Prom Night in Mississippi – DVD Review
The Film:
In a local high school auditorium, in Charleston, Mississippi, a town with a population of 2,200 people, Morgan Freeman offers the 70-odd Seniors an offer. The offer being if, as Seniors, for them to have one Class Prom. Now, say what one will in hindsight, but a High School Prom serves as a right of passage, as one final celebration of their youth before they collect their diploma and enter into the real world as adults. But for Charleston High School, having one Prom was something they were not allowed to have. It had been decided that there will be two Senior Proms, one for the white students, and one for the black students, and its been like that for generations.
This is 2007.
As perplexing as it sounds, that in 2007 and as this documentary hits DVD in 2010, that a school still has segregated Proms, imagine Morgan Freeman’s reaction, a resident of this small town. In our educated discussions, we tend to believe that the South, and pockets within the South, can never be changed, and Prom Night in Mississippi is a stunning reminder that in these more accepting, educated times, that racism still survives. All the students had to do was accept Morgan Freeman’s offer to 100% fund their Prom. The documentary often shows personal camera footage of the students talking candidly about this situation, and it’s telling that these kids are clueless to why there’s still racism in their town.
Some things must be washed out, and as uneducated as racists are, with time and future educated generations, racism can finally die. What’s neat about the documentary is that fact that it follows the kids and their attempt to have, as friends and some as lovers, the first integrated Prom in Charleston’s long history. The kids are obviously not of their parents beliefs and struggle to end this divided town’s ugly racist history. The ‘elephant-in-the-room’ is the election of Barack Obama, and while the documentary doesn’t take time out for his historical election, it plays deep within our minds as the tensions unfold. Where the documentary falters a bit, is that it never shows the town outside of what the kid’s have been saying. I think this would really amp up the inevitable conclusion of the historic Prom. Also, too much time is shown with the kids at Prom, the lack of Morgan Freeman outside of his appearance early on, but when it comes down to it, Paul Saltzman’s documentary is an ugly reminder of our past and that in some areas today, racism lives.
Stupid is, what stupid does, and through education, can acceptance kill bigotry.
The DVD:
Audio/Video: Docuramafilms continues stellar work here with this release. Picture is clear, devoid of any issues. The audio is clear for the dialogue, yet gets bass heavy when certain songs play. Overall, another great documentary presentation by Docuramafilms.
Commentary: Director Paul Saltzman and his producer offer up a decent yak track, with some behind-the-scenes info on putting this project together. Worth a listen for doc fans, but the power of the material needs little discussion.
Some Deleted Scenes that offer more interviews, Filmmaker Bio, and the film’s trailer round out some slim extras.
Conclusion: In our 2010 minds, it’s amazing to see racism alive and well in the deep South. Through this historic Prom, the courage of the students, and Morgan Freeman, bigotry is fading away. Docuramafilms offers a decent DVD release, though I wished for some after thoughts by Freeman in the extras. Learn more here.
The Film: Rating: 
The DVD: Rating:
