In A Time to Kill, the director, Joel Schumacher, adequately invokes empathy in the viewer in order to tackle the conflicts of racism and the rape culture in America. He thoroughly does this developing the plot of the brutal rape of ten-year-old Tonya Hailey which causes the viewer to empathize based on their concern for the helplessness of rape victims and children.

To elaborate, the empathy invoked in the viewer is real because people generally have a special concern for children and rape victims. Schumacher depicts this horrific scene in a clever way. Firstly, the usage of first person perspective during the rape scene allows the viewer to be in experience what Tonya experienced first-hand. One good explanation of this technique is described by Martin Hoffman. He explains is as, “imaging oneself in another’s place converts the other’s situation into mental images that evoke the same feelings in oneself” (Hoffman, 233). The viewer sees the rape from Tonya’s eyes as if it is happening to them.  In addition to this, the camera switches perspectives so that the viewer is enabled to see the effects of the beating. The images of the swollen eye, blood, and broken bones cause the viewer to feel her distress it is conveyed in the film. This change of perspective is also significant because the camera shift acts as a shift of emotion for the viewer. First, the viewer empathizes by being the victim, then the viewer empathizes as a bystander—witnessing the victim in distress.

Another aspect of the film that invoke empathy the violation of children’s innocence. The rape scene occurred in broad daylight. Usually children are not as cautious and do not expect tragic events to happen during the day; instead they are more apprehensive at night. Also, the director uses the typical scenario of the unsupervised child in an ominous environment. These details are essential because the viewer reacts based on preexisting attitudes towards vulnerable children. In real life situations, children are often preyed on. Because of this, the director incorporates this idea in the film so the viewer can empathize with the character as if she is a real person.  Thus, the film invokes empathy on the viewer

Works Cited

A Time to Kill. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Regency Enterprises, Warner Bros, 1996. DigitalCampus. Web. 20 September 2017

Hoffman, Martin L. “Empathy, Justice, and the Law.” Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological  Perspectives, Amy Coplan and Peter Goldie. University Press, 2011. (230- 254).  4 Sep 2017.