The 1995 and 2015 versions of the film, The scarlet, depicts the hardship that people undergo as they are condemned by situations around them. The situation may be religion, belief, ethnic background, gender or even race. The different setup in which the film is set to bring out the unwarranted treatment that leads to the suffering of people of a certain group. Racial and ethnic discrimination is mostly depicted in the interpretation of the movie. Various forms of suffering were encountered by the causalities. In the both set of films the end result that come with the confidence of overcoming the difficulties created renewed strength in the people. Both Hester and her husband are presumed to be black Americans. During this era of the setting of the novel in the 1600’s African American population was small in comparison with the Native Americans. This was the time of the onset of the slavery when the Africans were taken up to provide labor for farms and other manual duty. With slavery came racial discrimination and unprecedented suffering to the minority. Black Americas generally trace their origin in sub-Saharan Africa
Discrimination of African American based on The scarlet film
The scarlet letter is a film adapted from the novel The scarlet. This novel was published in 1850 and it reflects the occurrences of events in 17thcentuary[1]. The author of the novel Nathaniel Hawthome sets the novel for events between 1642 and 1649. The plot is in Boston, a territory that is under the rule of the Puritans. This is a group of very religious men and women who act as it is stipulated in the religious settings. Various laws exist among the Puritans some of which are oppressive. These people believe that when someone is condemned of sin has no chance of getting to heaven which is the desired destination. The culture of the puritans is translated to mean the hardlined culture that existed in the white community. The culture that existed did not recognize the black community as important part of the human race. They were perceived to be cast away and condemned to death. Once condemnation they believed that the African American would to surface to have a place in the general public positions. The novel is generally a romantic novel with a historic setting of fiction. It tells a story of a young woman called Hester Prynne.
In the film the woman Hester Prynne is the protagonist who is taken to reveal the suffering that African Americans have suffered due to the rules and oppression that has been imposed on them. The woman conceives a daughter out of an affair with a pastor and ends up being convicted of adultery. This can be translated to mean the guilt that the African Americans have to live with and later this guilt transforms to be the strength which propels them to bigger heights. The story revolves around legalism, guilt and sin. At the end of the story the guilt of the scarlet letter A transforms to be the strength and pride of Hester. This is the pride that that African American has enjoyed after having freedom of mind and the joy of having overcome the challenges. Hester thereafter struggles for independence and self-dignity which was long lost due to the wearing of the scarlet with a letter A.
During her conviction at the scaffold she boldly goes with her child in her arms which depicts a huge level of boldness and the desire to overcome the guilt of adultery. She latter accepts the reality of the shame and starts fighting through it with confidence. It is a long struggle to overcome the shame and guilt of the scarlet letter. This is translated to show the struggle that African American had to overcome in order to gain the independence of mind and freedom that they now have. This indicate the strong mind and composure that the agent of chance had. The strong mind that is later revealed in Marti Luther King Jr and other African Americans who believed freedom of the mind
On the Day of Judgment on the scaffold Hester spots her husband who for long she has no information about his whereabouts. Her husband’s is angered by the turn out of event and plot revenge against the person behind the pregnancy. This is an indication of family detachment that came along with the slavery and capture of the African Americans and the pain and bitterness that was built in their hearts. The pain and bitterness formed the platform for the struggle to freedom.
Throughout the challenges that Hester undergoes, she still protects the person behind her pregnancy by refusing to reveal the name of the father to her daughter at the scaffold and to his husband. This is the level of compromise and degree of confidence that the people had to endure to secure their current position and status. Her husband presses her to reveal the information and is angered by her level of secrecy. This is an indication of the oppression that the black were subjected to and the believe that whatever they knew was to be on public domain.
When Dimmesdale gives his last speech, he reveals the mystery he has been living with and this take people by surprise. He has been looking holy before the eyes of the people for the entire duration but has been living in pain and guilt. This is translated to show the guilt that haunt the people behind the suffering of the African Americans and their destination when they gain their freedom from oppression.
In the film the protagonist, Hester Prynne presents the contradiction between holy and sinful. Hester Prynne was seen as the most sinful person in the society to the extend to be made wear the scarlet letter “A” (letter “A” standing for adultery). She was supposed to stand in the open in front of a big crowd of people as a sign of shame because she had a child by a man out of wedlock. These actions were true reflections of oppression towards black because the man responsible for committing the sin with her was a pastor in the church. Contrary no punishment was laid on him although he was central to the sin committed by Hester Prynne. Double standards were applied when whites and blacks committed the same crime. Whereby the African Americans would be punished and the whites left to enjoy freedom and impunity. During this era in America the desire of the society was to control the sexuality in the basic way, love was forbidden. Women were not supposed to make love; there was no freedom for women. When Hester Prynne was involved in an affair with Arthur Dimmesdale she had to be punished for her mistakes according to the society’s norms while Arthur is left out.
