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Carter's Use Of Empathy In The Film The Hurricane

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In the society that we live in, truth is often twisted, hidden, or lost due to a variety of reasons. By changing the truth, you are able to position the responders, into feeling particular emotions. Have you ever told a small white lie to protect the feelings of someone? Or maybe exaggerated a story to make it seem more funny? These techniques are often used by directors and filmmakers to make their movie more interesting. The film The Hurricane, based on Rubin Carter, a boxer who was sent to prison for allegedly committing a triple murder that he did not commit, would show factual events of his lifetime, right? The director Norman Jewison, in fact changed and twisted several events in order to manipulate and persuade the audience to feel empathy …show more content…

Lieutenant Vincent Della Pesca is a racist detective, who seems to have an obsession of keeping Carter in jail. In the movie, Della Pesca first encounters Carter when he stabs a caucasian man at the age of 11. Since that event, the detective has always had it out for Carter which gives the responders a sense of hatred towards Della Pesca. He was created to symbolise the racial discrimination in the political system of society, which is a reoccurring motif in the movie. Despite how the film portrays this character, it is not the truth. The detective of the Triple Murder Case that Carter was accused of, has a similar name to Della Pesca. Lieutenant Vincent DeSimone was the real detective and had no previous encounters with Carter prior to the triple murder case. Near the end of the movie, Della Pesca is seen to be sitting in the courtroom when Carter is announced to be released from prison. This was not accurate as DeSimone had passed away 4 years prior to that event. The detective was described as a religious man who worked hard to protect his reputation. Other people who knew him said that he was a sensitive man who had become self-conscious due to getting shot in the face while serving in World War 2. Does this really sound like the racist, horrible man that he was made out to be in the movie? The director twisted the truth of this man to get the emotion of hatred from the audience. By doing this, it makes the audience picture Carter as the hero of the story and empathise towards him for the actions against

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