Hurricane is Beautiful !
Recently I happened to see a movie in Z Studio titled The Hurricane. At its outset the movie seemed, for me at least, a movie with difference. Then after tiring off from office work started viewing the movie which was relayed around 11 pm on Wednesday. As the movie runs, sleep also moved away from me. Then I tried to really grab the issue and context of the movie. Though I am not familiar with the American assent of New Jersey, I could gather the following impression of that movie which was a real story of a Negro who fought for justice.
I am posting my impression of that story because as my generation views US as the greatest symbol for individuality and personal freedom, the fact is otherwise. That is the general impression which settled in my mind after my high school education where I read about the civil war in USA. The presentation at the high school about the subject was off course in a different mode ! Gradually what I came to know from readings is that the Civil war broke out in USA only after the so called Negro population started ascertaining their rights under US constitution i.e right to equality and right to liberty. Starting from the establishment of United States of America under the leadership of George Washington, the commander there is a stark division between the Whites and Black in all respects of their society. Even after Abraham Lincoln’s contribution to the US society, the US is implementing its dual treatment to Negro. This ultimately brought the famous Martin Luther King to the national scene. He is acclaimed even certain sections in India for different reasons. In this case also our Luther King has been introduced to our generation in different syllabus as the follower of Gandhian principles, peaceful non cooperation. As far as my memory goes, we were not told in our classrooms the reasons for the success of Kings movement in early 70’s ! I am sneering in to this topic because the movie The Hurricane also portraits a Negro’s life of early 70’s of last century US where he has been behind the bars only because of he is a Black.
The story begins with a court scene where the learned (?) judge cautions a boy ( Ruby Carter) that unless he falls in to line with law of the land he would become a dangerous man for the society ! While hearing a petty case the judge delivers 12 year sentence against that boy. The boy assiduously undergoes the imprisonment where he prepares himself to face the life out of jail. With a sever effort he becomes a boxer. After jail life he becomes prize catch boy for the organisers of boxing competition. Due to the speed of his punching he is nicknamed as Hurricane ! His success goes on until he wins in the bout national championship against another boxer who happened to be a White skinned. The umpire declares the White skinned looser as national champion despite the overcrowded objections from the audiences. After that competition, Ruby on the way reaches a casino where he finds all the staff were murdered. The police who happened to guard that street stoles the money in the cash box after the firing by miscreants and also calls on a lady in the bar to inform her that a black guy fired at . She in turn called up police station who arrives and arrests Ruby and the court as usual sentences him for the life imprisonment. After reaching the jailer Ruby refuses to wear white uniform with number which the criminal uses to wear. He argues with the jailer who is also white skinned and as a result the jailer orders solitary confinement.
Meanwhile his younger brother finds as a refuge finds an asylum with a Canadian family across the boarder. Initially he also feels that he is being discriminated because of he is not Whit skinned. Gradually the he mingles with the family well and tells them that he wants to become boxer like Ruby. From him the family comes to know about Ruby, the jailed boxer and meets him, offers their help to bring him out. Initially Ruby refuses but the Canadian family moves to an apartment in front of that jail and keeps on working on the missing links in Ruby’s case. They finds valuable evidences which can help Ruby to be out. Finally with help of lawyers they reopens the case and the Judge rules in favour of Ruby saying that the previous judgement is ill minded and violates the constitution which guarantees free and fair trail of victims irrespective of their nationality and lets him free only in 1984. Before Ruby becomes a free bird the retrail which was ordered in 1976 by New Jersey court also convicts him again in 1976.
While in jail, what I liked most of the movie is, the way Ruby controls his senses. Usually in such circumstances, the environment and the kind of treatment offered by the wards leads to loss of mental balance. In such a situation Ruby never left his daily routine exercise like any other boxer to keep his senses under control. Though he fought with the help of loving family who had nothing to do with him except a relation as general as relation among the ordinary human beings, the way he stood up for his rights really admired me. The court proceedings also creates a styled enthusiasm. Finally he becomes free and flees to Canada along with that family. On the stairs in front of the court while responding to a question about his experiences in jail, he looks at open sky as he is not able to see the sunlight except the gloomy electric bulbs. He finally comments, “ The Hurricane is Beautiful”. This reminds me another story I read as part of my English lessons as high school student, Jessy Owens who also fought with the colour discrimination which is prevalent in 50s of last century, before he qualifies for Olympics ! What I could gather is that the so called leading democracy in the world, the US is not so democratic towards a major section of its population.
