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Prom Night in Mississippi explores the repressed racism that still weighs heavy on America.
Prom Night in Mississippi
Director: Paul Saltzman
Stars: Morgan Freeman
Classification: STC
Rating: *** 1/2
When I have mentioned its title, countless people have told me Prom Night in Mississippi sounds like a horror movie. And in a way, it is.
After all, when Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman discovered that a high school in the American South still had racially-segregated proms in 2008, he was shocked enough to enlist actor and local resident Morgan Freeman to pitch the institute an offer they couldn’t refuse — integrate the prom and he’ll pay.
From there, the intriguing documentary follows a selection of students and a few parents as they spend the next four months preparing for the auspicious event. But not everyone is pleased. Some students willingly back out while a group of parents plan a separate whites-only prom.
It’s an eye-opening documentary that pulls the curtain back on the repressed racism that still weighs heavy on America and more shockingly, on the influence of the young. While Saltzman keeps it positive and hopeful, Prom Night definitely could’ve used a more rounded field of subjects — namely those racists who, he admits, wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Still, Saltzman’s movie is thoughtful, intimate and even judicious. While recent reports have shown that American schools are actually becoming less racially integrated, one can only hope Prom Night in Mississippi will be a horror film that does not require a sequel.
Director: Paul Saltzman
Stars: Morgan Freeman
Classification: STC
Rating: *** 1/2
When I have mentioned its title, countless people have told me Prom Night in Mississippi sounds like a horror movie. And in a way, it is.
After all, when Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman discovered that a high school in the American South still had racially-segregated proms in 2008, he was shocked enough to enlist actor and local resident Morgan Freeman to pitch the institute an offer they couldn’t refuse — integrate the prom and he’ll pay.
From there, the intriguing documentary follows a selection of students and a few parents as they spend the next four months preparing for the auspicious event. But not everyone is pleased. Some students willingly back out while a group of parents plan a separate whites-only prom.
It’s an eye-opening documentary that pulls the curtain back on the repressed racism that still weighs heavy on America and more shockingly, on the influence of the young. While Saltzman keeps it positive and hopeful, Prom Night definitely could’ve used a more rounded field of subjects — namely those racists who, he admits, wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Still, Saltzman’s movie is thoughtful, intimate and even judicious. While recent reports have shown that American schools are actually becoming less racially integrated, one can only hope Prom Night in Mississippi will be a horror film that does not require a sequel.
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