OSCAR. I don't know. Something legal. Gonna see if my sister can hire me again while I look. Maybe if I can just not fuck up for 30 days...Oprah said that's all it takes to form a habit, right?
(Look at this clip)
Fruitvale Station. (2013)
Director and Writer: Ryan Coogler
Cinematography: Rachel Morrison
Editing: Claudia Castello, Michael P. Shawver
Music: Ludwpg Goransson
Oscar Grant III: Michael B. Jordan
Sophina Mesa: Melonie Diaz
Wanda Johnson: Octavia Spencer
Tatiana Grant: Ariana Neal
Officer Caruso: Kevin Durand
Officer Ingram: Chad Michael Murray
(for the rest of the cast, look here)
Budget: $900,000
Box Office: $17.4 million
An early publicity poster when the film was simply titled "Fruitvale."
(On a slightly more upbeat note: the year after his film opened, Coogler managed to contact Spike and suggested a cold reading of Do The Right Thing the day after Thanksgiving "in the wake of [Eric] Garner’s death as a way to[...] 'put an end to human-rights violations being committed by public servants, men and women being paid by tax dollars.'” Spike agreed. Michael B. Jordan read Mookie; Melonie Diaz (Sophina) read Tina. Here's the story.)
Here are three questions I want you to address. There will be one more blog after this, and you will be done with the blog—and perhaps all blogs—forever. Unless you're in my class next year.
1. What is your reaction to the film?
2. What scene or moment or image stayed with you? And why?
3. As I said in class today—and I will say tomorrow for 5th period—I debated showing this film up until a half-hour before class. I knew when I decided to do this class, that this would really be the culminating piece for this semester; everything we've read and watched since February points toward this. But I've been wondering: is this too much? Is this simply a reiteration of what we've been discussing since Do The Right Thing? Does this add something different to our study? Does this help us understand the questions of racism and violence that have been really at the core of these works this semester? I think it does, hard as it is to watch. So could you address a couple of the questions I've just posed?
4. Finally: after writing your responses, would you please read this essay on the film by Wesley Morris. It's perceptive, challenging, and extremely well written. I'll try to bring this up in our discussion of the film.
As Jordan said this morning on his way to his first period class: "Every day is race day." Indeed. Write 250-300 words.
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| Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Ryan Coogler |
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| Director of Photography Rachel Morrison and Ryan Coogler |
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| Melonie Diaz, Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Ryan Coogler, producer Forrest Whitaker |
I really enjoyed the film despite the tragic ending. I thought it was extremely thought provoking through the ideas and topics it gave attention to,and displayed the characters very well and made them very personable. One of the reasons the ending hurt so bad was because we had seen both the good and bad sides of Oscar throughout the movie and we came to really love Oscar as a character, but when he was taken away from us so quickly, it was extremely shocking. This was kind of like Million Dollar Baby where our protagonist, Maggie, took a turn for the worse when her neck was broken. It’s also hard to see progress in Oscar and then also have that stripped away as well just like we see in A Lesson Before Dying.
ReplyDeleteI think the scenes that stuck with me the most were when Oscar was really fired up and mad. This happens in the grocery store with the manager who won’t give Oscar his job back, in the prison with the other guy who was talking smack, and of course with the police officers at the train station. I think this was really interesting to see because Oscar was presented as a loving character with a great family, and even though his financial situation wasn’t as good as it could be, he stilled seemed pretty happy with where he was at. When he got mad however, it seemed like all of that disappeared and his true anger with the situations and frustration was all released and it almost scared me how aggressive he got. Especially at the prison I was shocked that he was saying all of this in front of his mother and it almost seemed like he couldn’t control himself.
I think just by telling from the silence at the end of class today, this is not too much because we were all a little shocked and I think moved by the movie. I think it was nice to see a film where it was based off of a true story and followed it very closely because I think the clip at the very beginning made it all a little bit more real. The development of the characters was also spectacular in that it showed all of the aspects and of each of them and I think this added to the heartbreak at the end. I don’t think that this was too much or repetitive because of the perspective which we took. Riding along with Oscar the whole movie and seeing his struggles made the ending worse and more powerful. Overall, I think it was a great wrap up to our term and brought both aspects of racism and violence to the table.
