This
movie takes place at a time in American history
when the average person was being pulled down by
the financial and psychological burdens of the
Great Depression and when the south in particular
was struggling. This was a time of widespread
poverty, overt racism, imposing ignorance and
when little towns in the south were pretty much
isolated from the rest of the world. In one of
these small towns, we witness one man, a local
attorney and widower, dealing with a troubling
matter while he also attempts to raise his
children.
The man, Atticus Finch, stands out in this
community, not because he was so extraordinary
for the time and place, but because he is a man
of solid character and honesty that would make
him to stand out at any time. In a way he is
larger than life as we see him through gthe eyes
of his daughter. Saying this in no way is meant
to discount her story or bring this man down to a
more common level. What he does is not common and
how he impacts his daughter, Scout, is in the way
that good parents hope to impact their children.
To Kill A Mockingbird is about many
things including quiet courage, a child’s
discovery of the world, scary things, and how
ignorance and blind prejudices can influence
normal people to do bad things. Mostly, it is
about how a child becomes aware of some
unpleasant aspects of her community and how her
father helps her to understand and deal with
these.
To a certain degree, good parents protect their
children from the unpleasant and disturbing
things in the world. There are many things that
children should not be exposed to or made aware
of until they are old enough to understand.
However, families do not live in bubbles and
inevitably children are going to observe and
experience some difficult realities that they are
not ready for. When a parent denies that these
things have happened or are not concerned with
the impact these unsettling realities have on the
children, that parent is allowing something
unhealthy to fester.
Decent people sometimes are compelled by
circumstance to deal with some ugly matters. For
Atticus this is racism and the threats of a
dangerous man. As we observe Atticus from
Scout’s vantage, we often understand more
than she, a child, regarding the troubling
situation that grows around her father. Atticus
is attentive to his children and does his best to
protect them. We also see how he helps Scout
understand and know the right thing, sometimes by
what he tells her but mostly by what he does.
This is an important lesson in To Kill A
Mockingbird: By their behavior parents teach
their children how to be decent, honest
individuals who will go out and behave in an
honorable way. A parent’s deeds have much
more impact on his children’s moral growth
than whatever he might say.
The American public has turned cynical since this
movie was made. We tend to want to pull down our
heros by finding their flaws (which for many
implies that they have feet of clay) . I think
this is a reaction to the behavior of many
politicians and religious leaders who have used
the power of the mass medias (especially
television) to promote themselves and their
causes, creating idealized images of themselves.
Political ads and much of what is promoted on
t.v. have made many of us suspicious and leery of
those being promoted. If Atticus were around
today and used these tools to promote himself, he
would be suspect. But I don’t think Atticus
would, and like so many Atticuses of the world he
would go about doing what has to be done without
drawing attention to himself other than by being
himself. He would not need (or want) a reward or
testimonial.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a good film to
watch with one’s school age children. It is
also a good movie to see when one is attempting
to do the fair and honest thing when others are
responding to a situation out of prejudice or
because of the heat of the moment.
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