Interpretation of the film is intended to change the general interpretation of the movies and introduce a different dimension of the argument in the movie. Hester and her husband flee from England but they don’t leave on the same ship. Hester leave first and on arrival awaits the arrival of her husband who she believes is on board in the following sail. Her husband is believed to have been killed in the sea since he does not dock during the expected time. This is an indication of how slavery would separate families and in many instances the families would never be reunite. The perception that Hester’s husband died in the sea with the Indians is an indication that many African Americans died in the sea while in transit to America. It was a normal occurrence and it did not carry much weight, this is among the suffering that these people had to endure. During this era of the setting of the novel in the 1600’s African American population was small in comparison with the Native Americans. This was the time of the onset of the slavery when the Africans were taken up to provide labor for farms and other manual duty. With slavery came racial discrimination and unprecedented suffering to the minority. Black Americas are generally people who trace their origin in the sub-Saharan Africa[2]. Their skin complexion makes them vulnerable to discrimination due to their peculiar appearance. Inequitable distribution of resources, opportunities and privileges was a reality as their numbers increased.
In the film the protagonist Hester, depicts the suffering of the people and the guilt of having a black skin. The unfair judgment that they have to face and the strength that come after going overcoming the challenge successfully. Transforming the actor into an African American brings the real perspective the suffering they undergo. She is convicted of adultery and is condemned to scarlet A. In transformative arena, it can be translated to mean the black color of the skin which the Africa America has to live with throughout their entire life. Black color is like the child Pearl who was born out of wedlock remained as an evidence of the mistake committed[3]. In the novel, the protagonist, Hester Prynne presents the contradiction between holy and sinful. Hester Prynne was seen as the most sinful person in the society to the extend to be made wear the scarlet letter “A” (letter “A” standing for adultery). She was supposed to stand in the open in front of a big crowd of people as a sign of shame because she had a child by a man out of wedlock. These actions were true reflections of oppression towards women because the man responsible for committing the sin with her was a pastor in the church. This is a man (Arthur Dimmesdale) considered holy by many within the society. On the contrary, punishment was laid on him although he was central to the sin committed by Hester Prynne. During this era in America the desire of the society was to control the sexuality in the basic way, love was forbidden. Women were not supposed to make love; there was no freedom for women. When Hester Prynne was involved in a fair with Arthur Dimmesdale she had to be punished for her mistakes according to the society’s norms. The scarlet letter “A” symbolized the suffering the victim was subjected to after being involved in adultery. The challenge is that double standards are applied in the ruling of the judgment where only one party is punished while the other is left free.
The color complexity of the African America symbolized a lot of suffering like what Hester went through as long as she wore the scarlet letter on her dress. The whites always see African America as dull, having so many problems. African Americans children could not go to same schools as the children of their white master. Due to the black skin; they should not mix up with whites, African America do not have equal rights as fellow Americans[4]. Due to the dark skin of the African Americans; it was seen as being shameful and a proof of inferiority. Nobody appreciated them, even the society and the county’s laws worked to their disadvantage. The unfair judgment that they have to face and the strength that come after going through the challenge successfully. In the film Hester Prynne later started seeing the scarlet letter as a symbol of her hard work fighting oppression of blacks in the society. She would wear it with a lot of confidence, although there before was a sign of shame to her. She went a step further to decorate the scarlet making it look beautiful and admirable. This may be interpreted to mean the hard work and victory that African American has struggled to overcome and the success they have achieved. The strength and pride that is achieved by the milestone of hard work and building of self-confidence is what create a great community of African Americans.
In 17th century after the formation of United States of America, black people started being enslaved. The already formed United States of America had very high demand for workers to assist in the plantations such as tobacco plantations. These forced traders to start slave trade to supply the deficit of workers required to fill the demand[5]. Most of the slaves came from sub-Saharan countries. Around four million of the slaves were denied freedom because of the civil war which was started by the competition of resources. The other reason which caused a lot of problems to the Africans Americans was that they were treated as second class citizens. They were not allowed to vote, only whites were legible to vote. These are some among many sufferings that the African Americans were subjected to. In the film, the protagonist representing the African Americans was subjected to many shameful activities like the African Americans who were treated as second class citizens. Due to the dark skin the protagonist was always mistreated. In transformative arena, it can be translated to mean the black color of the skin which the Africa America has to live with throughout their entire life.
