Prom Night In Mississippi

How old are you?

Did you go to your High School Prom?

Was it integrated?

I'd imagine that last one to come across as sort of a joke question -- is it integrated??? do you mean like cavemen and dinosaurs? these are the jokes people -- But for Charleston High School in Mississippi, it's a legitimate query. They just had their first "integrated" prom a couple years ago. The story of it serving as the old world grist for Paul Saltzman documentary "Prom Night In Mississippi".

Here's some pub copy on it:

The film deftly weaves together student-made videos, interviews, and fly-on-the-wall moments with scenes of school officials, parents and Morgan Freeman himself, as white and black members of the Charleston senior class work together to organize the groundbreaking dance. While students prepare for the big day, seemingly inconsequential rites of passage suddenly become profound as the weight of history falls on teenage shoulders. We quickly learn that change does not come easily in this sleepy Delta town, as Freeman’s generosity ends up fanning flames of racism among several generations of Charleston residents.

And a video clip:



Some thoughts:

1.Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. These people are from The South:

The reason to watch the film is to get a little glimpse of this small Southern town, and see how anachronistic it is. Like going to the Museum of Natural History and the dinosaurs are casually talking about their lives of swamps and eating each other. It's interesting, but you can't truly relate/empathize/connect to something living behind a glass wall. It's like: hello, Mr. T-Rex, i don't want to be a dinosaur-chauvinist hater or anything, but y'all might want to step outside the museum. realize no one complains about the swarming pterodactyls anymore. Go on the internet. meet new friends. Like that, but y'know, with real people involved.

The whole story is Morgan Freeman paying for the school's prom to take the burden off the tradition of separate proms at this school. But some of the people - parents! - still organized their own White Only prom. Which they did not allow the filmmakers to get footage of. Which was supposedly attended by 30 people or so. So i don't know, if they started a facebook group "White Only: Dancing and Hanging Out, for one night", you'd prob get like 30-40 people. Maybe the same people. Actually, definitely not the same people. I guarantee those people are going to be opening their free sample AOL test DVD in a few months from now. Facebook eta circa 2014.

I'm being mean, but I'm sorry, I do not understand the South. Baldwin wrote in essays about how he changed as a writer, as a black man, after visiting the south. Eddie Murphy joked, "don't go down to texas, they'll f you up". I can't front, I'm a little scared of it; you either get changed, or f'd up/dead.

I just wonder if it will in fact be a matter of time, and these were cavemen times. Or if there is something in the DNA, the genetic makeup of the geographical culture, or somesuch.

2. Generation Gap: The kids are a lot more sane. When I think about the kids, I don't think the DNA issue is a question. Then again, a lot of the crazier thinking people in the film, or alluded to in the film, did not actually get face-time. It's telling to something that the more backwards thinking folk are not oblivious, feel some sense of shame or embarrassment. They're not young Israelis boldly pushing their drunken shimmering worldview. They prefer to pop their racist zits in private.

Mostly the kids seemed annoyed, frustrated by the parents. But still respecting them, in most cases. Which then feels like "nothing to see here", and probably deflates some of the dramatic tension in the film. Watching Paint Dry have you met Town Watching/Waiting For Olds To Die,... that sort of thing. The kids are cute, not weird, aside from general high school age weirdness, and definitely not the problem.

3. Driving Mr. Freeman: The doc starts off with Morgan Freeman talking about growing up in the town. And the tradition. And how it was stupid, etc. And how we was going to propose to get involved. Which he did. The thing is once the kids are diagnosed as normal kids, he's kind of the star/engine of the film. But once he gets the ball rolling, that's all we get from him. There's a meeting in the auditorium when Shawshank Redemption talks to everyone and tells them what he wants to do. All the kids are treating him like he's Will Smith instead of Morgan Freeman. But he doesn't turn the Will Smith on. There's a stunted emotional investment that begins to emanate from him. Maybe it's just how things worked out, but it could/should have probably been more a little more autobiographical. Or at least Freeman giving more context and background to the town history. Helping us understand The Aliens from The South. But he mostly becomes the hollywood name that gets the film through the process. It's a little disappointing.

All in all I'd say, if you want to go to the museum, but from the comfort of your home. Check it out. There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes than looking at old people and normal people behind the glass.


Prom Night in Mississippi website

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