1/2. Fruitvale Station was exceptionally difficult for me to watch. Especially in a group setting where I did not want to ruin the experience for other viewers by noticeably giving in to my emotions. We all knew that Oscar was going to die from previous class discussion and the very beginning of the movie, but the way that the film leads up to the murder makes the story more than just another black man killed by the police. The most important part of the movie for me was witnessing Oscar’s relationship with Tatiana go from negligent to the most beautiful bond in the universe. I’m literally bawling my eyes out while writing this blog because this development is so relatable to me. That little girl looks at her father like he is the most capable and loving person on the planet. During the montage where they show all of the cute scenes between Tatiana and Oscar, I can say confidently that I almost lost my shit. What the film does very well is mold Oscar into a real person with strengths, flaws, family, friends, anger, joy, and an overwhelming and astonishing ability to love. Even before any of the death or scenes of police brutality, I was in a broken state of mind. Besides the father-daughter relationship, my heart was hit extremely hard by the moments between Oscar and his mom. Octavia Spencer portrayed the character brilliantly. To see a mother walk away from her son because it is the best thing for him is so realistic. Not many mothers have the strength to let the child that they birthed, nurtured and raised fall flat on their face. This is a real problem in the African-American community because, as my mother loves to say, “some people just don’t know how to get out of their own damn way”. The only way for them to succeed is for them to struggle and fail so that they have the ability to motivate themselves to be better. I will be thinking about this movie for the rest of my life. Hopefully one day it won’t bring me to tears because we will have remedied the epidemic of police brutality and male stupidity.
ReplyDelete3. This movie took an emotional, physical and mental tole on me. It’s exhausting just thinking about it. However, I’m better for it. Some people might not have been hit as hard because of three phenomena: 1) they are emotionally detached in general, 2) they cannot imagine themselves ever being in this situation because maybe their white, and/or 3) they are the main problem with this country and believe that corruption, racism and systemic oppression don’t effect them so they don’t need to care or do anything about the hundreds of racially charged murders that happen annually. This makes me sound really callous, but I really don’t care because I’m the only African-American female in my class and if I don’t represent the perspective, nobody in my class will hear it. The one thing that did give me great joy was they fact that the white lady from the grocery store seemed super affected by the whole situation. To get back on point, this movie feels very necessary. In Do The Right Thing we never really got to know Radio Raheem that well: his struggles, his loved ones, etc. After the dog scene, Oscar becomes a person that we’re all rooting for because we see that he’s compassionate, caring, and protective. Of course that protective nature projects itself as anger management issues, but he’s only human after all. In those 90 minutes, we laughed, cried, and, felt with Oscar and we’re all better people for it. Sorry for my rant. :)
Watching this film was one of the most heartbreaking movie-watching experiences of my life. We see Oscar overcome so many obstacles in (I believe what was) a single day. We see how his relationships with his mother, daughter, girlfriend, and himself change for the better. He has come so far and we see his life start to turn around, with him even considering marriage, but that is all cut very short. I appreciate that we were shown the actual footage of the event beforehand, so I already knew what was going to happen. Knowing what would happen in the end allowed me to focus more on the good things in his life before it was brutally ended but also to (unsuccessfully) attempt to brace myself for what was to come.
ReplyDeleteThree scene have really stayed with me. They are the major scenes that demonstrate Oscar’s kindness and good heart: when Oscar plays with his daughter, nieces, and nephews; when Oscar races his daughter to the car; and when Oscar tries to save the dog. These scenes have stayed with me because they are the moments in Oscar’s life that the officer who shot him could never and will never be able to fathom.
