The purpose of this paper is to dissect the film, "The Hurricane", and attempt to analyze it through the scope of crime and/or victimization, with hopes of applying various principles, theories, and paradigms associated with crime and/or victimization. First, I will have to give a brief synopsis of the two and a half hour film as to give an idea of the time frame that this film occupies because historical and biographical context are important if we want to look at the film in this particular light. .
The Hurricane is an emotionally charged drama, which takes a look at the life and wrongful incarceration of boxing legend Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. The film starts by recalling Carters" defeat of welter- weight champion of the world Emile Griffith, while the story simultaneously flashes to Carters" incarceration. The next scene is of the crime in 1966 that Carter is wrongfully convicted of committing where three people are killed in a local bar. Consequently, Rubin Carter and John Artis are both tried and convicted of three counts of murder. The film then shows Carter writing his memoirs, which lead to release of his book "The Sixteenth Round". Seven years later a teenager (Lersa Martin) from Brooklyn, New York and three Canadian liberal activists (Terry, Sam, and Lisa) who read Carters" story are convinced of Carters innocence and are determined to help set Carter free. Eventually, in 1985 Rubin "Hurricane Carter is exonerated of the charges and set free. In the everyday terms we would normally say that Rubin Carter was just the victim of a crooked justice system but we must look at this with better eyes and extract more thorough meanings of crime and/or victimization. .
First, lets take a historical look at this films setting. The murders and Carters conviction and imprisonment took place in the turbulent times of the late sixties when blacks were fighting for their civil rights.