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Who Is The Antagonist In Mississippi Burning

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Mississippi Burning character essay In the film “Mississippi Burning”, directed by Alan Parker, characterisation is employed very effectively to illuminate the themes of tolerance and social change in the southern United States in the 1960s. Parker uses the buddy/buddy formula through Ward and Anderson to act as a focal point for the plot; as well as being an analogy for the greater conflict in society, in that they have polar opposite personality traits and initially cannot stand each other, but their shared belief in justice allows them to tolerate each other and eventually work together to solve the case. From the beginning of the movie, Parker clearly shows that Ward and Anderson are a mismatched duo in every way possible. Several …show more content…

This approach does prove fruitful, as his interactions with Mrs Pell incite her into revealing the whereabouts of the buried bodies of the civil rights workers. However, these interactions with Mrs Pell cause Anderson to develop feelings for her, which dictate his actions later in the film and cause him to partially abandon his professionalism; this emotional tendency is one of Anderson’s flaws. An example of the differing approaches of Ward and Anderson is when they are observing several suspected KKK members getting out of their cars from a distance, shown by a long shot from the point of view of the two detectives. Ward – taking a standard, pragmatic approach – says, “Let me run a check on the plates, ” which uncovers some useful information, but nothing groundbreaking. Anderson, however, decides to visit a barber and initiates a conversation with the mayor of the town – a conversation that gives him further insight into southern attitudes and values, and allows him to poke a few subtle jibes directed at these values, giving the mayor an intimidating and slightly threatening impression of him. This expresses the contrast in their methods well; while not ineffective, Ward’s methods are predictable and ultimately not successful, whereas Anderson’s personal methods are what get the job done – showing that no matter how many FBI agents are called for, sometimes all it takes is a simple conversation. These differences cause several moments

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