Putting yourself in other's shoe.
One of the benefits of internet is ease with which you can download a movie and watch it.This is specially true for English movies which are easily available on internet for downloads. (Movies in other languages with English subtitle are a bit difficult to get) Movies which otherwise I may have never watched, I can get them without any trouble.
To kill a Mocking Bird is one such movie. It's considered an American classic and is based on the novel of the same name. (On a similar note Hollywood is way ahead of Indian movies when it comes to adapting literary works on screen.) The story is set in 1930s around the time of great depression. It is about a lawyer Atticus, his relationship with his two motherless children, a boy and a girl aged 10 and 6 respectively, and about a case in which he defends a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. This was the time when racism was prevalent in US and sanctioned by law. Even though Atticus defends the accused convincingly, the prejudiced white jury rules the accused guilty.
In the novel the daughter whose name is Scout is the narrator. The movie maintains that flow with daughter's voice in the background used for narration and nearly all the scenes feature Scout. So we see the story unfold from the eyes of a 6 year old.
I specially liked the way relationship between Atticus and their children is portrayed. There is a scene in the movie where Scout just had a fight in school with some boy. Scout is a tomboy and she has the tendency to get into fights with fellow students whenever she thinks that they are wrong. Atticus explains to Scout that one has to put himself/herself in other persons shoes before blaming him/her. That's a wonderful lesson. Sometimes in life getting the perspective from the other end makes the situation very clear and helps in clearing our doubts. If we are prejudiced against something or someone this is something we need to do. This is what the movie is about. The jurors, due to their prejudice, rule against the accused. They fail to see the truth or act on the truth because they see the accused from a different prism because of his race. So do the majority of the small town folk.
The movie is titled so because it is considered a sin to kill a mocking bird because the mocking bird does no harm. It does not destroy crops. Punishing a innocent fellow is just like killing a mocking bird.
To kill a Mocking Bird is one such movie. It's considered an American classic and is based on the novel of the same name. (On a similar note Hollywood is way ahead of Indian movies when it comes to adapting literary works on screen.) The story is set in 1930s around the time of great depression. It is about a lawyer Atticus, his relationship with his two motherless children, a boy and a girl aged 10 and 6 respectively, and about a case in which he defends a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. This was the time when racism was prevalent in US and sanctioned by law. Even though Atticus defends the accused convincingly, the prejudiced white jury rules the accused guilty.
In the novel the daughter whose name is Scout is the narrator. The movie maintains that flow with daughter's voice in the background used for narration and nearly all the scenes feature Scout. So we see the story unfold from the eyes of a 6 year old.
I specially liked the way relationship between Atticus and their children is portrayed. There is a scene in the movie where Scout just had a fight in school with some boy. Scout is a tomboy and she has the tendency to get into fights with fellow students whenever she thinks that they are wrong. Atticus explains to Scout that one has to put himself/herself in other persons shoes before blaming him/her. That's a wonderful lesson. Sometimes in life getting the perspective from the other end makes the situation very clear and helps in clearing our doubts. If we are prejudiced against something or someone this is something we need to do. This is what the movie is about. The jurors, due to their prejudice, rule against the accused. They fail to see the truth or act on the truth because they see the accused from a different prism because of his race. So do the majority of the small town folk.
The movie is titled so because it is considered a sin to kill a mocking bird because the mocking bird does no harm. It does not destroy crops. Punishing a innocent fellow is just like killing a mocking bird.
posted by Rajat at
6/03/2010 11:30:00 AM
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