What is Mississippi Burning?
'''''Mississippi Burning''''' is a 1988 movie which tells a fictionalized version of the investigation into the real-life [[Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner|murders of three civil rights workers]] in [[Mississippi]] in 1964. The movie focuses on two fictional [[FBI]] agents (portrayed by [[Gene Hackman]] and [[Willem Dafoe]]) who investigate the murders. The film also stars [[Frances McDormand]], [[Brad Dourif]], [[R. Lee Ermey]] and [[Gailard Sartain]], and was written by [[Chris Gerolmo]] and directed by [[Alan Parker]]. It won the [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography]], and was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (Hackman), [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] (McDormand), [[Academy Award for Directing|Best Director]], [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]], [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Sound|Best Sound]]. The film has been criticized by many, including historian [[Howard Zinn]], for its fictionalization of history. While FBI agents are presented as heroes who descend upon the town by the hundreds, in reality the FBI and the Justice Department only reluctantly protected civil rights workers and protesters and reportedly witnessed beatings without intervening. On June 21, 2005, 41 years to the day after the murders, [[Edgar Ray Killen]] was convicted of manslaughter in the 1964 slayings of the three civil rights workers, and was later sentenced to 60 years in prison. ''Mississippi Burning'' was preceded in 1975 by a [[Television movie|television]] [[docudrama]] titled ''[[Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan]]'', depicting many of the same events, and both productions follow the events portrayed in the 1990 TV-movie ''[[Murder in Mississippi]]''. == Other websites == * {{imdb title|id=0095647|title=Mississippi Burning}} * [http://mediafilter.org/MFF/FBI.html Federal Bureau of Intimidation by Howard Zinn] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/201