Introduction
For this study, a film called “The Long Walk Home” was selected, which was first released in 1991. This cinematic film tells the story of two families who faced crisis times in American history. One of the wives is a decent black maid who works hard both at work and at home. The other main character is a representative of the whites and is the wife of an accomplished businessman. In this contrast, the director of the film touches on the topic of racial identity and attitudes toward people of different skin colors and classes. It is in this way that the selected work is connected to ideas about representation, racism, and ethnicity.
The historical event that is presented in this film is the uprising started by Rosa Parks. At that time, the woman refused to give up her seat on public transport, which caused a great resonance in society. Using actual events as the basis of the historical background gives the film more credibility. Therefore, the thesis statement of this research paper is the statement that the film “The Long Walk Home” is a representation of how a conflict related to race can affect the lives of various representatives of society.
Themes
The thesis idea is that the film “The Long Walk Home” is a representation of how a conflict related to race can affect the lives of various representatives of society. The film vividly demonstrates different aspects of the life of people stuck in their stereotypes and trying to change them (Benshoff and Griffin). A prominent theme is a will for the freedom of Odessa and black people in the US South (King et al). Odessa is ready to fight for its independence and not just sing about it and dream about it. Her struggle is associated with injury and blood: “If she’d rather walk, let the soles of her feet bleed ’til she begs to ride that bus.” (The Long Walk Home) She personifies the victim of the struggle, who consciously takes this step, refusing the privileges thrown from the master’s table.
The second important theme of the film concerns not Odessa, but Miriam, who is afraid of her usual surroundings. Accustomed to a luxurious and comfortable life, Miriam shows kindness to Odessa and tries to talk to her about the boycott. Miriam tries to keep her calm: “It’s just that a lot of the whites are scared. I’m a little scared.” (The Long Walk Home) However, her fear is caused by the lack of explicit self-identification and uncertainty about her place in life. Odessa, with her determination, attracts her and gradually helps her find herself and her freedom.
Here the film opens up to one of the most profound and unobvious themes, namely the development of racial freedom against the backdrop of throwing off the shackles of gender stereotypes. Towards the end of the film, Miriam, together with Mary, decides to help Odessa and stand by her side (The Long Walk Home). It is demonstrated by the last scenes, where Odessa and Miriam hold hands, and tears flow down their faces. It is overcoming oneself and obtaining total freedom, which makes people take responsibility for themselves, their decisions, and their actions. Thus, the rebirth of Odessa and the rebirth of the entire black population was a renewal for Miriam, a woman from a wealthy family, forced to be an accessory for her husband.
The Film in Context
In addition to the main themes that touch on the existential issues of freedom and choice, the film raises the usual social problems. The authors of the film draw attention to the problem of black labor, racism, rude attitudes in society, and segregation. The authors illustrate the problem of stereotypes and social norms through the fate of specific people. All this is displayed in the characters’ dialogues, as in the already mentioned dialogue between Odessa and Miriam: “What’s scarin’ you Miss Thompson, who you are, or what Mr. Thompson wants you to be?” (The Long Walk Home). Throughout the film, the characters are often rude to black people and do not try to fit into their position. Depending on their work, wealthy white families do not feel any gratitude but take the current state of affairs for granted. They perceive the problem of boycotts not as a manifestation of the spirit of freedom but as an ordinary urban case that causes many problems and requires a pragmatic solution.
Thompson Family Table and Kitchen
The setting of the Thompson home, especially in their kitchen or dining room, is reminiscent of the ideal traditional family. The table is perfectly set, and the kitchen is always clean. Even though everyone in the house understands that this is not the merit of Miriam, the mother of the family. Viewers of the film can compare the scenes in this house to the house of Odessa, where there is a small kitchen with poor equipment and a small round table. Family members of Odessa sit at a smaller distance from each other during dinner, join hands and pray. Their reduced space may indicate that an atmosphere of trust reigns in their family (“Race and Ethnicity”). On the contrary, the Thompson family is the most restrained in the manifestation of feelings and pragmatic. They show concern for each other differently, and even their touch can be traced in a deliberately restrained and prim manner, according to the rules of high society.
