Both books and their accompanying films prominently feature children. To Kill a Mockingbird confronts racial bigotry in the 1930s segregated South, and tells its story from the point of view of young Scout Finch. Through her eyes we observe her father Atticus, an attorney, diligently fighting to prove the innocence of a black man accused of rape. Scout also makes us rethink first impressions in her encounters with her neighbor Boo Radley.
Encinitas librarian Sandy Housely recalls reading the book for the first time and "connecting to how it brought the South of the time period alive for me in a personal way. The small town, the point of view of a young girl anyone could identify with, and the extraordinary events the town and Scout witnessed were extremely compelling."
Housely would like to see a new generation enjoy Harper Lee's book in the same way. That's why the Encinitas Library signed on to the NEA's Big Read. The program was initiated after a 2004 NEA report showed a decline in literary reading over the last twenty years, especially among youth. The Big Read initiative is a nationwide movement to reverse this trend. The library selected To Kill a Mockingbird because it ties in best with the local school curriculum as well as being a timeless book with continued appeal.
"The themes of tolerance and injustice are as relevant today as when the book was written," says Housely, "We hope the film screening brings To Kill a Mockingbird to life in another dimension for our program participants and that it inspires those who may not have read the book to do so."
Robert Mulligan's 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird offers a particularly good example of a literary screen adaptation. This may be the result of screenwriter Horton Foote being a Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist that could identify with Lee's view of the South. Nor does it hurt to have Gregory Peck taking on the role of Atticus Finch, endowing him with the moral passion and outrage necessary to ignite the film. The film is also noteworthy for an early performance by Robert Duvall as Boo Radley and a stellar turn by child star Mary Badham as Scout (pictured left with Gregory Peck).
Fine performances by non-professionals fuel the Iranian film Children of Heaven . It was chosen by the Central Library to provide an additional perspective on the issues raised in Three Cups of Tea . In the book, Greg Mortenson recounts how after getting separated from his guide during a failed attempt to scale K2, he stumbled into a remote village in the northeast of Pakistan. Hearing the villagers complain about having no school, he promised to return to build one for them. A decade later, he joined up with a non-profit working to build schools in the remote mountain border villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In contrast to the Encinitas Library, which is about to start up a film program, SDCL has utilized film as "a cultural, social and educational outreach tool for the last twenty-three years," says Lynn Whitehouse, supervisor of history and information at the San Diego Public Library. She adds that "Film is one of the vehicles the library uses that creates opportunities for its diverse population to gain understanding of one another across cultures, and serving as a meeting point for cross cultural social discourse.
Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven is a work of exquisite beauty and deceptive simplicity. When I interviewed Majidi in 2001, he said, "I'm concerned with two layers [in a film]. The top layer is the story that unfolds on the surface of the film, and the second is the layer below, which is concerned with human beings and their true nature and their human qualities. I am not concerned with politic issues -- they have an expiration date. In Children of Heaven I was concerned with showing dignified poverty; the children's human qualities and dignity are not diminished by poverty."
The Iranian film Children of Heaven screens free at the Central Library March 30. (Miramax)
So the surface story concerns Ali (Mir Farrokh Hashemian) who loses the just mended shoes of his sister Zahra (Bahareh Seddiqi). As the two poor children try to find a replacement pair of shoes, their trek reveals the wide economic differences that divide modern day Teheran. By looking at people's feet, Majidi finds an entertaining way to define their social standing and explore serious issues.
Both the SDCL and the Encinitas Library reveal how libraries are constantly changing in response to the needs and interests of their communities. Pairing films and literature is one way to appeal to a broader audience, and to encourage interest in reading through pop culture.
I will present the screening of To Kill a Mockingbird on March 22 at 2pm at the Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Avenue, so come join me for a post-film discussion. For information email sandy.housely@sdcounty.ca.gov. Children of Heaven screens March 30 at 2pm at the Central Library, 820 E Street, San Diego. For information call 619-236-5800 or visit www.sandiegolibrary.org .
