The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman: novel vs. film

            

  Miss Jane Pittman was a woman who lived several important periods of times which are keys to the history of the United States. The story begins at the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Reconstruction and it ends during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. There were 110 years that Miss Jane lived, and thousands of stories that were not included in the novel for sure. 

  When you are reading a novel you may tend to create a picture of how is everything, as if you were seeing it in person. Authors have the gift of words and they use it so well that the reader is able to transport into that world they portray and be a part of it. I for instance make a picture of the novel I’m reading. I imagine every detail: how are the characters physically, houses, cars, horses, clothing, weather, etc. All of this pictures that comes to my mind are thanks to the authors and how they describe every detail. Their words go one by one creating the picture as if it were a puzzle. After you read the book, you expect the movie to fulfill and complete all of your expectations.

  This film was one of the first films which took seriously the depictions of African Americans in southern plantations. Both, the film and the movie, portrays a comparison between the Civil Rights Movement and the plight of African Americans throughout history. Nevertheless, the film had many differences from the book. I will mention a few differences me that caught my attention the most. It begins with the book's final story, which is when Jimmy comes to Jane and encourages her to participate in the Civil Rights Movement. In contrast, the book opens with the story of when Mr. Brown gives Jane her name, "Jane", since he said that "Ticey" was a slave name. We also see how in the movie the person who interviews Miss Jane is white while in the book it doesn't specify this. The film made flashbacks to the interview which we do not see in the book. Since the ending of the book was portrayed at the beginning of the film, it concludes when Miss Jane is walking towards the "White's Only" water fountain. 


 This scene is one of the most powerful portrayed in the movie but it does not occur in the book. Nevertheless, this ending was stronger and shocked me more than the one that appears in the book. It was very emotional and I felt moved by it. The director made me feel as if I was with her at the scene. She made her final stand against the racism she has lived with throughout her entire life. Also I saw how much she changed and how she was not afraid of anything. Jane walks with so much confidence and drinks from the water fountain and doesn’t gives a f*** what anyone says. She made the audience see that she was as good as anybody else. 

  I saw so many things the same as I imagined it that it made me a happy viewer. In overall, it is truthful to the book. Of course, they always add what I call the “Hollywood” ingredient and some things that were left out. The physical transformation of Jane in the film was one of my favorite things. The performance and makeup of the actress, Cicely Tyson, was simply spectacular. A plus, as I say in my everyday language. If you read it, then you will appreciate the feel and power that the actress portrays as Jane.

  The eyes of the people who saw or will see this movie must’ve been drastically opened just like mine did. I personally read the book before watching the movie and understood the story and I was able to fill the gaps the movie left out. History gives you an overview but it will never tell you how the people were treated or how they felt. To read and see how the African American were treated is something that shocks you and makes you think. Jane Pittman was able to share her story with me, as with thousands of people, and gave us an idea of how they were truly treated and we can compare it to how we also see this behavior today. Not as much as in the past, but it is very sad to see that it is still present today.