This film really takes a lot out of the audience (even though I think the reactions from the two periods were a little different.) I would love to say that the film is too much, and that nobody should have to watch anything so traumatziing, but it is based off true events. We cannot shelter ourselves from things that mirror everyday life, no matter how much easier it would be. I am glad we are having a discussion on Monday rather than right after watching the film because I was not even capable of speaking afterwards. And on the subject of watching films by yourself versus with others, I am glad I watched it with the rest of the class because I think you can learn things from others’ reactions that you cannot take away on your own. I think this film contrasts starkly to Do the Right Thing. This film portrays a much more modern form of racism: it is not as obvious and can even be labeled an accident. Personally, I do not think this filmed really broadened my knowledge regarding racism in this country. I know more about this one event, but the film did not help me to understand much more. If anything, it just fueled my anger and broke my heart. I believe this film was incredibly well done and may have been informative for some, but I hope I never have to watch it ever again.
When the film ended I was sad, stunned, and very thoughtful. Even though you know what happens in the end due to the actual footage of the real life event at the beginning, I was still surprised. I think this was because Ryan Coogler did such a wonderful job of creating a main character and world with a lot of depth and reality. I felt like I could really feel and understand many aspects and moments in the film. On the subject of character dimensionality, I think other characters, not just Grant, were well made.
ReplyDeleteThe moment that stayed with me the most was the scene following Grant getting shot. After the train leaves, Officer Caruso walks over to his fellow officer and exclaims, “What the fuck happened?”. Then he gets doing on his knees, grabs Grants hand, and tells him to, “Keep your eyes up”. He also looks frightened, ashamed, and regretful when Grant repeatedly says, “I have a daughter”. This fascinates me because when I first saw officer Caruso I thought he was just a mean racist cop. However his subsequent reaction makes me think otherwise. He is in fact more complicated than one might think.
I think the film does add and differ to what we’ve done throughout the year. A big reason I think this is because of the realistic feel of the movie. Like you (John) mentioned, scenes like the train party scene or the bathroom scene, and especially the pickup from school scene really highlight the important and real experiences and occurrences in life. These scenes also work in tandem with the not so happy scenes like the argument between Grant and Sophina, Grants prison scene, and the shooting. I think because of how the film was created, I had a more visceral reaction to the end tragedy than I did to Do The Right Thing. Finally, I think that it was harder to point fingers at a specific person during the film. In DTRT it was fairly obvious that the cop was trying to kill Radio from the start of his arrest. In Fruitvale Station I could clearly see good, bad, and the mistakes in each person.
I enjoyed the movie even though the heart wrenching ending. I believe if i watched this by myself i would have a very different reaction. I say this because having peers around me i see their reactions and sympathize and relate to them but not show too many emotions. Alone I just sit there and react on my own with more emotion. The director did a good job reconstructing oscars last 24 hours. I can only imagine how hard it must've been but it was done really well and really connected with the viewer. It was definitely a tough but moving movie to see. The argument of “should I show this or not”, I'm glad you showed it because it something that sparked a lot of discussion that brings up some unspoken conversations.
ReplyDeleteA moment that stayed with me was when oscar dumped his bag of weed in the ocean. This moment stayed with me because it showed his willingness to come clean and focus on his relationship with his girlfriend and his daughter. Oscar’s relationship with his daughter and wife was very important to him and watching the scene at the end when his girlfriend saw that oscar had been shot and telling tatiana was so hard to watch but it is the reality people are facing daily.
Showing this film to wrap of our studies was a good way to end the class. Although it can relate to some of the books and movies we've seen it was definitely more raw and tough to see based on our reactions at the end of the movie. The silence in the room just showed how powerful and shocking the movie was to watch. We knew a lot of people died but the scene that was shown at the beginning prepared me more but watching it again and seeing how it started and ended was very tough and sad. Overall i think it was a good wrap up and enlightened the subject of race and prejudice in our country.
1. This is my second time viewing this film. The first time it made me cry. This time I just felt a bit hollow inside. I really love it though. It’s a beautiful film. It’s also not a sad film. As you pointed out in the intro to this blog there are some pretty happy moments, but that just mades the sad ending even more depressing.
