SnoopyStyle
In 1970 Charleston, Mississippi, the white high school first allowed black students to attend but the parents kept the proms separated by race. In 1997, Morgan Freeman offered to pay for an integrated prom but was rejected. It's 2008 and hometown guy Freeman is trying again. The school is 70% black and 30% white. The school and the board accept. However, some white parents decide to keep the white prom going.It's an eye-opening slice of the world. It's not something in the headlines but it's also something very telling. It's a lot of interviews with the kids but it's not terribly dramatic. Freeman makes the case early on but mostly keeps his hands off. This is definitely one-sided but I can't expect participation from the other side. That's kinda the point. There is one parent of a white girl dating a black boy and that's a good look at the tip of the iceberg. It's a really interesting story but the failure to get the 'other side' limits its effectiveness.
preppy-3
This documentary is about a small town in Mississippi that (to this day) has integrated proms--one for blacks, the other whites! Hard to believe but it's true. Actor Morgan Freeman was born and raised in that town up to the age of 6. He says he'll pay for the school prom--IF it's integrated! Naturally this drays a firestorm of controversy but mostly from the parents who don't want it. The kids do--but they're caught in the middle.Absolutely fascinating documentary. It's inconceivable to think that ANY town in this day and age would have separate proms. The documentary talks to the parents and kids. It's made pretty clear that most of the parents are against it--only a few support it. Also a group of white parents pressed charges against the town to NOT have an integrated prom. They also refused to appear on camera and talk about it. This isn't all about racism--it has some very fun moments. The kids themselves are funny, adult and articulate. The best bit is one boy who ends up with TWO dates to the prom! Also the tone of the film is not hysterical or condemning anyone. They just show you what's happening and has the citizens talk about it. Absolutely fascinating. A 10 all the way.
criticlh-1
There was something special about seeing this film at the Crossroads Film Festival in Jackson, Mississippi. There were some in the audience who did not know that proms were still segregated in some cities. Of course, they don't have to be segregated in Jackson because the vast majority of white students there attend private schools.Be that as it may, this film makes it clear that racism is not an either-or proposition. There are some students who have black friends but would only date whites, a few who either by their own choice or under pressure from their parents will not attend an integrated prom, and one interracial couple who decide to become really public by going to the prom together. On one thing the students seem almost unanimous: separate proms is their parents' idea, not theirs.Almost everyone seemed to be willing to talk to the film makers, except the small group of parents who organized their own whites-only prom. Perhaps the most powerful portion of the film is an interview with a white father who struggles with his own racist attitudes while refusing to give up on his daughter, whose boyfriend is black. I cannot think of a movie more likely to promote discussion about issues of race than Prom Night. And on top of that, it's just plain worth watching.
George Carr
Saw this yesterday at our film festival, and was very impressed. The film studies the phenomenon of a racially integrated senior prom from several perspectives, mixing student interviews with footage of key events in their prom preparation, like buying dresses and confirming dates. The interviews achieve a happy mix of blunt candor with adolescent innocence, and one comes away with the notion that racism is not so much a yes-no status as a continuum along which everyone can be placed: some kids want to socialize with kids of other races, but would not date them; some parents work hard to prevent their children from interracial dating, but ultimately permit it. This is a film that is destined as a springboard for discussion; it certainly provoked a long talk among the crowd I saw it with.
AD
