“Hey Boo” coming to UNA
November 11, 2011
The Distinguished Event Series at UNA is hosting a documentary called “Hey Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird” Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Norton Auditorium, followed by a post-show interview with Dr. Bill Foster and six-time Emmy Award winning producer, Mary McDonagh Murphy. Admission is free.
Murphy explores the phenomenal influence of “To Kill a Mockingbird” on American society in her documentary “Hey Boo.” She also unravels several of the mysteries that surround the author and Alabama native, Harper Lee, and the characters she brought to life in her bestselling novel.
Some of the perplex mysteries Murphy includes are: why Harper Lee never published another book, even after the huge success of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Lee’s strong connections between her own life and the story she created and how this novel’s Deep South setting inspired social change.
Murphy has read the novel many times, and believes that the influence it had on her was the reason she decided to make the documentary.
“My adult re-reading of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ had a much greater impact on me than my adolescent reading,” she said. “After that, I vowed to find out everything I could about how the novel came to be.”
The novel has had a major impact on lives across the nation, from every background. It was published just before the peak of the civil rights movement, and became an enormous success that produced an Academy Award-winning film adaptation.
“‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ arrived before many of the biggest explosions of the civil rights movement, and as some say in the film, gave it fuel,” said Murphy.
“Hey Boo” includes interviews with a few actors who appeared in the film. Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw and many other significant Americans also reflect on the novel’s power and popularity, and the many ways it changed their lives.
Fifty years after “To Kill a Mockingbird” won the Pulitzer Prize, it still remains a beloved bestseller and is considerably the most influential American novel of the 20th Century.
“As long as any kind of intolerance exists-religious, racial, you name it – ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ remains relevant,” said Murphy.