ReplyDelete2. The conversation between Oscar and that white guy when they’re waiting for their significant others to go to the bathroom has really stayed with me. Specifically the moment when they are each talking about their problems and Oscar says something like, “I guess we have the same problems,” then pauses, and then gives the white guy a quick once over like he realizes that they don’t really have the same problems. That quick glance conveyed so much information to me: about their contrasting economic positions, their different races, as well as being a bit comedic as Oscar immediately recognizes that what he just said wasn’t true.
3. I don’t think this film or story adds much to our factual knowledge of the world, but I think it plays a much more important role in giving us a fully realized experience of what it feels like to go through racism. We already know about injustice and racial prejudice from the other works of film and literature that we’ve experienced. But I don’t think any other piece of art truly captures what it feels like to be in that position like Fruitvale Station. This doesn’t say anything new, but merely says it in a new way.
1. I strike myself as a person who can easily be overwhelmed by emotion. That being said, not only was this a movie that I enjoyed, but it was also one that captivated me until the very end. I could really tell that Coogler was showcasing Oscar’s decency to the audience before he was killed suddenly and unjustly. I like how you mentioned the lack of an Atticus figure in the film earlier in the blog; in my opinion, that made this film even more tragic. It was hard for me to hold on to a sense of hope in this situation; instead, I was introduced to a loving father whose daughter would have to go on with life without him.
ReplyDelete2. The moment that really stuck with me was Wands (Octavia Spencer) asking to go hug her son’s dead corpse. I noticed that this was very similar to an earlier scene wherein Oscar asked to hug his mom after lashing out at her during his prison visit. Both scenes tell the same heartbreaking story: a black mother is kept from her own son by a system that works against him. In the earlier one, Wanda is driven away by the hostile tendencies that the prison environment has nurtured in Oscar. Now, in the latest scene, Wanda has to realize that she has lost her son to the same justice system that is supposed to protect all people.
3. I believe that all of the works that we have studied concerning race all tell the same story of injustice against minority groups; however, I definitely think that each story deserves to be studied. “Fruitvale Station” may share a lot of similarities with “Do the Right Thing,” but they both take place in different time periods. I think that this is a profound topic to focus on; it shows that, according to the multiple racially-charged settings that we have explored, discrimination is alive and ever-present in our current society.
This film was probably one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen. I think the the reason it was so powerful was because from the very beginning of the movie, we knew that he was going to be shot and killed from the very beginning of the movie. This made every scene and moment with his family and friends so much more meaningful. However, I still really loved this movie. All of the characters were so strongly developed and by the end of the film I felt that I knew each of the characters well.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite scenes was when Grant was picking up his daughter from school and there was that slow motion clip of her chasing him to the car. It was such a beautiful scene with the sun coming down and both of them being so joyful. I also loved the scene from that night when they were brushing their teeth in the mirror. I think Grant’s relationship with his daughter showed the very best of him and these scenes just showed how much love he had for her.
I do think this movie was a lot. But I am glad that we watched it in class. Firstly, because I don’t think it is a movie I would’ve watched outside of class and also because it really did resonate with so much with the conversation we have been having in class. This movie showed both how Grant’s mistakes, going to prison cheating on his girlfriend, or selling drugs didn’t completely define who he was. We were able to see that he worked hard to lift up his family and be there for the people who he loved. But we also got to see how devastating his death was and how powerful of an effect it had on his community. Even though there was a really smart part of the movie dedicated to what happened after his death, we could feel how broken the people in his life were whether that be his girlfriend, his daughter, his mom, his sister, or his friends.
This film was probably one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen. I think the the reason it was so powerful was because from the very beginning of the movie, we knew that he was going to be shot and killed from the very beginning of the movie. This made every scene and moment with his family and friends so much more meaningful. However, I still really loved this movie. All of the characters were so strongly developed and by the end of the film I felt that I knew each of the characters well.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite scenes was when Grant was picking up his daughter from school and there was that slow motion clip of her chasing him to the car. It was such a beautiful scene with the sun coming down and both of them being so joyful. I also loved the scene from that night when they were brushing their teeth in the mirror. I think Grant’s relationship with his daughter showed the very best of him and these scenes just showed how much love he had for her.
