social change in the South, change that plumbed to the roots of Southern history and beliefs.Mississippi Burning, a film about occurrences in this time and place (1964 in Mississippi), is somewhat based on historical events but somewhat distorted in a way that causes the viewer to recoil at the depths of prejudice in the whites at the time. Two FBI agents have gone into the state of Mississippi to investigate the deaths of three young Freedom Riders, needless deaths in the landscape of social reform (Parker, 1988). One FBI agent is rather straight-laced and wants to do everything according to the letter of the regulations. The other, an ex-sheriff from Mississippi, understands the underbelly of the Southern mores and tempers the self-righteous superiority of the younger man.
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hites did not murder the three lads for the fun of it. They killed them to stop or try to stop the forces of social change that were moving over the South and the country as a whole. This was a time when there were riots in cities all across America. J.F. Kennedy had been assassinated in 1963. Martin Luther King was greatly admired for bringing the black situation to light in a peaceful way. There were shootings of students at Kent State. America was being reborn in a way that had not happened in such an extensive manner since the Civil War. In other words, the murderers were acting within the context of a still floundering South that in some sense had never been completely assimilated into mainstream America. It was, in some ways, several generations behind, making the whites insecure about themselves politically and economically. In that context, they retreated into macho KKK attacks, scourging the homes and churches with their destruction, trying to browbeat the blacks into submission with violent outbursts and threats (Parker, 1988).
According to labeling theory, and the work of George Herbert Mean, meanings become assigned to the various social processes (Walklate, 2002, 26). His work evolved into that of Becker in
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Freedom Riders, Burning Walklate, Civil War, Klux Klan, KKKs Overall, Deep South, Herbert Mean, Jessup County, Mississippi Burning, Civil Rights, parker 1988, walklate 2002, social change, mississippi burning, law enforcement, freedom riders, walklate 2002 30, jessup county, sheriffs deputies, found difficult, southern whites, law enforcement officials,
Approximate Word count = 1364
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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