“Just Mercy,” is a movie that tells the true story of an African American lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, and his fight to win the freedom of his
first client Walter McMillian. Who was accused of having murdered an 18 year old white girl, even though there was strong evidence that 
supported his innocence. The story is set in Alabama in 1989, a time in history that had overwhelming amounts of racial prejudice amount the American populous, especially in the south. The power dynamics in this movie are clearly shown in my opinion. With Mr. Stevenson and those he associates with being seen as lesser. And everyone else, such as the judge and police department, being depicted as greater in some way. This is a blatantly obvious depiction of “othering.” “Othering” wasn’t something that was strictly reserved to African Americas in the story either. Eva Ansley was a white women who was employed of Mr. Stevenson, and she experienced prejudice right alongside her boss and even had her life threaten. Obviously, this treatment wasn’t based on her race but instead was based on what she stood for and who she stood with. I thought this was a nice little add on to the story since it showed that making someone feel as though they are less is a conscious choice. Along with how someone who is from the group considered to be greater can go against the social normal to stand for what is right. Another thing that I loved about the story is that it shed light on two different issues at the same time. The first being the prejudice towards African Americans in the judicial and law enforcement worlds. While at the same time depicting the tragic truth of how many on death row are wrongly convicted. Either due to false evidence or lack of effort on the part of the attorney. I believe the intended take away of this film was that the judicial system is messed up and needs reform. And with the movie being released in 2019 it added to be discussion surrounding the issues that spurred the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. I also think it brought to the table the reality of what death row is like. And started a conversation about whether it should still be legal in the US considering the rate of false conviction is so high for those given that sentence.
