The Official Start

                  Today is the first official day of blogging for myself and all the other independent research projects being conducted at Wofford this Interim.  It is fitting then that I began my first official day of research in preparation for my first viewing and analysis of In the Heat of the Night, a crime drama about a passing-through-town detective (Sidney Poitier) from Philadelphia who winds up waiting for a train in a small Mississippi town in the early morning, only to be accused of a brutal murder committed across town—for no other reason than the color of his skin. Detective Tibbs (Poitier) is subsequently obliged to stay in Mississippi and help the town's new police chief solve the crime-- if only he can stand the heat of the night and other troubles. I look forward to sharing my analysis of the film as well as the reviews that I have found from Variety and TV Guide, both written in 1967.  I have yet to read either review, as I do not wish to unfairly bias my viewing of the film. I will admit, however, that this will be the second time that I have seen the movie. What can I say? It's a classic. In addition to the aforementioned reviews, I have also stumbled upon an article from a comparative studies program at a Florida university that dissects the significance of the interaction between Detective Tibbs (an African-American detective) and the police chief (a white man) as a metaphor for the evolving relationship between blacks and whites as the Civil Rights Era progressed (Okay, so I read a few lines of that one!).  That’s just the kind of insight I’m looking for.

Before I talk about the other readings started today, I want to say a word about finishing Ed Sikov's Film: An Introduction. Beyond the fabula, I was most impressed by Sikov’s section on the transition from screenwriting to film production. Considering that several of the movies I will view, including Heat, were adapted from novels into screenplays into films, I think it is important to consider the transitions from these respective mediums into the finished product of a movie. How do these films differ from the novels? Were they constructed and refined to appeal to a mainstream audience? Do portrayals of race receive a tougher look in novels as compared to on the screen?  Sikov's overview of film analysis will be an invaluable tool for my research.  In addition to researching Heat, I also finished the introduction to Framing the South, which provided some thought provoking insights into the complicated layers of racial hierarchy that challenged Hollywood during the Civil Rights Era and-- to an extent-- still present issues today. I was especially challenged by this excerpt from author Allison Graham:

"By accepting responsibility for racism and (simultaneously) denying it, popular reconfigurations of the civil rights era imagine the twentieth-century South as an arena of white-- not black-- heroism. More importantly, they offer the spectacle of racial redemption, for with the expulsion of the lawless redneck from southern society, the moral purity of whiteness itself is affirmed."

The significance of this excerpt is twofold with regards to my project. Most apparent is the connection between the juxtaposition of blacks and whites (and heroism) and the differing portrayals of each as heroes and villains in films. Specifically within Heat, I will look at the characterization of Tibbs and Police Chief Gillespie, both protagonists, and the way they are portrayed as heroes and yet outcasts within the small southern town. Furthermore, I will look at the reaction within the mainstream media and African-American society to the portrayal of Tibbs as a complex hero/outcast.  The second aspect of this excerpt that intrigues me is the complexity of race within race. I myself have been rather single-minded in thinking about this project's focus on the portrayals of African-Americans within film, when in fact the whole point of this study is to look at race relations.  This excerpt and much of Graham's introduction reminded me that Hollywood, for much of the middle 20^th century, branded Southern whites as comedic hillbillies and outlaws in a manner perceived by many Southerners as derogatory. Considering this reminder, I will make sure to be fair to both sides of race relations-- not simply black and white, but black and black and white and white.  

There is only so much that I can do as we all grease our wheels after a nice long vacation, so the daunting task of beginning David R. Goldfield's Black, White, and Southern was never quite undertaken today.  But it is essential that I begin to look not only at the stories behind the movies and their making but also the stories behind the stories. That is, the reality of the American South and its landscape during the Civil Rights Era.  Until then...