In the Heat of the Night (1967)

A) How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?
In the Heat of the Night is a film about Virgil Tibbs, a black homicide detective who is accused of murdering a rich white businessman while visiting his mother in the South. After realizing that Tibbs is a northern homicide expert, the local sheriff, Bill Gilespie, asks him to aid in their murder investigation. Although they have difficulty getting along, Gilespie and Tibbs work together to solve the murder. Chapter 25 of Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty! focuses on the civil rights movements of the 1960s as a response to “black discontent over inequality in education, employment, and housing” (915). In the film, there is a ton of racism towards Tibbs. For starters, he is immediately accused of the murder of the town businessman due to his race and the fact that he is sitting alone at a train station. Then, once he begins working on the case, the villagers constantly harass Tibbs and tell him to leave their town. At one point, a server at the local diner refuses to serve him. Tibbs also find himself being physically attacked by a group of townsmen who hate him based solely on his race. The film shows how black Americans did not enjoy the aspects of freedom that many other Americans enjoyed at the time. Although we can see the lack of equality between blacks and whites throughout the film, there is no real representation of the civil rights movement and therefore the film does not have much tangible correlation to the chapter.

B) What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?
The fact that this film dealt so much with the hatred and racism that faced American society showed that it was at the forefront of many American’s concerns. By releasing a film that showed an interest in the realities of segregation, the producers of In the Heat of the Night were showing Americans that the struggle of black Americans was a cause that deserved their attention. The difference in appearance and in mannerism between northerner Tibbs and the southern police officers showed a difference in the levels of sophistication between the North and the South. The North seemed much more advanced and sophisticated in the way that Tibbs was very well dressed and articulate while the southerners seemed uneducated. Something that I found interesting about this film that I hadn’t noticed in any of the previous films we have watched was the incorporation of advertisement into the film. I saw a coke machine in at least three different locations throughout the film; this amused me because it is something that continues to exist to this day. The new idea of sexual freedom was also represented in the film when a sixteen-year old rape victim secretly attempted to receive an abortion.

C) What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class, and race?
This film brought a great deal of attention to the inequality of black Americans. Although the dismantling of segregation was supposedly taking place, this film made it clear that socially enforced segregation was still an issue. At one point in the film, Tibbs drives past a cotton field that is filled up with black workers. These workers look dirty and mal-nourished whereas the white owner of the cotton fields is very clean and wealthy. On the other hand, the successful Tibbs shows that although many blacks were restricted to manual labor, they were capable of so much more. This film exposes whites as treating blacks as inferiors without any moral basis. The only real revelation about class during this film was the comparison between black laborers and white businessmen. Black laborers were forced to work as second-class citizenship while whites more easily enjoyed an upper class lifestyle. At one point of the film, police officer Sam Woods, watches a naked woman parade around her house. Apparently this woman likes to do this to gain the attention of males. Once again, we see women as sexualized objects or “eye-candy” for men. The film also deals with the issue of abortion as an example of the new feminist fight for sexual freedom. Women of the time were fighting for the right to control what they do with their bodies. Secret abortions were clearly a part of society while women pushed for their legalization. I think an important message of this film is the way that despite their difference in race, Tibbs and Gilespie end up working together very well and solving the mystery. This shows that blacks and whites can easily work together in an integrated society.

D) What was the most important scene in the film?
I believe that the most important scene in the film is the final scene when Tibbs and Gilespie part ways before Tibbs takes the train back to the North. This scene revealed a certain level of admiration that Gilespie had developed towards Tibbs for his hard work and achievement despite racial interferences. This scene shows that no matter their race, blacks and whites can still work successfully as a team. Gilespie even shakes Tibbs’ hand which marks a big achievement for the white acceptance of black members of society. When Gilespie tells Tibbs to take care of himself it shows that blacks and whites can overcome racism and gives hope for integration. However, it is also somewhat sad because although these two people were able to overcome societal racism, there was still existed tons of people who could do not accept integration.

The Girl Can't Help It (1956)

A) How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?

