Analyzing Racism in Law: A System of Law Anthropology Essay on Film

This essay delves into the theme of racism as depicted in the film 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' exploring its historical context during the Depression era in the Southern United States. The essay examines the film's plot, which revolves around a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman and the ensuing legal battle, highlighting the racial prejudice prevalent in the society. It summarizes articles discussing racial injustice, discrimination, and the historical mistreatment of African Americans. The cultural analysis reveals how the film's meaning shifts when viewed through the lens of the readings, underscoring the societal biases and lack of empathy towards black individuals. The essay emphasizes the film's grim portrayal of a society where blacks were denied human rights and considered inferior, contrasting with the progress in science but showing a lack of societal change regarding racial equality.

Running head: SYSTEM OF LAW ANTHROPOLOGY
SYSTEM OF LAW ANTHROPOLOGY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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I. Theme: Racism
A. The movie selected for this study is a “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It is important to
mention that the movie is inspired from a novel that have the same name. During depression era,
the members of the society highly subjugated the blacks and the blacks are not let to commingle
with the whites during the public settings. There were even separate living places for the blacks
and the whites. Furthermore, things like inter marriage is not promoted and the whites had
extreme hatred for the same (Rapping, 2015).
B. film plot: The film is based on a Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prize wing book called the “To
Kill a Mockingbird”. The film is set up in Southern United States during the early 1930s and the
story is of a black man, who is accused of raping a Caucasian woman. Here and idealistic lawyer
(Atticus Finch) offer to defend the black man. As one begins to watch the movie, it become
prominent that the defending is far from easy as no person in the town was willing to believe that
the negro is innocent (Macaluso, 2017).
II. Article summary
A. it has been highlighted by Rezazade and Zohdi (2016), that racial injustice and
discrimination towards the blacks have existed since the beginning of the gatherings of the
society and communication. It is evident that throughout the history, the blacks and the ones that
have coloured skin are not accepted by the people belonging from the white community due to
the superiority of the whites over the blacks. Regardless of the manual labour and the positive
role of the blacks in doing the manual labour and assisting in turning the industries of the whites,
the blacks has always been termed and treated as the clownish and non-human creatures that are
born only to serve the whites. It is important to mention that the African Americans are the main

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groups of the black communities that have suffered the most from the racial injustice and
discrimination because they live among the white people and are segregated from the white
society. However, it is important to highlight that there are many white individuals that that do
not treat the blacks inhumanely and do not consider skin colour. They treat the blacks as humans
and for them good people matters the most.
Similarly, it has been highlighted by Rezazade, Zohdi and Faghfori (2016), that the
blacks that lived among the whites have caused them many problems and this is evident
throughout he history. For example, the African Americans are the ones that have African roots
and are Americans in terms of their life. The blacks being a different race is segregated from the
white societies because of their skin colour. These blacks are considered to be as lowbrow people
and uncivilized people that do not have the equal rights as the white people.
B. The novel by the Nelle Harper Lee clearly denounces injustice, racial prejudice. The
movie was able to portray the life of a racist and a fanatic society, located south of America. The
author fictionalized a Scottsboro trial and worked eradicate the prejudice and discrimination with
the help of a lawyer that is a colour blind towards the skin colour and race. the character named
Atticus takes the advocacy of an accused black named Tom Ribinson. This black individual was
blamed of raping a Caucasian woman (Fitrisari & Thoyibi, 2016).
The two articles provide an exhaustive account of the horrific condition of the society
that scarred the heart and minds of the black people. It is important to mention that the authors of
both the article provided an apt argument, picture and explanation of the society that used to
racially discriminate the blacks that used to live a below standards life with zero or no human
rights.

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III. Cultural Analysis
A. The meaning of the film changes when viewed from the vantage point of the readings
by accumulating all the points and analysing the facts. During those times, it is important to
mention that the society was inclined towards the whites that lacked sympathy towards another
human. The perspective changes when the condition of the blacks are also taken into account.
B. The film say that culture and the society which was during the depression era is still
the same. The society in general hasn’t changed even if science has progressed and came a long
way. The culture presented by the society is grim and highlighted that the blacks lacked the
human rights and are not even considered as humans (Knox & Davies, 2013).

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Reference
Fitrisari, M. N., & M Thoyibi, M. S. (2016). Reader Response To Racism In Harper Lee’s
Novel: To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Muhammadiyah
Surakarta).
Knox, S. L., & Davies, C. (2013). The force of meaning: cultural studies of law. Cultural
Studies, 27(1), 1-10.
Macaluso, M. (2017). Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird Today: Coming to Terms With Race,
Racism, and America's Novel. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(3), 279-287.
Rapping, J. A. (2015). It's a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird: The Need for Idealism in the Legal
Profession. Mich. L. Rev., 114, 847.
Rezazade, F., & Zohdi, E. (2016). The power of being color-blind in to kill a mockingbird.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 71, 47-53.
Rezazade, F., Zohdi, E., & Faghfori, S. (2016). Negro’s “Double Consciousness” in To Kill a
Mockingbird. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(12), 2292-2296.