The quintessential coming-of-age film and one of the most influential films of all time celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, a milestone that rightfully has been and will continue to be highly commemorated.
In Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” small town lawyer Atticus Finch says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
As applicable today as it was in the 1960s, this quote embodies the classic film’s plot and ultimate purpose.
Set in Alabama in the 1930s, “To Kill A Mockingbird” tells a story through the eyes of “Scout” Finch of her father Atticus’ fight to defend a black man who was wrongfully accused of raping a white woman.
During this process, he introduces Scout and her older brother Jem to the realities of the prejudice-filled world. Despite all the evil Jem and Scout see, their father and the mysterious recluse Boo Radley help them to look past the hatred and realize the human decency that remains.
A keystone in the civil rights movement, Lee’s novel influenced the lives of many, and the film adaptation made the novel’s themes even more accessible to the public during the pivotal time in America’s fight for racial equality.
Starring the already well-known and popular Gregory Peck as Atticus and boasting incredible acting throughout, the film was a success and remains (like the novel it’s based on) an adored classic. In 1963, it was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three, and in 2003 the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest hero in 100 years of film.
Tonight at 7 p.m., select cinemas nationwide will be showing “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Presented by NCM Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Universal Pictures, this commemorative showing will begin with a new segment hosted by Robert Osborne. The presentation will provide historical background information about the racial tensions during the 1930s with emphasis on life in Southern towns like the work’s fictional Maycomb, Ala.
By continuously teaching the novel in schools nationwide, the youth of America are not only reading a great piece of literature but are also being reminded of the cruel discrimination of the past in hopes that they might recognize the discrimination still present in society and work to end it in full.
Sponsoring a national screening of “To Kill A Mockingbird” in celebration of its anniversary acts in a similarly didactic way. Though the story and its characters are undoubtedly entertaining and etched lovingly into the hearts of many, the film’s plot can work today as a thoughtful reflection of the past and a look towards a brighter future.
Three theaters in Wake County — Brier Creek Stadium 14, Crossroads 20 and Regal North Hills Stadium 14 — will be hosting this event.
Make the trip to one of the nearby venues and allow yourself to reminisce fondly with the rest of America. Lose your naivete alongside Jem and Scout all over again. Then regain your assurance in the good of humanity, all while celebrating a classic and wonderful story and ultimately a beautifully constructed film.
Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.
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