Combatting Racial Discrimination Against African Americans in the Film 'Just Mercy'

Abstract

This study is entitled “The Resistance of Racial Discrimination Against Afro-American People in Just Mercy Film”. The object of this study is a film entitled Just Mercy (2019), written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. This film tells the story of how a young attorney who graduated from Harvard Law School named Bryan Stevenson tries to solve the case of Walter McMillian and tries to save him from the death penalty that he will get because of false accusations. The writer focuses on racial discrimination against the black community but mainly Walter McMillian and Bryan Stevenson. The purpose of this study is to explain how racial discrimination occurs to the characters and how they deal with it. Walter McMillian is a black man who is set to get the death penalty for a crime he does not commit. Bryan Stevenson is a young lawyer who helps Walter McMillian to solve his case and uphold justice. In collecting the data, the writer used qualitative methods to find racial discrimination. This study uses the theory of Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (1995) which explains about discrimination and racism. The results of the study show that Afro-American characters receive discrimination in the field of law carried out by the authorities which all of them are white. However, Afro-American characters fight against the discrimination they have experienced until finally they get the justice they have been fighting for.

Keywords: injustice, law, racial discrimination.