No, that would be a stereotype too. But the movie, instead of showing a realistic mix of human types, made all whites look evil, except for Peck and about three others. I'm just wondering how Southerners respond to the movie and book. That's the question in my post.
You seem to want to ignore the very real sins of our past. Not just the south's past, though they fought for it longer, but America's past.
It took good people to change minds, and the move shows a couple of them. Don't try to set it in modern times as if it is an afront to YOU, it wouldn't be legitimate in these times. But it was legitimate in the setting of those very racist times. Don't white-wash it as if it didn't happen.
I don't understand how this means it's a racist movie; there are only so many characters in any movie. Wouldn't it be anti-south to assume ALL other characters in the south are racist from this? I mean, Peck and three others with a speaking cast of how many? Seeing how Peck and his kids are three of the main characters, how is this racist? Should he pass people in the street and mention "And he's not racist, either, Scout"?
It's a story about racism, so having a non-racist hero and important supporting characters who aren't racist seems to be a pretty good balance.
Oh well, we could also move on and discuss how accurate Inherit the Wind was too! One southern writer who doesnt' play favorites is Flannery O'Connor. Talk about a true minority. A female Catholic in the deep south! :) V's wife.
I've read the book and seen the movie. I've never thought of either as anti-south, but somewhat indicative of the way things were then. The story could have been set in lots of different places with different players. Harper Lee grew up in the south, and that's what she wrote about.
churchillbuff, I think you will find that the blacks are portrayed as very dignified and decent, and the few whites that are sympathetic are ones in certain positions of power, which is important in telling the story, and indicative that society then was able to recognize the evil of the Jim Crow laws and racism and how a person's worth should not be judged by their skin color. I think the story was very realistic in showing the various attitudes and thoughts of people at the time. Southerners knew the racism was evil, but in some cases the racism so ingrained that it was easier to just live with it rather than fight against it. I really don't know how Mockingbird could be a slam against white people when it did such a good job of showing the various viewpoints that existed at the time.
You wouldn't happen to be associated with some outside forum groups seeking to infiltrate Free Republic, would you? Anyonw who reads Mockingbird and is familiar with the story and has a thinking brain comes away understanding how difficult things were then for every one. To go about looking for slams against a particular race, be it black or white, reeks of someone with an agenda.