The Hurricane: Film Analysis

1) In the movie The Hurricane, the most common theme that reoccurs is the theme of the struggle for justice.  We see the character Rubin Carter being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit because of the racial prejudice in the society.  Later, we are introduced to a small group of people who want to help Rubin prove his innocence and exploit the truth.  Many times while trying to find the truth, they often found dead ends, which adds to the common motif of the struggle for justice.  This motif is not only applicable for Rubin, but also for those harmed int he accident Rubin was accused of, because in the end, justice was never served for those that really committed the crime.

2) Although many symbols appear in the movie, I found the most significant ones to be the mail from Lesera and jail uniform.  I saw the mail as a symbol because it represents the separation Rubin has from the outside world while in prison.  The letters also represent friends and support from Lesera.  The other significant symbol seen in the movie is the jail uniform.  The suit represents guilt, and when Rubin refuses to wear it, it symbolizes his innocence in the involvement in the crime.  The uniform could also show that Rubin refuses to give up on himself and give up hope that true justice will be served.

3) Many similarities can be identified between the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie The Hurricane.  To start, in both stories, an African male was being prosecuted against for a crime falsely accused upon them.  In court, we see both being defended by "white" people that feel the need to have true justice uncovered as well as having a a jury of their peers (ironically all white) judge them on a crime.  In both situations, we also see the accused have a very calm demeanour while in courtroom.  Also, in the end both the novel and the movie, justice is never really served by those actually committing the crime.

4) I think the most identifiable relationship between To Kill a Mockingbird and The Hurricane is the idea of racism.  In both the novel and the movie, a character is falsely accused of a crime not committed by them.  We the readers are also introduced to a society where the Black race is not as respected and is seen as a lower class when compared to the "Whites" in the community, but even though these communities are filled with prejudiced citizens, there are those who wish to stand up to the racism and fight back with the truth (The Finchs and the Canadians).