Mississippi Burning

The 1988 movie manuscript Burning direct by Alan Parker, is loosely based on true life sluicets meet an FBI investigation that followed the 1964 murder of three civil rights activists by members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in a small Mississippi town. The investigation led to the conviction of some(prenominal) bighearted figures in the town including members of both the sheriffs and mayors offices who were as well as members of the KKK.The movie documents the methods used by the KKK to control the black federation at that time. The well masked intimidation, delirium and murders of black people in the lodge by the KKK must be seen as acts of terrorist act and therefore, the unorthodox methods sedulous by the FBI to uncover the crime can be justified as necessary and appropriate given the circumstances.The movie portrays a war waged by the KKK against non-Anglo Saxon people in the South during the early 1960s. Blacks, Jews, Catholics, Turks, Mongols were all targets of the KKK . In fact, the list of unacceptable races or origins was extensive, but in the South at that time, the main target of KKK aggression was black people.The KKK used violence, intimidation and irresistible impulse as means of controlling the black people and creating a subtlety of fear in the community. So effective were these tactics that even non-racist members of the community, such as the deputys wife in the movie (played by Frances McDormand), who were sympathetic to the plight of the black people, were afraid to speak up or voice their opinions for fear of backlash and reprisal.While an all-encompassing definition of terrorism is difficult to pin down, the Jackson, Mississippi Division of the FBI defines terrorism as the wicked use of force or violence against persons or property to constrain or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any constituent thereof, in go onance of political or social objectives.The United Nations goes further to state that terrorists ar e usually clandestine and that the immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly or selectively from a target population, and serve as message generators. Based on these definitions, it is extend that the actions of the KKK were indeed terrorism. The violence perpetrated by the KKK against the black people in the community was unlawful, intimidating to the civilian population, anonymous (KKK members wore cloaks), and random means of sending a message to the larger population.In the movie, two very dissimilar FBI agents head word the investigation into the disappearance of the three activists. In the beginning, the investigation is lead by Agent Ward (played by Willem Dafoe), a young, very correct and by-the-book northerner. He does not understand the unwritten rules of the South and therefore, his methods fail to yield the results that he hopes for or has achieved elsewhere in his short but successful career.In fact, his investigative techniques actually jeopar dize the safety of the black people in the area because the KKK, watching every move the FBI make, go to great and sometimes violent lengths to make sure no one speaks to the investigators. Agent Anderson (played by Gene Hackman), on the other hand, is from Mississippi and understands more about the glossiness of the South. Only when he employs more extreme and rather questionable methods that reflect the methods of the Klan themselves, do the FBI close the case and convict the killers.If the KKK is to be classified as a terrorist meeting, then it must follow that all members of the Klan assume some of the responsibility for the crimes they committed. In the case of this film, one could extend the guilt even further to include the entire community. It was clear that the actions of the Klan were cruel, deadly and well cognise amongst the townsfolk and yet almost everyone stood back and allowed them to continue their reign of terror. In light of the greater good therefore, the FBI were justified in taking the actions they took to polish off the KKK and thus hopefully curtail further violence and intimidation in the community.The atrocities committed by the KKK against non-white members of the community were more than crime. These actions were terrorism and all members of the group played a role in perpetuating the terror. We are all liable for hatred.ReferencesFederal Bureau of Investigation, Jackson Division. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2006 fromhttp//jackson.fbi.gov/cntrterr.htmDefinitions of Terrorism. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (n.d.). RetrievedNovember 5, 2006Zollo, Frederick and Robert F. Colesberry. (Producers), & Parker, Alan. (Director). (1988). Mississippi BurningMotionPicture. United States MGM.