Recently I happened to see a movie in Z Studio titled The Hurricane. At its outset the movie seemed, for me at least, a movie with difference. Then after tiring off from office work started viewing the movie which was relayed around 11 pm on Wednesday. As the movie runs, sleep also moved away from me. Then I tried to really grab the issue and context of the movie. Though I am not familiar with the American assent of New Jersey, I could gather the following impression of that movie which was a real story of a Negro who fought for justice.
I am posting my impression of that story because as my generation views US as the greatest symbol for individuality and personal freedom, the fact is otherwise. That is the general impression which settled in my mind after my high school education where I read about the civil war in USA. The presentation at the high school about the subject was off course in a different mode ! Gradually what I came to know from readings is that the Civil war broke out in USA only after the so called Negro population started ascertaining their rights under US constitution i.e right to equality and right to liberty. Starting from the establishment of United States of America under the leadership of George Washington, the commander there is a stark division between the Whites and Black in all respects of their society. Even after Abraham Lincoln’s contribution to the US society, the US is implementing its dual treatment to Negro. This ultimately brought the famous Martin Luther King to the national scene. He is acclaimed even certain sections in India for different reasons. In this case also our Luther King has been introduced to our generation in different syllabus as the follower of Gandhian principles, peaceful non cooperation. As far as my memory goes, we were not told in our classrooms the reasons for the success of Kings movement in early 70’s ! I am sneering in to this topic because the movie The Hurricane also portraits a Negro’s life of early 70’s of last century US where he has been behind the bars only because of he is a Black.
The story begins with a court scene where the learned (?) judge cautions a boy ( Ruby Carter) that unless he falls in to line with law of the land he would become a dangerous man for the society ! While hearing a petty case the judge delivers 12 year sentence against that boy. The boy assiduously undergoes the imprisonment where he prepares himself to face the life out of jail. With a sever effort he becomes a boxer. After jail life he becomes prize catch boy for the organisers of boxing competition. Due to the speed of his punching he is nicknamed as Hurricane ! His success goes on until he wins in the bout national championship against another boxer who happened to be a White skinned. The umpire declares the White skinned looser as national champion despite the overcrowded objections from the audiences. After that competition, Ruby on the way reaches a casino where he finds all the staff were murdered. The police who happened to guard that street stoles the money in the cash box after the firing by miscreants and also calls on a lady in the bar to inform her that a black guy fired at . She in turn called up police station who arrives and arrests Ruby and the court as usual sentences him for the life imprisonment. After reaching the jailer Ruby refuses to wear white uniform with number which the criminal uses to wear. He argues with the jailer who is also white skinned and as a result the jailer orders solitary confinement.
Meanwhile his younger brother finds as a refuge finds an asylum with a Canadian family across the boarder. Initially he also feels that he is being discriminated because of he is not Whit skinned. Gradually the he mingles with the family well and tells them that he wants to become boxer like Ruby. From him the family comes to know about Ruby, the jailed boxer and meets him, offers their help to bring him out. Initially Ruby refuses but the Canadian family moves to an apartment in front of that jail and keeps on working on the missing links in Ruby’s case. They finds valuable evidences which can help Ruby to be out. Finally with help of lawyers they reopens the case and the Judge rules in favour of Ruby saying that the previous judgement is ill minded and violates the constitution which guarantees free and fair trail of victims irrespective of their nationality and lets him free only in 1984. Before Ruby becomes a free bird the retrail which was ordered in 1976 by New Jersey court also convicts him again in 1976.
While in jail, what I liked most of the movie is, the way Ruby controls his senses. Usually in such circumstances, the environment and the kind of treatment offered by the wards leads to loss of mental balance. In such a situation Ruby never left his daily routine exercise like any other boxer to keep his senses under control. Though he fought with the help of loving family who had nothing to do with him except a relation as general as relation among the ordinary human beings, the way he stood up for his rights really admired me. The court proceedings also creates a styled enthusiasm. Finally he becomes free and flees to Canada along with that family. On the stairs in front of the court while responding to a question about his experiences in jail, he looks at open sky as he is not able to see the sunlight except the gloomy electric bulbs. He finally comments, “ The Hurricane is Beautiful”. This reminds me another story I read as part of my English lessons as high school student, Jessy Owens who also fought with the colour discrimination which is prevalent in 50s of last century, before he qualifies for Olympics ! What I could gather is that the so called leading democracy in the world, the US is not so democratic towards a major section of its population.
Dylon's Poem in Solidorty to Ruby
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously.
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand.
"I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night.
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around.
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that.
In Paterson that's just the way things go.
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops.
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head.
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.
Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in,
They took him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs.
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Why'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Here's the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame,
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame.
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
You don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow.
You'll be doin' society a favor.
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver.
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along the trail.
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.
Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
Yes, that's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
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