Download to read offline
Uploaded byAngela DeHart
Films to Watch
This document provides links to various films, documentaries, and other resources about issues of race and racism in the United States. It includes descriptions of content that examine racial inequalities in the criminal justice system through films like "13th" and "When They See Us." Other selections look at issues like police brutality through movies such as "Fruitvale Station" and "41 Shots." Several links also relate to discussions of white fragility and understanding racism from the perspectives of white and black communities.
More Related Content
Films to Watch
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5165880/ In Cracked Upwe witness the effects adverse childhood experiences can have across a lifetime through the incredible story of actor, comedian, master impressionist and Saturday Night Live veteran, Darrell Hammond. Behind the scenes Darrell suffered from debilitating flashbacks, self injury, addiction and misdiagnosis, until the right doctor isolated the key to unlocking the memories his brain kept locked away for over 50 years. Cracked Up, director Michelle Esrick, creates an inspiring balance between comedy and tragedy helping us understand the impact of toxic stress and childhood trauma in a new light, breaking down barriers of stigma and replacing shame with compassion and hope.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8. https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741 Filmmaker Ava DuVernay exploresthe history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
- 9. https://www.netflix.com/title/80182115 An innocent manis accused of murder, leading his attorney on a wild chase to confirm his alibi using raw footage from a television show.
- 10. ‘American Factory’ (2019) Documentaryfilmmakers have long been fascinated by the logistics and complexities of manual labor, but Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s recent Oscar winner for best documentary feature views these issues through a decidedly 21st-century lens. Focusing on a closed GM plant in Dayton, Ohio, that’s taken over by a Chinese auto glass company, Bognar and Reichert thoughtfully, sensitively (and often humorously) explore how cultures — both corporate and general — clash. Manohla Dargis calls it “complex, stirring, timely and beautifully shaped, spanning continents as it surveys the past, present and possible future of American labor.”
- 11. ‘Mudbound’ (2017) The fatesof two families — one white and one black, connected by a plot of land one owns and the other sharecrops — are inextricably intertwined in this powerful adaptation by the director Dee Rees of the novel by Hillary Jordan. Rees gracefully tells both stories (and the larger tale of postwar America) without veering into didacticism, and her ensemble cast brings every moment of text and subtext into sharp focus. Our critic called it a work of “disquieting, illuminating force.”
- 12. https://www.netflix.com/title/80200549 In 1989 ajogger was assaulted and raped in New York's Central Park, and five young people were subsequently charged with the crime. The quintet, labeled the Central Park Five, maintained its innocence and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This limited series spans a quarter of a century, from when the teens are first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, going through their exoneration in 2002 and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014. The cast is full of Emmy nominees and winners, including Michael K. Williams, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, and Blair Underwood. Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Ava DuVernay co- wrote and directed the four episodes.
- 13. https://www.netflix.com/title/80187052 Refusing to pleadguilty, 16-year-old Kalief Browder endures the brutality of the notorious Rikers Island’s adolescences unit and repeat abuse of the prison’s corrupt officers. The Bronx high school student was imprisoned for three years awaiting trial, two of which were solitary confinement for being accused of stealing a backpack. The case was never prosecuted and the charges ultimately dropped, but Browder committed suicide after his release. The six-part documentary provides insight into the mental, physical and sexual abuse the young boy sustained in prison. The case has been widely cited by activists, campaigning for reform of the New York City criminal justice system and sheds light on the untrustworthy system.
- 14. https://www.netflix.com/title/81024100 The premise: Onthe night a teenage boy goes missing, his parents Kendra (Kerry Washington) and Scott (Steven Pasquale) end up at the police precinct. They're trying to figure out what happened to their son — and they end up reopening old wounds concerning race, fear, and their rocky marriage in the process
- 15. https://www.netflix.com/title/80117555 When 15-year-old black cyclistBrenton Butler dies in a hit-and- run with a white police officer behind the wheel. Jersey City explodes with racial tension and grief, as the family comes to terms with their loss. The heartbreaking drama takes us through the difficulties faced trying to prosecute a police officer – with the state and judicial system all on the opposing side.
- 16.
- 17.
- 18. Based on theevents leading up to the death of Oscar Grant – a young black man who was killed in 2009 by a BART police officer, Fruitvale Station depicts the final day of the 22-year-old. The tough and moving drama frighteningly replicates today’s events with the officer suffocating Grant and ultimately shooting him dead. The emotional and tear-jerking film touches upon police brutality and injustice in America.
- 19. From Netflix’s showTrial By Media, 41 Shots tells the story of the brutal killing of Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo by NYPD officers in 1999. The unarmed black man was shot 41 times while trying to enter his own home. Despite all these factors, all police officers involved were acquitted, leading to a firestorm of controversy and outrage in New York. The insightful episode teaches us all lessons that resonate in today’s society.
- 20. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8106584/ An investigation intowhat happened to activist Sandra Bland, who died in police custody after a routine traffic stop.
- 22. Hip-hop music firstdeveloped in the United States in the 1970s and has steadily grown in popularity in the decades since then. This docuseries traces the genre's dynamic evolution from the beginning through the 1990s. It starts with a look at artists -- including Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash -- who laid the foundation early on, and then moves on to other influential groups like Run-DMC and Public Enemy. The show also explores differences in hip- hop on the East Coast compared to the West Coast. https://www.netflix.com/title/80141782
- 23.
- 24.
- 25.
- 26.
- 27.
- 28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=316&v=YvIO2GU8yTU&feature=emb_logo Robin DiAngelo’s bestselling bookWhite Fragility has provoked an uncomfortable but vital conversation about what it means to be white. As protests organised by the Black Lives Matter movement continue around the world, she explains why white people should stop avoiding conversations about race because of their own discomfort, and how 'white fragility' plays a key role in upholding systemic racism
- 29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ey4jgoxeU University of Washington professorDr. Robin DiAngelo reads from her book "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism," explains the phenomenon, and discusses how white people can develop their capacity to engage more constructively across race.
- 30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCxNjdewAAA Teaching Tolerance talks withRobin DiAngelo, author of 'White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism', about her background as a teacher educator, her conception of “white fragility” and her thoughts on teacher accountability.
- 31.
- 32.
- 33.