Police violence is no joke. Whether we like it or not, it is an issue
that affects each and everyone one of us on a daily basis. Naturally,
Hollywood decided that it was time to take a stab at tackling the
controversial yet important issue.On Monday Oct. 10, civil rights activist Harry Belafonte released a short film, titled, Against the Wall. The film approaches the issue with an “insiders” perspective while painting it more clearly for those who aren’t as aware of the impact police violence has had within the black community.
“You cannot just go about, if it’s once or twice you can say it’s an accident or a coincidence,”Belafonte said in a previous MSNCBC interview in the opening credits. “But when you have as large a population of murdered young men in the streets of America and they’re all black or of African American descent, I think someone is sending us a message. And we should respond to that message.”
Against The Wall from
Against The Wall on
Vimeo.
Police calls and news audio are played as the featured actors are silently pressed up against a wall. The short features an audio clip of Anderson Cooperreporting on Kenneth Chamberlain’s case is included amongst the pack. Also, gun shots can be heard at one point as actor Michael K. Williams moves from standing against the wall to lying on the ground–his eyes slowly shut.
One of the most important audio voiceover’s featured comes from a Facebook live speech given by Officer Nakia Jones this past July.
“If you are white and you work in a black community and you are racist, you need to be ashamed of yourself,” Jones said. “You stood up there and took an oath. If this is not where you want to work at, you need to take your behind somewhere else.”
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What do you think of Against the Wall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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