Nhien Nguyen
SOCY 4084
December 11, 2015
Media Response: Fruitvale Station
Based on the true story of the homicide of a black man by a white cop, Fruitvale Station (2013) is powerful film that depicts the harsh realties black people must face due to institutional racism. The lead character of the film and the incident that sparked national controversy is Oscar Grant, a 22-year old African-American male from Oakland, California. The film showcases the last 24 hours of Oscar’s life, which was a fairly normal string of events that occurred before leading up to the fatal incident on January 1, 2009. At BART station in Oakland, Oscar was forcefully pinned down on the ground by two police officers and then shot in the back. He died hours later, causing national uproar and protests against injustice among the community. The officer who shot Oscar was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but after convincing the court he mistook a taser for a gun, he was sentenced to only 11 months in prison. …show more content…
When watching the film, I did notice the tactics the director used in order to garner extra sympathy for Oscar Grant. However, I take no offense with the exaggerated scenes, such as the scene where Oscar holds a dying dog in his arms or the scene where Oscar reflects on his past drug-offenses and decides to dump a bag of weed into the ocean. I understand clearly the picture the director was trying to paint of Oscar. He wanted Oscar to appeal to the masses as a good-natured guy who was slowly coming to right his wrongs. Thus, when we watch the scene of his unjustified murder, it makes us even more emotional because we’ve gotten to know what a good guy Oscar was. Although the director exaggerated scenes to make the story more compelling for cinematic purposes, he still didn’t dispose the facts that truly
SOCY 4084
December 11, 2015
Media Response: Fruitvale Station
Based on the true story of the homicide of a black man by a white cop, Fruitvale Station (2013) is powerful film that depicts the harsh realties black people must face due to institutional racism. The lead character of the film and the incident that sparked national controversy is Oscar Grant, a 22-year old African-American male from Oakland, California. The film showcases the last 24 hours of Oscar’s life, which was a fairly normal string of events that occurred before leading up to the fatal incident on January 1, 2009. At BART station in Oakland, Oscar was forcefully pinned down on the ground by two police officers and then shot in the back. He died hours later, causing national uproar and protests against injustice among the community. The officer who shot Oscar was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but after convincing the court he mistook a taser for a gun, he was sentenced to only 11 months in prison. …show more content…
When watching the film, I did notice the tactics the director used in order to garner extra sympathy for Oscar Grant. However, I take no offense with the exaggerated scenes, such as the scene where Oscar holds a dying dog in his arms or the scene where Oscar reflects on his past drug-offenses and decides to dump a bag of weed into the ocean. I understand clearly the picture the director was trying to paint of Oscar. He wanted Oscar to appeal to the masses as a good-natured guy who was slowly coming to right his wrongs. Thus, when we watch the scene of his unjustified murder, it makes us even more emotional because we’ve gotten to know what a good guy Oscar was. Although the director exaggerated scenes to make the story more compelling for cinematic purposes, he still didn’t dispose the facts that truly