Black color is like the child Pearl who was born out of wedlock remained as an evidence of the mistake committed. In the film Hester Prynne and the oppression of the women represents the way the African Americans were denied freedom. The protagonists struggled to fight to keep her daughter pearl even when the authorities wanted tom take the daughter from her. She later managed to bring her daughter up. The minister Arthur Dimmesdale felt guilty of his actions and committed suicide but the protagonist Hester Prynne managed to go through all this suffering. The women later appreciated her for work she did. The protagonist in the Africa American film portrays the suffering of those Slaves who had no freedom. Their skin complexion makes them vulnerable to discrimination due to their peculiar appearance. Inequitable distribution of resources, opportunities and privileges was a reality as their numbers increased. In the film the protagonist was able to fight for freedom as the Black Americans did. They fought the authorities until they gave in to pressure, the slave trade was stopped, the Black Americans were restored their rights. They were able to vote again. This is the way Africans even in their own countries to put through by the whites, had no voice in the society. As long as somebody wore the Red scarlet letter “A” was seen as a victim and should be deprived of her freedoms since was treated as a prisoner.
In the film, African Americans, the protagonists due to the color of the skin could not have any freedom to even move around, was a prison due to the complexity of the skin. The protagonist endured all this suffering. In The film Hester Prynne started a business in that harsh environment and was able to raise her own daughter. She transformed from victim of sexual abuse by men to fulfill their own desires like minister lover, Arthur Dimmesdale and her husband now Roger Willingworth to heroine. This is a resemblance of black American, how they transformed from slaves to respected people in American soil. Their color has changed from being a symbol of shame to something of a pride. They are taking up new challenges and fulfilling bigger obligation.
The perpetrators of racial and ethnic discrimination reach a point of being guilty just like Dimmesdale. The minister Arthur Dimmesdale felt guilty of his actions and committed suicide but the protagonist Hester Prynne managed to go through all this suffering. So many times, he wanted to publicly declare his misdoing but he did not[6]. The guilt was too big and he could not coup up with the reality of his actions. This is an indication of the guilt that the people who oppress others on the basis of race, gender and ethnic basis have to live and coup with
Conclusion
The scarlet letter is a film adapted from the novel The scarlet. This novel was published in 1850 and it reflects the occurrences of events in 17thcentuary. Interpretation of the film is intended to change the general interpretation of the movies and introduce a different dimension of the argument in the movie. The 1995 and 2015 versions of the film The scarlet depicts the hardship that people undergo as they are condemned by situations around them. The situation may be religion, belief, ethnic background, gender or even race. Their skin complexion makes them vulnerable to discrimination due to their peculiar appearance. Inequitable distribution of resources, opportunities and privileges was a reality as their numbers increased.
The different setup in which the film is set to bring out the unwarranted treatment that leads to the suffering of people of a certain group. Racial and ethnic discrimination is mostly depicted in the remake of the movie. The remake brings out the joy and confidence in the victory that comes with the overcoming of the vice. The victory over the scarlet letter A is a translation that indicates the victory that has been achieved in fighting racial discrimination.
It brings out the mental strength that agents of change bear. The unshakeable belief that was in their mind as later seen in the independent but strong mind of Martin Luther King Junior and other great African Americans.
Bibliography
Alexander, Michelle, and Cornel West. 2012. The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness, St Kilda, VIC: Insight Publications.
Bercovitch, Sacvan. 2013. The office of the Scarlet Letter. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=662031.
Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2010. Racism without racists: color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States. Lanham: Rowman& Littlefield Publishers.
Hummer, Theo and Nathaniel Hawthorne. 2011. The scarlet letter. St Kilda, VIC: Insight Publications.
Love, Eric T. L. 2004.Race over empire: racism and U.S. imperialism, 1865-1900. Chapel Hill [u.a.]: Univ. of North Carolina Press.
Wallis, Jim. 2016. America’s original sin: racism, white privilege, and the bridge to a new America. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=EB531B99-7B53-48C4-99B7-3043F1BF3559.
Wallis, Jim. 2016. America’s original sin: racism, white privilege, and the bridge to a new America. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=EB531B99-7B53-48C4-99B7-3043F1BF3559.
[1]Hummer, Theo, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. 2011. The scarlet letter. St Kilda, VIC: Insight Publications.
[2]Alexander, Michelle, and Cornel West. 2012. The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness, 200.
[3]Ibid., 211
[4]Wallis, Jim. 2016. America’s original sin: racism, white privilege, and the bridge to a new America, 34. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=EB531B99-7B53-48C4-99B7-3043F1BF3559
[5]Bercovitch, Sacvan. 2013. The office of the Scarlet Letter. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=662031
[6]Love, Eric T. L. 2004.Race over empire: racism and U.S. imperialism, 1865-1900. Chapel Hill [u.a.]: Univ. of North Carolina Press. Wallis, Jim. 2016. America’s original sin: racism, white privylege, and the bridge to a new America. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=EB531B99-7B53-48C4-99B7-3043F1BF3559.