** FIRST- It should be noted that the officer involved was found to have claimed "RESISTED ARREST!" against citizens, more than any other officer in that locality. He was later fired for AGAIN making false claims in another one of his arrests that got physical. Sadly, those reviewing this documentary SHORT watched and reviewed AFTER already deciding what side they were on.
THE DOCUMENTARY- This is a 30 minute doc! A short.is not an investigation of everything. This case has been investigated and the officer was fired for MULTIPLE INCIDENTS besides King's. This was a 30 minute "Story in the life of ......" this woman, which is why there are more shots of her raking leaves in her yard and talking than video footage of the incident.. Ms. KING and all the police cam video have been seen and analyzed to DEATH. This film short was about addressing the PERSON not the crime! If you don't care about Ms. KING or you hate her (as a"black woman with crocodile tears") then , sure -you will think this 30 minutes is a waste.
**But , AGAIN, it's a short about a PERSON who was at the center of a police brutality incident - not a 30 minute doc on POLICE BRUTALITY. **
I rate this doc high as a case study of an INDIVIDUAL involved in a high profile case. The doc address Ms. Kings own underlying issues with race and color and being judged by people. She has SENSITIVITIES and "issues " that a viewer could argue made her question and challenge this officer when he stopped her. If the makers of this doc had been trying to protect Ms. King, they wouldn't have purposely added that she has everything from race insecurities to "daddy issues" (her father was verbally abusive and demeaning). The documentary also shows footage of King -after being grabbed and body slammed- asking why she was arrested, where her car would go, if there are cameras to show what the officer did.....all while she rocks forward and appears wound up and irratic. This also, could have been removed from the doc if the makers were trying to create a 100% FLATTERING piece -it wasn't.. The film makers wanted the viewer to decide. To ask- "if she's so hurt , why isn't she crying more? Why isn't she asking for a doctor? Why is she lobbing 100 questions at ANOTHER cop- when she just got beaten for doing that in the first place?!" ** This doc-short purposely leaves the door open for the viewer to judge the PERSONALITY of Ms. King in the video versus her in her life AS SHE DESCRIBES HERSELF. The police video is there, of course. It shows that Ms.King was NOT RESISTING ARREST or trying to get out of a traffic ticket. She was just questioning nearly EVERYTHING the officer said (while also cooperating with certain things like showing her ID ). It was as if she resented being told what to do. Not nice. But also not resisting arrest or "reprehensible behavior "- as one reviewer here claimed.
Ms. King is heard asking question after question- then challenged the officer on why she had to put her feet back into her car. For this , she was viciously grabbed and body slammed. Later, the officer lies to an arriving supervisor and is heard saying the Ms. King took a "haymaker" swing punch at him and he HAD TO TAKE HER DOWN.But the video shows the officer yanked her out of her seat belt and out of the car to assault her.....for being shrill and irritating.
There is also footage of another cop telling Ms.King that her situation occurred because police are afraid of blacks due to THEIR violent behavior. The irony of a 112lbs black woman being BEATEN, cuffed, and arrested by police for being irritating and mouthy , THEN being told that it happened because her RACE is violent- is part of what makes this 30 minute film thought provoking.
**Sadly, after reading the reviews here- there still seems to be a lack of understanding of the problem and how serious it is for cops to BRUTALIZE certain people for being mouthy (while certain race higher income brackets routinely snark at cops for inconveniencing them ("I pay YOUR salary!"). Police brutality is NOT just about black males being beaten or killed. And it's dangerous , in light of the criminal histories and presence of guns, knives, or drugs in cases of black MALEE being beaten by police - to make police misconduct about BLACK MALES as THE victims. As, a cop says to Ms.King while she is cuffed..."Blacks are more violent.". This fact is centered around black MALE behavior. Letting black males OWN police brutality is a great way to aid COPS in dismissing claims that THEY are the bruts.
Ultimately, this doc wanted to present this PERSON. It did so in the arty, poetic way that documentary SHORTS often do- not just this one! Short films don't have time for the hardcore , investigational stuff. EXAMPLE : A documentary on Child prostitutes will cover the men involved, follow the money, investigate parents, poverty , tourists, drugs. A documentary SHORT may be 15 minutes out of 30 minutes showing child prostitutes playing with toys or crying. This is a DOCUMENTARY SHORT!!! And a good one.
