Police on trial

 


Newspapers are not the only medium that touch upon the problems of racial inequality in the United States. 

The documentary Police on Trial draws on unique on-the-ground reporting and filming, from the earliest days after George Floyd’s death, to documenting the trial and murder conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin, to ongoing struggles for police accountability and reform in Minneapolis. 


The movie, however, is filled with the same biases. It depicts George Floyd as a perfect family man, who just happened to have a history of bad decisions in his life. It does not focus on the wrongdoings of Floyd, making him look like a martyr that died so that other black people could start fighting for their rights and against police brutality. 


The documentary also portrays the police officers that were accused of killing George Floyd in a certain way. They are not just depicted as criminals, there are subtle accents made. One of the most commonly used methods is focusing on the skin color of the police officer. There is no denying that Derek Chauvin is obviously white, however, bringing up his skin color is really important to dividing the people by race and making enemies out of each other, which is a recurring theme in modern America.


Sources:


https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/police-on-trial/


https://amp.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/31/police-on-trial-george-floyd-frontline-documentary

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