ElCid Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Would have been a good time for TCM to show this movie. Yesterday was 50th anniversary of the murder of the civil rights workers in Mississippi and Mississippi Burning is now 25 years old. Did watch it on a premium channel this morning even though I have the DVD. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Would have been a good time for TCM to show this movie. Yesterday was 50th anniversary of the murder of the civil rights workers in Mississippi and Mississippi Burning is now 25 years old. Did watch it on a premium channel this morning even though I have the DVD. Rachel Maddow had a very moving segment about the whole tragedy the other night. And now the fight for voting rights has to be done all over again! Semper Vigilans! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6MSF88UVBc&feature=kp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Would have been a good time for TCM to show this movie. Yesterday was 50th anniversary of the murder of the civil rights workers in Mississippi and Mississippi Burning is now 25 years old. Did watch it on a premium channel this morning even though I have the DVD. I was in SNCC in 1963-64, and there's not a single veteran of the civil rights movement I've ever met who doesn't view Mississippi Burning as a complete travesty of history. Julian Bond once spoke of the current cartoon view of the civil rights movement as "Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, and the white kids came down and saved the day." Substitute "the FBI" for "the white kids" and you've got the long and short of Mississippi Burning. Technically it was a terrific film, but in every other respect it's a joke. The best way for TCM to commemorate Mississippi Summer would be to forget Hollywood features and try to get the rights to show some of the many first rate documentaries like King: From Montgomery to Memphis; Eyes on the Prize; and the upcoming Freedom Summer documentary which is making its debut this Wednesday night on PBS. Getting those rights would probably be impossible, but even this short documentary ( and ) would be an improvement over Mississippi Burning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkblue Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I'd love to have seen 'Mississippi Burning' on TCM yesterday. Terrific movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElCid Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Would have been a good time for TCM to show this movie. Yesterday was 50th anniversary of the murder of the civil rights workers in Mississippi and Mississippi Burning is now 25 years old. Did watch it on a premium channel this morning even though I have the DVD. I was in SNCC in 1963-64, and there's not a single veteran of the civil rights movement I've ever met who doesn't view Mississippi Burning as a complete travesty of history. Julian Bond once spoke of the current cartoon view of the civil rights movement as "Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, and the white kids came down and saved the day." Substitute "the FBI" for "the white kids" and you've got the long and short of Mississippi Burning. Technically it was a terrific film, but in every other respect it's a joke. The best way for TCM to commemorate Mississippi Summer would be to forget Hollywood features and try to get the rights to show some of the many first rate documentaries like King: From Montgomery to Memphis; Eyes on the Prize; and the upcoming Freedom Summer documentary which is making its debut this Wednesday night on PBS. Getting those rights would probably be impossible, but even this short documentary ( and ) would be an improvement over Mississippi Burning. Like most "historical" movies, lots of inaccuracies, but they do expose many people to a subject who may not have otherwise known about it. Or in this case, the severity of discrimination in the South. I believe one of CNN's The Sixties features had a lot on the Civil Rights movement. The real tragedy is that the South, and some other states, are determined to go back to the 1950's political situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I have the same problem with Mississippi Burning as I used to have with Amos 'n' Andy. Amos 'n' Andy was a terrific show, and it featured some of the best comic talent of its time: Tim Moore, Spencer Williams, Ernestine Wade, Amanda Randolph, Alvin Childress, and so on. And for production values, Mississippi Burning was an excellent movie. The problem with Amos 'n' Andy wasn't the show itself. The problem was the fact that Amos 'n' Andy was the ONLY representation of African American life featured on TV at the time. Great a show as it was, and as human as its characters were, it contributed mightily to stereotypes about blacks in the absence of competing images that reached the mass audience. Similarly, the problem with Mississippi Burning lies in the fact that Hollywood has yet to produce any movie that fully portrays the reality of Mississippi Summer, and as a result the misrepresentations and omissions in Mississippi Burning come to be conflated with reality among those who never get exposed to the many first rate documentaries that reach only a limited audience. For anyone interested in that reality, I'd strongly suggest tuning into the Freedom Summer documentary that will be airing on PBS TV at 9:00 Eastern time tomorrow night, with several repeats later in the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I have the same problem with Mississippi Burning as I used to have with Amos 'n' Andy. Amos 'n' Andy was a terrific show, and it featured some of the best comic talent of its time: Tim Moore, Spencer Williams, Ernestine Wade, Amanda Randolph, Alvin Childress, and so on. And for production values, Mississippi Burning was an excellent movie. The problem with Amos 'n' Andy wasn't the show itself. The problem was the fact that Amos 'n' Andy was the ONLY representation of African American life featured on TV at the time. Great a show as it was, and as human as its characters were, it contributed mightily to stereotypes about blacks in the absence of competing images that reached the mass audience. Similarly, the problem with Mississippi Burning lies in the fact that Hollywood has yet to produce any movie