THE DOCUMENTARY- This is a 30 minute doc! A short.is not an investigation of everything. This case has been investigated and the officer was fired for MULTIPLE INCIDENTS besides King's. This was a 30 minute "Story in the life of ......" this woman, which is why there are more shots of her raking leaves in her yard and talking than video footage of the incident.. Ms. KING and all the police cam video have been seen and analyzed to DEATH. This film short was about addressing the PERSON not the crime! If you don't care about Ms. KING or you hate her (as a"black woman with crocodile tears") then , sure -you will think this 30 minutes is a waste.
**But , AGAIN, it's a short about a PERSON who was at the center of a police brutality incident - not a 30 minute doc on POLICE BRUTALITY. **
I rate this doc high as a case study of an INDIVIDUAL involved in a high profile case. The doc address Ms. Kings own underlying issues with race and color and being judged by people. She has SENSITIVITIES and "issues " that a viewer could argue made her question and challenge this officer when he stopped her. If the makers of this doc had been trying to protect Ms. King, they wouldn't have purposely added that she has everything from race insecurities to "daddy issues" (her father was verbally abusive and demeaning). The documentary also shows footage of King -after being grabbed and body slammed- asking why she was arrested, where her car would go, if there are cameras to show what the officer did.....all while she rocks forward and appears wound up and irratic. This also, could have been removed from the doc if the makers were trying to create a 100% FLATTERING piece -it wasn't.. The film makers wanted the viewer to decide. To ask- "if she's so hurt , why isn't she crying more? Why isn't she asking for a doctor? Why is she lobbing 100 questions at ANOTHER cop- when she just got beaten for doing that in the first place?!" ** This doc-short purposely leaves the door open for the viewer to judge the PERSONALITY of Ms. King in the video versus her in her life AS SHE DESCRIBES HERSELF. The police video is there, of course. It shows that Ms.King was NOT RESISTING ARREST or trying to get out of a traffic ticket. She was just questioning nearly EVERYTHING the officer said (while also cooperating with certain things like showing her ID ). It was as if she resented being told what to do. Not nice. But also not resisting arrest or "reprehensible behavior "- as one reviewer here claimed.
Ms. King is heard asking question after question- then challenged the officer on why she had to put her feet back into her car. For this , she was viciously grabbed and body slammed. Later, the officer lies to an arriving supervisor and is heard saying the Ms. King took a "haymaker" swing punch at him and he HAD TO TAKE HER DOWN.But the video shows the officer yanked her out of her seat belt and out of the car to assault her.....for being shrill and irritating.
There is also footage of another cop telling Ms.King that her situation occurred because police are afraid of blacks due to THEIR violent behavior. The irony of a 112lbs black woman being BEATEN, cuffed, and arrested by police for being irritating and mouthy , THEN being told that it happened because her RACE is violent- is part of what makes this 30 minute film thought provoking.
**Sadly, after reading the reviews here- there still seems to be a lack of understanding of the problem and how serious it is for cops to BRUTALIZE certain people for being mouthy (while certain race higher income brackets routinely snark at cops for inconveniencing them ("I pay YOUR salary!"). Police brutality is NOT just about black males being beaten or killed. And it's dangerous , in light of the criminal histories and presence of guns, knives, or drugs in cases of black MALEE being beaten by police - to make police misconduct about BLACK MALES as THE victims. As, a cop says to Ms.King while she is cuffed..."Blacks are more violent.". This fact is centered around black MALE behavior. Letting black males OWN police brutality is a great way to aid COPS in dismissing claims that THEY are the bruts.
Ultimately, this doc wanted to present this PERSON. It did so in the arty, poetic way that documentary SHORTS often do- not just this one! Short films don't have time for the hardcore , investigational stuff. EXAMPLE : A documentary on Child prostitutes will cover the men involved, follow the money, investigate parents, poverty , tourists, drugs. A documentary SHORT may be 15 minutes out of 30 minutes showing child prostitutes playing with toys or crying. This is a DOCUMENTARY SHORT!!! And a good one.