Similarly the 1967 Black Power Salute is another text which shows that moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition. The image consists of three men standing on a podium, two of the men being black (Tommie Smith and John Carlos) and one being white (Peter Norman). The image was taken in a time where tension between Negro people and white people in the U.S.A was soaring high. The two black men in the image are locking their fists in the air which symbolises Black Power. This shows that the two men have the moral courage to raise their fists and silently protest which is doing what no black person would do due to their fear of the white people within their borders. This is moral courage because the two men had taken their moral values into consideration and stood up against the racist society by showing their pride to the world. This supports the argument because the men have perfectly shown moral courage. They show this by standing up for the black community against popular opposition. The composer uses a straight on angle shot where the audience is looking straight at the characters. This indicates that the power relationship between the characters and the audience is neutral and equal. This shows the audience that the black people in the image are equal and deserve equal treatment and rights. The composer uses a high modality in the image to show the truthfulness of the photo. This is evident as the image has normal colours as it has not been edited which indicates a high modality. The composer uses this technique to show that the situation of white hate and severe racism was true. This positions the audience to think the situation in the U.S was true and that what the men were doing was for a reason. The layout of the image is important as it helps deliver the purpose which the composer is undertaking. For example the composer shows Tommie smith is positioned above all in the photo as he is standing on the podium where the gold medallists stand. The composer does this to show that one who the moral courage to stand up for the black community in front of the entire world should be above all and the composer has achieved this by positioning him on the top of the podium. The moral courage in this case shows that it isn’t only being heroic and fearless, it shows that it is a concept that draws on ones ability to stand up against the white community and progress towards change.
Courage is rendered once an individual has done what they’re afraid to do. This means that once an individual has overcome their fear then only have they rendered their courage. This can be seen in the four feathers when harry quotes’ “I have to believe this time I will face up to my fears and prove to myself and others that I am not a coward.” This supports the argument because it tells us that harry was afraid to go to war but then faced up to his fears in order to clear his name as a coward, because men who did not embrace war were characterised as cowards. The composer uses techniques within the scene to inform the audience that harry has overcome his fears by travelling to Sudan to prove to his friends that he will not be remembered as a coward. For example the composer has used a sound technique which consists of fast beats which resemble Arabian music. The composer does this to show the audience that harry is in Sudan as the Arabian music sounds help portray the Sudanese environment. The composer also used clapping sounds which shows that harry has overcome his fear and gone to Sudan to render his courage. The clapping sounds are also supported by people dancing which indicates that people could be celebrating for harry as he has overcome his fear of war. Another quote mentioned by Abou that shows courage is rendered once an individual has done what they’re afraid to do is “I found you half dead, crossing the desert alone and you say you’re afraid.” This quote is a perfect example of one overcoming their fear as crossing a desert alone with no resources is a major obstacle that no one would dare do. Harry did this because he ironically thought he was a coward but in reality he is courageous because crossing a desert alone is indeed a courageous act. This supports the argument as Harry has now rendered his courage because he has overcome his fear of war by trying to cross the desert in order to reach the war.
On the contrary Mississippi Burning is another text which portrays that courage is rendered once an individual has done what they’re afraid to do. Mississippi was a southern town in the U.S.A which encompassed racism at the worst levels imagined. People were scared to speak up and urge for the horrors to stop because of their fear of the white race. Aaron a young black courageous boy has overcome fear on many occasions during the film. This is evident when he says to a white F.B.I “it aint colour folks you should be talking to”. This quote supports the argument because Aaron blocked out his fear of talking to any white person as there were severe consequences. The Black people were afraid to talk to white people because of the Klu Klux Klan which horrifically tortured black people if they were found talking or interfering with whites in any way. Since Aaron had told the white F.B.I person that he shouldn’t talk to black people he overcame the fear of being caught by the KKK as they threatened him “if you go flapping them boot lips off to any of them federal men, we sure as hell gonna have to put you under the ground boy.” This threat is abominable as his life is at stake but he put his fear aside and got his message across and in the process rendered his courage. The following shows that courage isn’t only acting heroic, rather it includes one standing up for their rights as Aaron did in Mississippi burning.
The capital force that influences courage is context. The way a person view’s courage is determined by the context which is the situation present at the time. For example in the four feathers a person was deemed courageous if he lived by the value “god save the queen” and served their commission in the army. Everybody in society embraced the men who went to war and proclaimed those who did not go to war as cowards. This is evident in the four feathers when Ethine Says to Harry, “Then you are a coward.” Ethine who loves Harry and wants to get married abandons him as soon as he says he is afraid to go to war. This educates us on how important war was for society and that even your loved ones turn on you if you’re afraid to serve in war. The composer uses silence when this quote is being mentioned to emphasize on the word coward and its meaning as “coward” was a very offending word that could change a persons life as it did to harry. Also Ethine says “do you think people will let us forget this.” This shows us that people were concerned with what other people thought of them and that was more important than taking in your loved ones feelings and moral values. This would inturn influence ones courage by making one take in what society believes and act courageously according to their perception. However in Mississippi burning the context is much different than that of the four feathers as in Mississippi burning, it is at a time where racial tension between black and whites was extremely high. Black people were afraid to speak up due to threats from the KKK such as “If you go flapping them boot lips off to any of them federal men, we sure as hell gonna have to put you under the ground boy.” This quote from a KKK member shows us the situation the black people had them selves in. They could not speak against what was happening because the law allowed this. “No court in Mississippi can convict me for killing a nigger” which is quoted by a KKK member and “these are due to outside influence” which is quoted by the judge. These two quotes show us that the whites were above the law so black people really could not do anything about their unjust and inhumane treatment in Mississippi. This requires a different type of courage to that of the four feathers. This courage is standing up for what is right in the face of popular opposition and trying to bring about change which requires one to consider his moral values. For example the courage that Aaron portrayed “it aint colour folks you should be talking to”, which included standing up for what is right by having the courage to speak to a white F.B.I agent. The following statements portray how context influences courage and that courage isn’t just being heroic and fearless, rather it is a concept that draws on ones morale values.
In conclusion, Courage isn’t only being heroic and fearless, rather it is a concept that draws on ones moral values and ones ability to stand up for what is right. Composers show this extensively by using texts in an interesting way to explore the concept of courage and position the audience.