that fully portrays the reality of Mississippi Summer, and as a result the misrepresentations and omissions in Mississippi Burning come to be conflated with reality among those who never get exposed to the many first rate documentaries that reach only a limited audience. For anyone interested in that reality, I'd strongly suggest tuning into the Freedom Summer documentary that will be airing on PBS TV at 9:00 Eastern time tomorrow night, with several repeats later in the week. How many white rural southerners take offense with The Beverly Hillbillies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Would have been a good time for TCM to show this movie. Yesterday was 50th anniversary of the murder of the civil rights workers in Mississippi and Mississippi Burning is now 25 years old. Did watch it on a premium channel this morning even though I have the DVD. There is a good TV movie "Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux ****" (1975) dealing with the subject. LOL, why is the word K_lan auto censored? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkblue Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 why is the word K_lan auto censored? For the exact same reason every other word that has been censored since the changeover is/was censored - someone, somewhere, might possibly be offended by the use of the word. The program to prevent such that was loaded into this system is the most comprehensive I've ever witnessed anywhere. I mean, even the word "mouth" was on the list for the first month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 For the exact same reason every other word that has been censored since the changeover is/was censored - someone, somewhere, might possibly be offended by the use of the word. The program to prevent such that was loaded into this system is the most comprehensive I've ever witnessed anywhere. I mean, even the word "mouth" was on the list for the first month. Just a test.. Nazi Ha, is the TCM website telling me K_lan is more offensive than Nazi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkblue Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Ha, is the TCM website telling me K_lan is more offensive than Nazi? No - it's telling you that Nazi is no longer on the list but Kla n still is. You have to appeal to a moderator to have a word removed from the banned list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldbestar Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I agree that Attack on Terror, which was a 2-part TV movie on CBS starring Wayne Rogers, Marlyn Mason and Peter Strauss, might be a very good telling of the murders of the "Mississippi Three". I questioned it at the time because the names of the three men were changed as well as some of the place names and I wondered why (how much was made up and how much was true?). I've not heard of it being slammed like Mississippi Burning was perhaps it is more accurate. I know it was up for Emmys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Amos 'n' Andy was a terrific show, and it featured some of the best comic talent of its time: Tim Moore, Spencer Williams, Ernestine Wade, Amanda Randolph, Alvin Childress, and so on. Tim Moore, the funniest comedian ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FMB8EkrHf8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD9_Ap3LsVc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 For anyone interested in that reality, I'd strongly suggest tuning into the Freedom Summer documentary that will be airing on PBS TV at 9:00 Eastern time tomorrow night, with several repeats later in the week. Andy, The City of Angels PBS station (KOCE, Channel 50) ran Freedom Summer this evening. It is a subject near and dear to my heart and one reason why I also find the time to vote. I agree wholeheartedly with you about Mississippi Burning and would love to hear your thoughts about Freedom Summer after you view it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Andy, The City of Angels PBS station (KOCE, Channel 50) ran Freedom Summer this evening. It is a subject near and dear to my heart and one reason why I also find the time to vote. I agree wholeheartedly with you about Mississippi Burning and would love to hear your thoughts about Freedom Summer after you view it. Freedom Summer was excellent, so much I didn't know (i.e., the LBJ revelations) or had forgotten with time. Documentaries (for me at least) are often so much more compelling than the films based on the actual events, though the films certainly have their place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Andy, The City of Angels PBS station (KOCE, Channel 50) ran Freedom Summer this evening. It is a subject near and dear to my heart and one reason why I also find the time to vote. I agree wholeheartedly with you about Mississippi Burning and would love to hear your thoughts about Freedom Summer after you view it. I was out last night and recorded two TCM movies in my absence, but Freedom Summer is being replayed on the Washington PBS affiliate (WETA) at 4:00 PM today and again at 2:30 PM on Sunday. If it's half as good as the documentary on the Freedom Riders, and Spies of Mississippi (on the infamous Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission), it'll be well worth watching. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Freedom Summer was excellent, so much I didn't know (i.e., the LBJ revelations) or had forgotten with time. Documentaries (for me at least) are often so much more compelling than the films based on the actual events, though the films certainly have their place. I'd love to see a mainstream movie about the civil rights movement that conveyed the day-by-day reality of the American South in the Jim Crow era, from the perspective of African Americans who were living through it, in the manner of 12 Years a Slave about the slavery era. The problem is that at present there is no such movie. Certainly not Mississippi Burning. The idea of reducing Mississippi Summer to a "thriller" centered on the FBI is frankly obscene. Once again the black people of Mississippi were reduced to bit players while the white folks came in to clean up the mess. We've seen this film before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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