Sudie and Simpson
Encyclopedia
Sudie and Simpson is a movie which promotes interracial friendship amid a backdrop of anti-Black prejudice, misogyny
, and general ignorance.
Set in a WW II Georgia small town, the movie focuses on the friendship between Sudie, a 10-year-old girl who had never seen a "nigger
" in real life, and Simpson (Louis Gossett, Jr.
), a black man living surreptitiously in an abandoned shack in the woods. Sudie who finds to her surprise and pleasure that Negroes are not all 9 feet tall, that they know what they do, and that their skin color doesn't rub off. Moreover, the gentle, harmless and moral character of Simpson is contrasted with the town child molester (a white man).
The themes of racism and morality are compared and contrasted, dramatically. If the whites, who "don't allow no niggers" in town, discover the presence of Simpson, they will likely expel him or string him up
. If the victims of the white child molester complain to their mothers, they fear getting "a whipping".
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
, and general ignorance.
Set in a WW II Georgia small town, the movie focuses on the friendship between Sudie, a 10-year-old girl who had never seen a "nigger
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
" in real life, and Simpson (Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
), a black man living surreptitiously in an abandoned shack in the woods. Sudie who finds to her surprise and pleasure that Negroes are not all 9 feet tall, that they know what they do, and that their skin color doesn't rub off. Moreover, the gentle, harmless and moral character of Simpson is contrasted with the town child molester (a white man).
The themes of racism and morality are compared and contrasted, dramatically. If the whites, who "don't allow no niggers" in town, discover the presence of Simpson, they will likely expel him or string him up
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
. If the victims of the white child molester complain to their mothers, they fear getting "a whipping".
Sources
- Sudie and Simpson at Hulu