Miriam and Norman
Most of the film’s shots capture Miriam only taking her next to her husband, Norman. Sometimes Odessa takes the place of Norman, but these shots demonstrate the subordinate position of Miriam. She does not exist without her husband, and it is as if she is not visible without him. The husband sits next to her, touches her, and talks to her. Only at the end of the film is a considerable distance between Norman and Miriam.
The End Scene
The film’s ending scene is replete with hand symbols representing help and support. Therefore, not only does Miriam decides to help Odessa, but Odessa helps Miriam and her daughter. The camera captures the palms of each heroine separately and shows how they touch under the light. Later, the camera captures their crying faces, which show release and relief since this is not hysterical crying. Odessa’s face is relaxed, and tears roll down her cheeks, which she does not try to wipe.
The Road
Walking alone along the broad road, Odessa is repeatedly shown in the film, depicting the path to freedom. In one of the scenes, she walks through the rain. The director emphasizes that this is not an aesthetic figure of water or rain (for example, in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris) but a pragmatic complication of movement. It is new torture on the way home; the camera usually captures Odessa from the side to make the road the center of the narrative in these scenes.
The Bus
The scenes inside the bus or near the bus capture the figure of Odessa and put it in the center. Her face is usually in the center of the frame, and the rest of the figures are blurred or small. People can say that the scenes on the bus, which capture the face of Odessa, full of discontent, demonstrate her proud and rebellious character in the best possible way.
Large Gatherings of People
The director deliberately shows large crowds of people to display a public misunderstanding of what is happening and chaos. People randomly form groups, but their clothes always show who is rich and engaged in manual labor and service (Bernardi and Green). However, as the story progresses, these scattered groups become more and more structured. In the final scenes, people can see how Odessa and other blacks confront the Thompson family and their friends. They occupy different corners of the room for filming and are filmed from different angles. Moreover, individual characters do not come out of there, although Norman tries to talk to his wife.
Conclusion
One major segregation problem affecting black people can involve different people’s life experiences, wealth, and status. The authors of the film focus on what lives Odessa and Miriam lead. As a result, both are freed from the shackles of stereotypes and feel relieved. This film speaks about the importance of human feelings and that there is no division between blacks and whites, rich and poor. All people can keep their rights and not be afraid of others, overcoming themselves. This film suggests that freedom and slavery exist in the context of rules and law and the context of unspoken social relations. Then, getting rid of this slavery is much more complicated than usual. For film studies, this film is helpful as an example of demonstrating a social problem and the individuals experiencing it.
Additional Information
The film was initially planned as a historical drama but was subsequently expanded into a feature film to give the director more freedom. However, the story of Rosa Parks, which formed the basis of the narrative, influenced the film. The director used the same bus as the scenery, in which Rosa Parks had a conflict due to refusing to give up her seat. By the time of filming, the bus was in poor condition; the team could only use it after careful restoration.
The film was released two years in a row, from 1990 to 1991, and was warmly received by critics. The motion picture has taken a very stable place in popular culture and coverage of segregation in the United States. Critics praised her for her fair narration, but some people still have questions about the adequacy of using the figure of a white narrator. This film does an excellent job of portraying the events from a historical perspective and focuses on the characters’ dialogue through which one can understand their true intentions and views.
Works Cited
Benshoff, Harry, and Sean Griffin. America on Film. 3rd ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.
Bernardi, Daniel, and Michael Green. Race in American Film: Voices and Visions That Shaped a Nation. Greenwood, 2017.
King, Jesse, et al. “Representing Race: The Race Spectrum Subjectivity of Diversity in Film.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 44, no. 2, 2020, pp. 334–51. Crossref, doi:10.1080/01419870.2020.1740290.
“Race and Ethnicity.” Film Reference.