In the Heat of the Night Reaction

"In the Heat of the Night," directed by Norman Jewison, was released in 1967 and explored racism and the ways of the South during Reconstruction. The story follows the relationship of Virgil Tibbs, played by Sidney Poitier, a Black detective from Philadelphia, and Mississippi Sheriff Bill Gillespie, played by Rod Steiger, and his officers.  As the film takes place during the Civil Rights Movement, the movie openly shows the prejudices of the time held by Southern white people. It highlights how an understanding and a level of respect can be created across racial divides with open conversation. 

The film starts with Officer Sam Wood stopping and arresting Tibbs for the murder of Mr. Colbert, a wealthy white man in town building a factory, simply for his race.  Once at the station, Tibbs was able to get in contact with his commanding officer and we came to learn that he was not only a detective, but the top homicide detective in Philadelphia.  At that time, Gillespie had released Tibbs from custody and asked his commanding officer if Tibbs could help the investigation to find the killer.

As the investigation progresses, we get to see the relationship between the two actors grow.  Their first interaction is surrounded by tension as Gillespie's prejudice stops him from respecting Tibbs as a normal person and shows the deep-seated racism within the South.  However, Tibbs's professionalism and intellect showed through and allowed Gillespie to soften against his former ideals.  As they examine the crime, Tibbs points out that the racism of the local law enforcement and the community is stopping them from figuring out who actually murdered Mr. Colbert.  

The film highlights this transformation through key moments, such as the pairs trip to the cotton farm of Mr. Endicott, and the iconic line "They call me Mister Tibbs",  and their scene within the abandoned warehouse.  These moments pull the audience in and serve as telling points of the themes of respect and the need for equality.  As the relationship between Tibbs and Gillespie grows, they start to put pieces of the crime together, and ends with a sense of justice on all fronts. 

While "In the Heat of the Night" might be a murder-mystery, it also serves as a window into the race relations within the South.  The film sparks the conversation of justice and equality are needed for our country to move forwards, and how without resepecting each other, we may never learn the truth.  The relationship between Tibbs and the police officers from the town fully highlight the racial tensions of society within this period, and the deep seeded prediuces of the South can cause the wrong men to pay for crimes, and how we can all work together.