I do think this movie was a lot. But I am glad that we watched it in class. Firstly, because I don’t think it is a movie I would’ve watched outside of class and also because it really did resonate with so much with the conversation we have been having in class. This movie showed both how Grant’s mistakes, going to prison cheating on his girlfriend, or selling drugs didn’t completely define who he was. We were able to see that he worked hard to lift up his family and be there for the people who he loved. But we also got to see how devastating his death was and how powerful of an effect it had on his community. Even though there was a really smart part of the movie dedicated to what happened after his death, we could feel how broken the people in his life were whether that be his girlfriend, his daughter, his mom, his sister, or his friends.
1. This film was so powerful and so hard to watch for me. I was constantly breaking down and I think there were so many scenes that were purposely made with such purity that they just made me smile. The way Oscar interacts with his mother and his daughter is so sweet. He makes the choice to dump the weed because he knows if his mom knew, she would be disappointed. I think the thing that I really liked about this movie was just how normal it was. You know how it’s going to end, but you just follow this man around as he experiences his day. There’s no big crazy fight or huge tension building up. He’s not a perfect character by any means, but he has this incredible empathy. This movie made it impossible for me to distance myself from it because so often I found myself drawing even little similarities to my life. I think usually my one escape is to tell myself is that it’s a movie, but I couldn’t do that with this movie. It took my ability to escape that reality away. To me, this movie was a movie about perception. How you see yourself and how others see you and what you value.
ReplyDelete2. I have two scenes that I can’t forget. My first is definitely the first scene we see which is real footage from the actual event. By putting that first, it changed the way I watched the whole movie. Although a film, it constantly reminded me that this was real. My second scene that stayed with me the most was one of the last. Then Tatiana was in the shower with Sophina and she asked where her dad was. I couldn’t help but be reminded of when Oscar was in jail and she was asking the same questions, but this time she will never see him again strictly due to the stupidity of a police officer.
3. I feel like there is just something so unavoidable about this movie. There’s an uncomfortably that you are forced to sit through that is a bit easier to push away with the other movies we’ve seen. I’m coming back and I’m adding this a day later, but yesterday after an Atlanta United game I was sitting on the Marta car on my way home. The car was packed and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Fruitvale Station. It’s very easy to say that a movie changed you or really make you feel or think about something, but I can say that there were moments even the following day were my mind was brought back to the film. A movie that does that is a movie that can really inspire change and I think this movie was able to do that because of how upsetting it was if that makes any sense.
This film was hard for me to watch left me feeling sick and disturbed by what had happened, especially because I had no idea that this occurred. It was super powerful throughout the entire film, and Oscar's character developed so much and when the end was nearing it was impossible not to love him. From his relationship with his daughter, to everything he gave up in order to win back his girlfriend, you could tell that his family meant more to him than anything. That is why saying the ending is devastating is such an understatement. I can't put words to the horror and sadness I felt.
ReplyDeleteOne scene that really stuck with me was when Oscar's mom went to visit him in jail. It was obvious by the way that he stood up for her that he would do anything for his family. I think that this could have been the turning pint of Oscar's life when she walked out of the jail because I think it was that point that he realized he needed to get his life together in order to stay in his family's life. Everything he did to come back into their lives was suddenly stripped away from because of the hunger for superiority that the police will always have.
This film was definitely a lot to handle, but for me personally, I'm glad we watched it. I always knew that police brutality when is comes to race is extremely common, but the movie really put it all in perspective. I think that everything we've done so far this semester set us up perfectly for this film, and it honestly just goes to show that some things never change which is so heartbreaking. We talked in class about the different experience of watching a film at home versus with others, and I know that I got more out of this film in class than I would have by myself. I don't know if I have ever been more affected by a film than I was by this one.
