Joan Mulholland: An Ordinary Hero (2013)

An Ordinary Hero is a documentary film about Joan Trumpauer Mulholland (born 1941), who was a civil rights activist in the 1960s. Here is some basic information about it:

** Written, produced and directed by Loki Mulholland

** Distribution: Taylor Street Films

** Run time: 90 minutes

** Released in 2013

In the beginning of the film, Loki explains that his mother never talked much about her past. He knew she had been a Civil Rights Activist, because he had seen some of her old pictures, but he did not know any details.

In 2011, however, things changed. In that year, he accompanied his mother and several other civil rights activists on a trip to Mississippi that was organised to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Freedom Rides of 1961. And during this trip he began to understand more about her life.

He decided that he wanted to make a film about her, so he established a team and did some interviews, not only with Joan but also with other witnesses who knew her at the time and with some scholars and experts. The result is this film which premiered in 2013.

PART ONE

When a son makes a film about his mother, you might worry that the product is unprofessional; too positive or perhaps too negative. You might also worry that the contents are boring, because we only see a mother and her son talking to each other. In this case, this fear is completely unfounded. 

Loki and his team have created a very professional product and when you see the long list of witnesses, you will understand that this is not just Loki talking to or about his mother. There are many witnesses here and they all offer some useful insight into the time of the Civil Rights Movement and Joan’s role in it.

Here are the names of the witnesses in alphabetical order. Most of them (including Joan) are Civil Rights Activists. If they have another background, this is noted:

** Reuben Anderson, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice

** Luvagh Brown

** Dion Diamond

** Eric Etheridge, author (see the PS below)

** Reverend Reginald Green

** Reverend Ed King

** Hamid Kizilbash

** Dorie Ladner

** Joyce Ladner

** Jerry Mitchell, investigative reporter, the Clarion Ledger (see the PS below)

** Michael J. O’Brien, author (see the PS below)

** Joan Trumpauer Mulholland

** John R. Salter, Jr., sociologist at Tougaloo College, author (see the PS below)

** Hank Thomas

** Congressman Bennie G. Thompson

** Sylvia D. Thompson

PART TWO

In this film, we hear about some of the episodes in which Joan was involved. The Freedom Rides of 1961 and sit-ins at several lunch-counters. Between the talking heads, contemporary evidence is shown, often old photos in black-and-white. During the film, we also follow Joan to different locations which are connected with the Civil Rights Movement and with her past:

** Tougaloo Southern Christian College. Joan was the first white student to enrol in this institution which was known as a black college.

** Parchman Penitentiary in Mississippi. Some of the Freedom Riders were arrested and sent to this place in order to break their spirits. At the time Parchman was known as one of the worst prisons in the US. When some of the former Freedom Riders visited the place in 2011, the reception was friendlier than when they arrived in 1961!

** Arlington National Cemetery. Joan visits the grave of Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers who was killed outside his home in June 1963.

** The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial located in the West Potomac Park, not far from the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Joan was an unlikely member of the Civil Rights Movement for two reasons: (1) she was white and (2) she was from the South. Many southerners were shocked to find out that she was a part of the Civil Rights Movement. They thought she must have lost her mind. They thought she had a mental problem. This was the only way they could explain why “one of their own” could betray them like this.

But Joan had not lost her mind; and she did not have a mental problem. She saw something which she thought was wrong, and she decided that she had to do something about it – she must try to make it right - if she ever had a chance to do so. As it happened, she had several chances and she took them.

As Loki explains, his mother's decision to take this step has haunted and defined her life ever since. As Joan explains, once she had taken the first step, there was no way back, and in a way this was a good thing, because there was only one way to go from there and that was forward.

CONCLUSION

An Ordinary Hero is a wonderful and life-affirming film. The story of the Civil Rights Movement has been told many times before, but here the story becomes very personal, because we meet some of the people who were there and who made history with their actions.

Loki made this film as a tribute to his mother. He wanted the world to know the history of her life and her contribution to the movement. But he himself does not figure prominently in this film. In fact, we almost never see or hear him. He stays in the background. While Joan gets a chance to tell her story, even she does not appear that often, although she is the main character here. Most of the time is devoted to the other witnesses who give their testimonies about Joan. If you ask me, this is a good approach.

An Ordinary Hero cannot be described as an objective film. It does not offer the positive and the negative facts about Joan. But I still think it can be described as a true story.

The witnesses are positive. They praise Joan for what she has done in her life. There are no negative witnesses. But I am not going to complain about it. This is Loki’s portrait of his mother and he is allowed to paint it any way he wants.

Joan does not describe herself as a hero. But many people who know her well have used the word to describe her. When you have watched this film, I think you will say this is a case where this word is justified, where it is used with a good reason.

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 82 per cent; and it has won several awards. If you ask me, the positive reviews and the prestigious awards are fully justified. I think this film deserves a rating of five stars.

PS # 1. For more information, see the following books, written by authors who are interviewed in the film:

** Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders by Eric Etheridge (large format, hardcover, 2008)

** We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired by Michael J. O’Brien (2013, 2014)

** Jackson, Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism by John R. Salter, Jr. (2011)

PS # 2. Civil Rights Activist Anne Moody (1940-2015) is mentioned several times in the film, but she is not interviewed. Her autobiography Coming of Age in Mississippi was first published in 1968. It was reprinted in 1992 and 2004.

PS # 3. Jerry Mitchell, investigative reporter at the Clarion Ledger, has a website that is called “Journey to Justice.” A story about Joan and the film about her life was posted here on 11 March 2013.

PS # 4. Freedom Riders is a documentary film that was shown on US television (PBS) and released on DVD in 2011 in order to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Freedom Rides. Joan Mulholland is one of several witnesses who are interviewed in this film (which is an episode of the long-running program American Experience).

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