Hannah Kent, in her 2014 novel Burial Rites, and Joel Schumacher in his 1996 film A Time to Kill, both relay that minorities, when being judged for a crime, will always be subject to prejudice and discrimination. These ideas are portrayed by both texts predominantly through setting, symbols, and characterisation. The setting of each narrative gives an obvious indication as to the kind of oppression faced by the protagonists, and the point view and characterisation helps the audience to sympathise with this. However, despite this common thread in the narrative structure, symbols display that each account of such discrimination in the criminal justice system leads the protagonists to, ultimately, very different fates. Agnes Magnusdottir is a
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Kent’s novel is set in Iceland, 1829, while Schumacher’s film is set in Canton, Mississippi in 1987. These settings have a very obvious precedence for discrimination, historically and geographically. The suffragettes and women’s rights movements were not yet in motion in this setting, and this fact is reflected in that Agnes had no support network throughout her conviction and trial due to her unwillingness to be complacent, and her intelligence. Agnes was not “young and simple-minded” (132), rather being widely considered as “vulgar for a girl” (142), and thus she was discriminated against, silenced and not given the chance to express her point of view. Correspondingly, Schumacher displays a battle with racism, in a place that has an extensive history of white supremacy, and during a time when this had only very recently been acknowledged as harmful and unjust. A clear indication of this divide between the African American community and white supremacists is an image that becomes very common outside of the court room throughout Carl Lee’s trial. Divided down the middle by soldiers and police to control violence, stand the African American community on one side, and members of the KKK on the other. This scene is often viewed through a bird’s eye or overhead shot, clearly displaying the segregation between communities, and the dialogue overlaps, …show more content…
The audience follows the story of Burial Rites from Agnes’ point of view, and when she is mistreated by other characters, it is much more noticeable due to their unlikeable attitudes and behaviour, and invokes sympathy. For example Björn Blöndal, the district commissioner, is very insistent that Agnes is guilty of every crime he has accused her of. He does not consider anything she says to be valid or true, as he thinks her to be a “witch caught in the webbing of her own fateful weaving” (29). This creates high frustration for the audience, as Kent ensures they are aware that Agnes has done nothing wrong, and that she has not done anything to deserve the fate that has been decided for her by her oppressors. In a similar way, A Time to Kill is followed in the point of view of Carl Lee and his lawyer Jake Brigance, where Carl Lee faces discrimination, and Jake is subject to aggressive hate crimes in response to his support of Carl Lee. The film begins in the point of view of the African American community of Canton, who are going about their day until two white males begin terrorizing them. These men are also characterised in a way that is unfavourable to the audience, appearing to be supremacists harassing innocent characters. The mise en scène creates an uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding these men, the
Kent’s novel is set in Iceland, 1829, while Schumacher’s film is set in Canton, Mississippi in 1987. These settings have a very obvious precedence for discrimination, historically and geographically. The suffragettes and women’s rights movements were not yet in motion in this setting, and this fact is reflected in that Agnes had no support network throughout her conviction and trial due to her unwillingness to be complacent, and her intelligence. Agnes was not “young and simple-minded” (132), rather being widely considered as “vulgar for a girl” (142), and thus she was discriminated against, silenced and not given the chance to express her point of view. Correspondingly, Schumacher displays a battle with racism, in a place that has an extensive history of white supremacy, and during a time when this had only very recently been acknowledged as harmful and unjust. A clear indication of this divide between the African American community and white supremacists is an image that becomes very common outside of the court room throughout Carl Lee’s trial. Divided down the middle by soldiers and police to control violence, stand the African American community on one side, and members of the KKK on the other. This scene is often viewed through a bird’s eye or overhead shot, clearly displaying the segregation between communities, and the dialogue overlaps, …show more content…
The audience follows the story of Burial Rites from Agnes’ point of view, and when she is mistreated by other characters, it is much more noticeable due to their unlikeable attitudes and behaviour, and invokes sympathy. For example Björn Blöndal, the district commissioner, is very insistent that Agnes is guilty of every crime he has accused her of. He does not consider anything she says to be valid or true, as he thinks her to be a “witch caught in the webbing of her own fateful weaving” (29). This creates high frustration for the audience, as Kent ensures they are aware that Agnes has done nothing wrong, and that she has not done anything to deserve the fate that has been decided for her by her oppressors. In a similar way, A Time to Kill is followed in the point of view of Carl Lee and his lawyer Jake Brigance, where Carl Lee faces discrimination, and Jake is subject to aggressive hate crimes in response to his support of Carl Lee. The film begins in the point of view of the African American community of Canton, who are going about their day until two white males begin terrorizing them. These men are also characterised in a way that is unfavourable to the audience, appearing to be supremacists harassing innocent characters. The mise en scène creates an uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding these men, the