Mississippi Burning

In class while dicussing the myths, I wasn't sure I would be able to find a connection between any media text and a myth, they just seemed to far out to find a connection. However, once I started thinking of movies I have watched and books I have seen I was able to match up almost every myth. The closet connection I was able to find was with the fourth myth and a film I watched recently called "Mississippi Burning" starring Gene Hackman and William Dafoe. The film is set in a small southern town in...you guessed it, Mississippi. It takes place during the 1960's, a time when racial tensions were at their peak. To make a long story short, two FBI agents are sent to the town to investigate the murder of two young civil rights workers. They find that the town is completely divided and that it is full of secrets. No one seems to want to agents there and at first the agents find it extremely difficult to investigate. Either people are part of the Klu Klux Klan or they are afraid to speak out against them. Eventually, the secrets begin to unfold and the agents begin to realize that they are dealing with a giant conspiracy. It ends up the Mayor, Sheriff, and other prominent members of the community were connected to the murders in some way or another. The myth, "The Presence of Conspiracy" is directly related to this film. The conspiracy in this film is the cover-up of the murders and how the secrets in the town lead back to town officials. The agents then step in to fix the situation, bringing justice to the community. Just as the myth professes, the agents do fix the conspiracy behind the harmful secrets; this film fits the myth almost perfectly.