Movies have a role to play in our culture. However, as many people often point out.. “it’s just a movie”. Movies more often than not are just an escape. A simple form of entertainment. We need escapes and entertainment, but we also know well enough not to over emphasize their importance and keep things in perspective.
However, every once in a while a movie comes out that we can legitimately say was an “Important film”. A movie that transcends the uncomplicated roles of escapism and entertainment and takes on a much greater significance in our social fabric. “To Kill A Mockingbird” is one of those movies.
One has to keep in mind the social climate in 1962 in which To Kill A Mockingbird emerged. It was an incredibly brave (it’s not very often you can actually use that word, “brave”, when it comes to movies), bold and powerful project that stood almost like a bonfire in the rallying cries for a changing world.
I heard one person go so far as to say this:
“It would have happened eventually, but there is no way Barack Obama is elected president in 2008 had it not been for To Kill A Mockingbird”
In some sense I agree with that statement.
Sad news today. Director Robert Mulligan, who was nominated for his work with Mockingbird has passed away from heart disease. He was 83. Yahoo News gives us this:
Known for his diffident nature and sensitivity toward players, Mulligan directed five different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Gregory Peck and Mary Badham in “Mockingbird,” Natalie Wood (“Love with the Proper Stranger”), Ruth Gordon (“Inside Daisy Clover”) and Ellen Burstyn (“Same Time, Next Year”). Peck won the Oscar for his lead role as attorney Atticus Finch in “Mockingbird.”
An amazing talent has left us. I think I’m going to go grab a copy of Mockingbird and watch it again later today.