The Girl Can’t Help it is a film about a girl named Jerri, whose boyfriend, a slot-machine mobster, wants her to become a star so that he can marry her. This film celebrates the new rock ‘n’ roll music culture that had sprung up in the United States. Jerri’s boyfriend “Fats” Murdock enlists the talent agent Tom Miller to promote Jerri’s career. Miller proceeds to bring Jerri to multiple nightclubs where her beauty attracts the attention of the owners. Throughout the film, we see numerous young people performing on stage in their rock groups. In chapter 24, Foner describes this emergent youth culture as “juvenile delinquency… that rejected middle-class norms” (897). One of the main connections that can be made between this chapter and the film was the rise of suburbia and the assumption that “the most important goal of American women” (880) was marriage. Candy’s desire to stay home and take care of her husband reflected the idea that women’s freedom lay in the ability to stay home rather than go to work. Another connection between the film and chapter 24 of Give Me Liberty! was the affluence that was enjoyed by many Americans of the time. We can see in the film that Americans took part in a great amount of leisurely activities as a result of this affluence.

B) What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?

By interpreting the film as a primary historical document, we can learn that American culture at the time was greatly dependant on leisure. Most of the scenes of the film took place at nightclubs where middle and upper class Americans enjoyed hearing local performers. The rock ‘n’ roll culture is also very evident in the film. We see tons of different bands performing new types of music. We can also tell that the American youth had become an increasingly important member of society; many of the rock bands were made up of young performers. The film also promotes the American thinking of women as being domesticated and not meant to work outside the home. We see this when Jerri says, “I’m domestic. It’s one of my favorite pastimes” and then cooks and cleans for Miller. Jerri claims that all she wants is a husband and kids to take care of. She even pretends like she cannot sing so that Murdoc does not make her become a star. An additional aspect of American culture at the time revealed through the film was the growth of affluence and consumerism. The characters in the film wear stylish, expensive clothing, drive fancy cars, and live in big houses with tons of appliances.

C) What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class, and race?

As in practically every film we have seen this quarter, women were shown as highly sexualized individuals. The female singers in the nightclubs always wore tight, low-cut dresses that made them attractive to men. Miller has Jerri wear sexy dresses and act mysteriously in order to attract the attention of various nightclub owners in order to make her a star. It is funny that she becomes a star based on her looks and not her talents; it shows how shallow some people can be. The film also showed that the main purpose of women at the time was to please men and support their families. Both Jerri and Miller’s previously love interest/client Julie London wanted to stay home and raise a family rather than have a career. In regards to race, this movie showed how the rock ‘n’ roll culture brought together blacks and whites in a non-segregated environment. We see many blacks and whites performing together in all of the film’s nightclubs. The fact that the film’s producer made an attempt to show this meant that whites must have been becoming more accepting of integration. However, there is not much evidence of black-white integration off of the stage, showing that integration was probably a new idea that did not relate to all aspects of life. This film did not show what life was like for lower class citizens at the time, showing that the new consumer culture did not have much concern for the needs of the lower class.

D) What was the most important scene in the film?

I think that the most important scene in the film was the one in which Jerri reveals that she has no desire to be a star or to have a job other than being a housewife. Jerri’s favorite pastime is cooking and cleaning and taking care of her man. I’m not sure whether this portrayed the actual thinking of women at the time but it definitely portrayed the American image of women. Many Americans believed that the only reason for a woman to have a job was to support her husband in maintaining their middle-class status. Other than that, Americans believed that women should find freedom and happiness in their homes. They believed that a woman’s personal freedom could be found at home rather than in the workplace and that her share in the consumer culture came through the earnings of her husband. The lack of feminist dissent to this aspect of culture represented a real backwards movement in the fight for women’s rights.

Pickup on South Street (1953)

A) How does the film relate to the chapter in Foner?
Pickup on South Street is a film about Skip McCoy, a pickpocket who steals the wallet of a young woman named Candy. This wallet happens to contain a film with top-secret government information meant to be passed to a communist. The rest of the film follows the attempts of the police and the communist agents to take back the film. This film takes place during the Cold War and therefore corresponds to Chapter 23 in Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty!. At this time, the United States was in pursuit of “a global crusade against communism” (Foner, 847). This resulted in an attempt to eradicate communism at home as well. As Foner states, “Containment… took place at home as well as abroad” (Foner, 861). Being disloyal or unpatriotic was now linked with showing communist tendencies resulting in the “growing anticommunist hysteria” (Foner, 862). Tracking down communists, especially those who were passing information to the Soviets, and throwing them in jail became very important to loyal Americans and to the government. This anticommunist crusade is seen in the film in the way that the detectives were tracking Candy and her boyfriend Joey, who was guilty of passing information. The plot of this film confirms that Americans at the time were convinced that “an army of Soviet spies was at work in the United States” (Foner, 863). During this era of fear, many of the people who were accused and jailed were simply believers of communist beliefs and not necessarily inclined to take part in subversion. However, they were all treated as if this were the case, causing the atmosphere of fear that the anti-communist crusade produced. Foner mentions that “national security agencies encouraged Hollywood to produce anticommunist movies” (Foner, 851), and this film was very much an example of this. Of course, the film confirms the American fear of communist spies rather than showing the less intense side of communist believers.

