In the Heat of the Night

In the Heat of the Night is a movie that came out in 1967 starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. This movie centers around the investigation of a murder as it looks at the stereotypes and prejudices present in the South of the United States during the period of "separate but equal". 

This movie points out the harsh discrimination and realities that freed slaves had to face while trying to create lives for themselves. The plot line at the forefront focuses on Virgil Tibbs who is a detective from Philadelphia. He is arrested by Officer Gillespie who believes he committed a murder but when he is proved innocent, he works alongside the other officers to find the true murderer. 

In the background of this main plot, are the lives of the women who are also struggling to make lives for themselves. The fight for equal rights among races was on the rise during this time, but the fight for equal rights among males and females had just begun. 

Women in the Jim Crow South had very little rights and were often looked down upon by their male counterparts. This not only applied to the African American women and the poor women, but also the women who were well off. They were all seen as inferior and had to fight for respect. 

This fight for respect is seen in Mrs. Colbert who has to fight for a proper investigation for her husband's death. Since she is a woman, her perspective is stuffed to the side and they expect her to just accept what the officers believe. However, she knows they are missing something and pushes for them to keep looking for more answers. In the end, she has to threaten the jobs in the town to get them to listen to her. 

Mrs. Colbert had to fight for respect and she was well off so it was even worse for girls like Delores Purdy. Girls like Delores are seen as nothing more than an object. She was pushed around by all the men in her life, whether that meant her brother or the man who impregnated her. Her opinion of her own life did not matter. No one listened to her unless she was telling them exactly what they wanted to hear. 

Lowest on the totem pole were women like Mama Caleba. She was a poor African American woman, so no one thought anything of her and she was regarded as trash. She had no chance at making a life for herself in a society where people of her race and gender were not allowed to speak up or challenge the norms. In order to stay out of plantation work, she performed illegal under the counter abortions. She was forced into breaking the law, just to make a living for herself.

This movie shines light not only on the way freed slaves were treated in the Jim Crow South, but also how women were silenced and constantly had to fight for the life they wanted to live.