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ReplyDeleteI think this film has been my favorite out of all of the movies we've watched this year, despite it being the most heartbreaking. I really don't cry for a lot of movies; it's a pretty rare occurrence. However, I found myself, and many of my classmates, still teary-eyed long after the film ended. For most of us, I think it's safe to say that this film had a huge overall effect on our day and how we went about the rest of our Friday. I would also say that this is probably the most powerful movie I've ever watched. To leave our class speechless and sitting in silence says a lot about just how much of an impact it had. I loved this movie because it made me feel more than any film I can remember having watched.
ReplyDeleteThe scene that stayed with me most from the movie was when the dog Oscar had just pet was hit by a car. This scene was memorable for me not just because it was when I started crying, but also because it showed the kind of person Oscar was. John, you told us that that scene was part of the more fictional side of the movie; nobody really knows what Oscar did that day. However, I don't think it makes the scene any less powerful or important to the rest of the film. The fact that Oscar took the dog in his arms and comforted it until it's death yet told nobody about it really says a lot about his character, be it only in the movie or for the real Oscar too.
Seeing how much this movie affected our whole class, I think it was an appropriate way to end the term. This is a movie that we may not have gotten as much out of had we watched it in February. After all the discussions and readings and movies we've had based upon this central theme, I think we were prepared to see this movie and get the most out of it through our past experiences in the class. This is not a movie that leaves you with any warm or fuzzy feelings, but like Kate said, it is a film that puts things in perspective. Personally, I am glad we watched this movie.
Overall I was alright with the movie but did not find it as interesting as some of the other films we have watched. Obviously, our protagonist and his story were compelling, but I am typically just not a fan of watching movies that have such an “a day in the life” feel to them as this one did. It started slow and while towards the end of the film the events clearly explode from the humdrum of everyday life to a series of extremely jarring scenes, up until then I was simply not that interested in watching how Oscars day to day life unfolded, especially when I knew the whole time that I had to brace myself for such a tragic ending. I found myself not wanting to get attached to the character because I knew it would just make me sad to watch it all come crumbling down at the end. One thing I truly did appreciate about the film, however, was that it did not portray Oscar as a one-dimensional character with no depth. He had his flaws and as a protagonist was not this idealistic figure without fault, he was real and had his own set of issues and it resonated with me that they made that choice.
ReplyDeleteThe moment that stayed with me the most from the viewing of the film had to be the scene in which Oscar’s mother visits him in prison. It was such a beautiful scene to see these complex character dynamics between the two of them unfold and I love Octavia Spencer in everything else I’ve seen her in so I was excited to see her as well. I liked how quickly Michael B. Jordan was able to explode from kind conversation with his mother to immediate fight or flight rage when engaging with that other inmate as well and thought the range of emotions portrayed by both him and Spencer during the scene made it something truly special.
While I understand the choice for this film as a part of this curriculum, I do sort of think that it served to more hammer home a point we have already spent time on than bring something new to the table as an individual piece. While I think that the critical moments of the movie, the humanity of Oscar and his family, the injustice of the events at the end, the beauty and tragedy of how people interact with each other, all have their place in this class, they are not things we haven't seen before. It makes me think back to the tremendous tragedy of interpersonal relationships and lack of understanding we saw in Do the Right Thing and the quiet spark of hope for change that lives in movies such as Pariah. If I am being totally honest I think that we discussed these narratives at enough length in relation to our other films of the term and that this one did not provide anything extremely novel, other than its tear-jerking subject matter to elicit a more severe emotional response.
I missed the class period where we prefaced this movie, making it especially shocking to me. I had heard from the other class that we were gonna be watching another sad movie in John’s class. Fruitvale Station was not like the others because it is very real. This movie invoked so many emotions in me, from the first scene I knew how it would end, but I couldn't help getting completely lost in Oscar’s development, it seemed like things were looking up for him. Watching this movie first period definitely left me thinking all day, and all weekend.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the scenes were really well done and clearly meant to stick with you. The one that stuck out to me the most was when Oscar was crouching by the water, dumping out the weed. This scene initially left me hopeful, it seemed like a turning point in Oscar’s life. He wasn't in a good place financially but he wouldn't risk doing something illegal to improve it. Oscar could not spend anymore time in jail away from his family. This scene was also incredibly well shot, Oscar silhouetted against the sea crashing up on the rocks.
