"If you want to really understand a person, you have to stand in his shoes and look at things according to his situation."
This is a story of prejudice and understanding. From the perspective of children, the film organizes the narrative structure with children as the center. And two characters directly related to prejudice in the film - Tom Robinson and Bo Radley, one was found guilty and eventually fell in a pool of blood, and the other rescued Jem and Scoo in the dark Special, and finally won the understanding of the children.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Tom Robinson. The young, strong black man was charged by the prosecution with "unwarranted" charges of raping a white woman. The prosecution testimony was flimsy, but Robinson was eventually found guilty by the jury. On the way to prison, he tried to escape but was also mistakenly killed. A gentleman who helped others without asking for anything in return and sympathized with others but suffered because of it was found guilty by law and sentenced to death by society. Robinson's death is like a death knell, for each of us.
In a world of black and white, prejudice has become the norm. Meera's "rape" against Robinson is the direct cause of Robinson's misjudgment, but such "rape" stems from the society's "rape" of people like Meera. An alcoholic father beat her, seven siblings would rob her of her only love and her freedom, in a poor and uneducated family. Mayella is the white man who even blacks can sympathize with. Robinson ignited the fire in her heart, and let the fire burn even though she knew it was unbearable to society, the fire not only burned her, Robinson, but also Atticus and May. The black and white world of Combe. Robinson's story is brutal and realistic, and the sense of injustice is heightened when such injustice unfolds from a child's perspective. In the face of obvious injustice, children's incomprehension and sadness tear the mask of hypocrisy in the adult world, mercilessly mocking those adults who violate the facts due to prejudice and discrimination.
Robinson died on the run, and he would rather risk his life for freedom than live in a prison that did not belong to him. When Atticus told him that he still had a chance to appeal and not to despair, Robinson glanced at Atticus and left without speaking. He will have no more hope, for this society, for this system. Law shook his head as he, the defendant, told the truth through tears; Law nodded as the liar and inconsistency Ewell made up the story. The facts found by the jury cannot be overturned, and he is clearly the "villain" who was finally convicted after due process. He can only run away, just like the two women rushing to the cliff in "The Endless Flower", where there is no way out, he can only keep going, even if it means shattering his bones.
And Boo Radley's story is full of warmth, from the children's fear and suspicion of Boo, to the fact that Steke holds Boo's hand and stands in front of the Radley house. The process of mutual understanding and mutual understanding between the children and the cloth and the final reconciliation is full of the film's expectations for the children. A child's behavior mirrors that of an adult, just as Atticus was to Scott and Jem, and Ewell was to Meera. But the adult world is not ideal, and not everyone pursues justice like Atticus.
The film's portrayal of Atticus and Ewell's characters is black-and-white, like a black-and-white film. Atticus - cultured, good father, sharpshooter, righteous; Ewell - low literacy, prejudice against the world, scumbag father, sleazy. Although Atticus says he is not idealistic, his character is full of idealism.
The film was shot in 1962, at the time of the rise of the black civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. In Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the system of apartheid did not conflict with Article 14 of the Constitution, holding that the system was "separate but equal," which also meant that segregation was legal. In 1954, in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that the policy of segregation was unconstitutional. Apartheid is finally coming to an end in law. But apartheid still persisted psychologically. Many Southern states refused to desegregate, publicly claiming to overturn the Supreme Court decision. White people gathered to deny blacks access to white schools. They even beat and besieged blacks, and the conflict between blacks and whites continued to escalate. During the "Little Rock Incident" in 1959, nine black students even had to be escorted into the school by soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. The struggle for rights is also a process of confronting chaos, violence, racial conflicts and conflicts. The millions of Americans under the Stars and Stripes who believe in the equality of all people can only keep asking questions in the face of dripping blood.
The story of To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb in 1932—a poor, closed, conservative American town, but it wasn't just 1930s America. Bringing the tragedy 30 years ago to the big screen is also an indictment of the tragedy that is taking place. The appearance of a character like Atticus exposes the terrible face of racism even more. Atticus has no superhero power, is not as golden and coquettish as Will in "The Good Wife", and is not as talented as Mike in "Suits" Unusual, but Atticus's dedication to justice and persistence to reason are unsurpassed by other characters, and it is the American spirit that supports this role. The appearance of the character of Atticus answers the questions of the Americans.
Atticus' closing argument in court was too brilliant, as follows:
First of all, this case should not be brought to trial at all, and the prosecution did not provide any medical evidence to prove that Tom Robinson was indeed guilty of the above-mentioned crimes. Instead, the prosecution relied solely on the testimony of prosecution witnesses in cross-examinations that had not been rigorously examined and had been completely overruled by the defense. There is also solid evidence that Meera Ewell was severely beaten by a left-hander. Yet Tom Robinson, who is sitting in front of you, swears to God with his only sound hand - his right hand.
I have nothing but deep compassion for the key witnesses provided by the State Attorney's Office. She was a man ravaged by abject poverty and ignorance. But her act of putting a man to death in order to shirk her guilt is beyond my sympathy. Now I mention sin, gentlemen, because that sin motivated her actions. She committed no crime, she just violated a long-established and draconian law of our society. This law is so severe that anyone who violates it is to be dismissed as unfit to live among us. She must destroy evidence of her foul play. But what is the evidence of her foul play? Tom Robinson, alone. She had to get Tom Robinson out of her. Tom Robinson is someone who reminds her every day of what she does. And what was she doing? She seduced a black man. She is white and she seduces a black man. She did something unspeakable in our society. She kissed a black man. Not the old uncle, but a strong young black man. Before she violated the law, any law had nothing to do with her, but after the violation, it brought her doom. The State Attorney's witnesses, with the exception of the Maycombe County Sheriff, shamelessly assumed that their testimony to gentlemen in court was beyond doubt. Convinced that you gentlemen will join them in the vicious assumption that all Negroes are liars, that all Negroes are completely immoral, and that all Negroes who come into contact with our women cannot be trusted. This assumption of the quality of their thinking is itself a lie, gentlemen, and I need not point it out to you. So a quiet, submissive, respectable black man, a black man so confused that he should feel sorry for a white woman, had to rise up and refute two white men. The defendant is innocent, but someone in this court is guilty. Well, gentlemen, our courts are great egalitarian enforcers in this country, and all are equal in our courts. I am not an idealist who simply believes that our courts and jury systems will be upright and selfless. I don't think this is ideal. This is a live, working sale. I am now confident that gentlemen will re-examine the testimony you have heard without emotion, and deliver a verdict that will reunite this man with his family. In the name of God, perform your duties. In God's name, trust Tom Robinson.
I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the State. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance. But my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man's life at stake, witch she has done in an error to get rid of her own guilt. Now I say “guilty”, gentleman, because it was guilt that motivated her. She's committed no crime. She has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society. A code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She must destroy the evidence of her offense. But what was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was to her a daily reminder of what she did. Now, what did she do? She tempted a negro. She was white, and she tempted a negro. She did something that, in our society,is unspeakable. She kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, nut a strong, young negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it. But it came crashing down on her afterwards.
The witness for the State, which the exception of the sheriff of Macomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted. Confidence that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption . The evil assumption that all negroes lie, all negroes are basically immoral beings, all negro men are not to be trusted around our women. An assumption that one associates with minds of their caliber, and which is, in itself, gentlemen ,a lie , witch I do not need to point out to you. And so, a quiet, humble, respectable negro, who has had the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against two white people's. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is.
Now, gentlemen, in this country, our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me . That is a living, working reality. Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard come to a decision and restore this man to his family. In the name of god, do your duty. In the name of god, believe Tom Robinson.
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