B) What can we learn about American culture during the time period by interpreting the film as a primary historical source?
In Chapter 23, Foner states “The Cold War encouraged a culture of secrecy and dishonesty” (Foner, 860). This is very much evident throughout the film. Theft had become an everyday part of people’s lives as is evident through the large web of pickpockets that existed. Skip’s underwater crate of stolen belongings symbolizes the nature of total secrecy. As a result came a new wave of informers, such as Moe Williams, or criminals who worked with police officers by giving information about other criminals. This created a culture in which nobody knew exactly whom they could trust. However, even amongst these criminals, the one group who was seen as the lowest of the low was communists. The Cold War resulted in “the drawing of a sharp line between patriotic Americans and those accused of being disloyal” (Foner, 861). Disloyalty to the United States was not seen in the criminals or immigrants, but in those who were against the status quo or those who supported communism. The anti-communist crusade became a huge part of American culture. The communists were seen as enemies of freedom and communist actions of conspiracy were seen as “worse than murder” (Foner, 862). At one point, Moe says “Even in our crummy business, you gotta draw the line somewhere”, emphasizing the fact that communists were the lowest type of criminals. When Skip McCoy, who shows no sense of morality, becomes angry with Candy and calls her a “Red”, it is again apparent that the anti-communist sentiment was present in all loyal Americans. His inability to trust her also shows the new society of dishonesty and lack of trustworthiness. I definitely believe that this is one of many anti-communist films, even if the director denies it. Joey and his fellow communist agents are completely inferior beings as neither Moe nor Skip will cooperate with them.


C) What does the film reveal about attitudes toward gender, class, and race?
Pickup on South Street was different from all of the previous films we have watched in class. Whereas the other films showed an idealized side of society, this film depicted a society filled with crime and corruption. There were both male and female criminals in the film showing a sense of equality amongst the two genders. However, I do think that some aspects of this film make women seem naturally pure yet easily corruptible, such as Candy’s innocence in the communist scam she was involved in or Moe’s desire to help the police as well as to hinder the communist agents, despite her criminal background. Like many of the films we have seen, women play very sexualized roles. When initially trying to acquire the film from Skip, Candy attempts to do so through means of seduction; the two quickly form an attraction that results in a later relationship. In regards to class, this film reveals that most lower class people at the time were forced to take part in criminal activity as their only means to economic stability. Moe pushes for more money for her information in order to afford a better lifestyle. Rather than disapproving of this trend of criminal activity, I think that the director was trying to show that these actions were necessitated in an attempt to breakout of poverty and achieve true American freedom. It is also obvious that although these actions may be wrong, they are not a sign of disloyalty to the United States; the true sign of loyalty lies solely in the anti-communist crusade. This film does not reveal much in terms of attitudes toward race at the time. When Skip goes to find out what is on the filmstrip, we see a black man working at the front desk. I think that this shows that new opportunities had arisen for African Americans who had previously been restricted to domestic work.

D) What was the most important scene in the film?
I think that the most important scene in the film was the scene where Joey shows up at Moe’s house and threatens to kill her if she does not reveal Skip’s whereabouts. To do so would mean that Moe had helped the communists in their mission and therefore Moe refused to give Joey information. This scene reinforces everything that I have said about the film so far. It shows that although Moe was a criminal and somewhat of a low life, she would never sink so low as to work with the communists. From this, we can see that the anti-communist crusade was a united fight amongst United States citizens. To aid communism would be a complete retreat from democracy and therefore no loyal citizen would do such a thing, no matter their race, class, or gender.