The Green Mile: A Contemporary Analysis

The Green Mile tells a story of pain and redemption through the memory of Paul Edgecombe (Tom Hanks). A retired prison guard at a modern-day nursing home, Edgecombe begins to unexplainably cry simply upon viewing an old film. When doted on by his concerned friend, Edgecombe recounts a dramatic story of the suffering in humanity and the powers of good and evil as seen from his former post as head prison guard on death row, "The Green Mile," Cold Mountain Penitentiary, 1935.

The film then flashes back into the deep recesses of his memory to tell of interactions with his work colleagues, especially the corrupt Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) who insulted and abused people around him. Edgecombe's recount also focuses on the prisoners he encountered, most notably John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) who had an innocent spirit coupled by a mysterious power to heal people and William "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell), a man who killed for sport and was thoroughly out of control. The film concludes with a revealing dialogue on Edgecombe's sense of guilt for having killed, John Coffey, a man who did not commit a crime. Although the film veers toward exhibiting dangerous stereotypes, director Frank Darabont develops the personality of each character in order to broaden beyond simplistic clichés and incendiary politics (capital punishment). The result focuses on the meaning of life in a world of pain.

Although the film does not necessarily exhibit a derogatory racist slant, its dissemination in the United States, a country with a long history of institutionalized racism, touches on a cultural history that all too often has belittled minority groups. Within that setting, this film has been analyzed by multiple critics. Owen and Ehrenhaus (2010) have elaborated on this national memory that continues to influence multi-racial relations in contemporary American society. In the collective American memory, the authors highlight Jim Crow laws, white supremacy, and slavery itself as elements that bear on the national conscience (Owen & Ehrenhaus, 2010, p. 131). In the context of the Green Mile, these elements could stereotypically come into play as the upright and moral Paul Edgecombe subliminally endeavors to protect John Coffey in the midst of a villainous environment. By atoning for the sins of white supremacy through the film, the moral sense of the audience could be assuaged of past grievances (Owen et al., 2010, p. 131). Such an interpretation, however, tells only a part of the story.

Other psychological issues address elements of Christianity. A second issue with the film centers around the pejorative implications of having a Black man serve as a Christ figure to the White man. As Coffey uses his supernatural power to heal White people, such a question of salvation must be viewed through a guarded lens. Does such a symbolic representation of transcendent Christian salvation erase the acts of the past (Owen et al., 2010, p. 131)? While each director has the authority to present a film judged by its own merits, a careful consideration of the national point of view will bear well in mind the implications of such a superficial sacrifice.

Indeed, by the end of the film, the careful viewer realizes that what may have at once seemed a shallow representation of atonement for the White man has evolved into a reality that continues to shape lives today. As Edgecombe returns to the present day at the end of the film, he acknowledges that the unique gifts of Coffey helped him to recognize the ineptitude of his own decision-making. In spite of his best intentions, he could not save the life of an innocent man. The memory of this choice weighs heavily on his soul, and it is within this context that the message of the Green Mile resounds: good intentions cannot alleviate the sins of the past.

As this film was set in the Jim Crow era in 1935, its depiction, even in today's world, still resonates strongly on racial tensions. In one scene laced with sexual innuendos and stereotypes, Coffey endeavors to save the life of the warden's wife, Melinda Moore (Patricia Clarkson) through his power of healing. Gabbard (2004) highlights the cinematography used in the film where the camera angle shows the bedroom through the crack in the door as if a Black man were about to steal in to rape a White woman (p. 146). Such an innuendo is only further aroused as the half-deranged Moore hurls racial slurs at Coffey all the while lifting up a leg to expose her thigh (Gabbard, 2004, p. 146). This scene satiates audience expectation of a sexual encounter, all the while under the presumption that Coffey is there to heal her. When he sits at her bedside and gently kisses her to facilitate recovery from cancer, sparks literally fly in one of the major dramatic moments of the film (Gabbard, 2004, p. 146). Once again, race plays a role in audience understanding of this scene as multiracial relations continue to touch a sensitive area in some sectors of American society. Darabont's depiction of this scene suggests that healing can come about in the momentary union of souls no matter what the color of the skin. This powerful message proves unmistakable within the context of the film.

Overall, the Green Mile accurately represents psychological themes of racial relations within the American landscape. With legislative action invoking Affirmative Action, the common memory of the American people acknowledges the damaging decisions of the past. In spite of stereotypical gests at forgetting what has happened in the form of Christ-like sacrifices for the healing of others and principled White men who manage to act in the defense of Black men, the Green Mile, in its final moments, recognizes the difficulty of simply forgiving, forgetting, and moving on without further comment. Forgiveness and closure is a process that takes time. The Green Mile demonstrates that it should not be rushed. The representation of forgiveness and racial tension was handled in a way that was sensitive to the time in which it was created. As such, there is little to improve upon; further emphasis would only appear stilted.

References

Darabont, F. (Director). (1999). The Green Mile [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros. Warner Home Video.

Gabbard, K. (2004). Black magic: White Hollywood and African American culture. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.

Owen, A. S., & Ehrenhaus, P. (2010). Communities of memory, entanglements, and claims of the past on the present: Reading race trauma through The Green Mile. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 27(2), 131-154.