I knew from pretty early on in the semester that I shouldn’t expect any feel good movies from this class, each movie and story we’ve read has been incredibly thought-provoking. This movie seemed to accurate;y culminate the themes from this semester. And it was real. Based on a true story, that makes all of the themes we've talked about directly applicable to a real circumstance which is deeply moving to me. I really enjoyed watching Oscar grow and mature throughout the movie, the scene at the beginning was a constant reminder that there would not be a happy ending. While this movie is a lot, I don't think it’s too much. I was upset that I had no idea that this had even happened and I’m grateful for the opportunity to reflect on it, painful as it may be.
1.This film was extremely powerful. It started as a beautiful story examining the struggles of a young black man trying to support his family in America. It was really interesting to see how Oscar had to struggle between supporting his family but risking going to prison or dealing with the embarrassment of struggling to support his family. The story of Oscar and his family on its own was a great movie that gives the viewer a great look into the life of a lower class black person in America. However, the climatic ending added to the storyline in a heartbreaking and important way. It shows that for minorities in America, there are many factors that you just can not control, and no matter how hard you try to do the right thing, your whole life could collapse just because you are black.
ReplyDelete2. The scenes that stuck with me were when Sophina found out Oscar was dead, his mother spoke to him in jail, and when his daughter gets picked up by Sophina the morning after. The reason these scenes were so important is because when examining this system that seems to systematically incarcerate and sometimes kill black men, it is important to look at the collateral damage. To have to watch an unarmed men get shot is awful. But to know that his family will have to live with that, and see their pain may even be worse.
3.. I think this film is the perfect culmination to what we have been studying. It focuses on another character that shares many similarities with the characters of past works such as Jefferson, Mookie, Radio, but we can relate to Oscar more than any of those guys because of the time period and the humanizing scenes he has with his family. It is important to watch this so we don't become desensitized to discrimination and injustice.
PMy reaction was considerably dulled down. I was not there to watch the movie with the rest of my class, so I borrowed the disc from John and watched it Sunday afternoon. Friday, I received heeds and warnings from numerous people about this movie being a tearjerker. Upon watching it, I was definetly saddened for a long portion of the film, but I did not feel that intensity of emotion others described. I believe this would be different if I watched it with a group, in the class, at the beginning of the day. That said, there were moments of pure humanity that I have not seen in many movies, and those parts were rather beautiful. Overall, I think this film is a great but sad recollection of a horrifying true story.
ReplyDeleteThere were multiple scenes I will remember. The first one that comes to mind is the one where Oscar comforts the boxer to its death. This scene really made it clear this man was good, if it wasn’t clear already. This little moment made me feel joy in this conformation, yet sadness in the death conveyed. Another one would be what Oscar says repeatedly after being shot. “I have a daughter.” This was probably the moment that really made me feel during the film, as that connection was his driving force through all his hardships, and his relationship was taken away that quick. It didn’t matter how good Oscar was, or how many people loved him.
Obviously other than adding modern relevance, “Fruitvale Station” does what “Lessons Before Dying” or “To Kill a Mockingbird” doesn’t. With Gaines, he only gives us a momentary glimpse of Jefferson’s POV. With Tom Robinson, we never get his POV. In Fruitvale Station, we get a limited first person, which makes the death all the more devastating.
This film left me, and everyone else apparently, speechless. It was very hard to watch and to digest. John let us go early because no one seemed to want to discuss it. We were all trying to understand what was just shown to us. Some of us went downstairs and talked for a few minutes about how it was a tough way to start our morning. Getting to know a character and his family and then watching him die like that, is so hard. Also the fact that it is based on a true story makes it much more heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteI think the moment that stayed with me the most is when Oscar picks up his daughter from pre school and is super silly and such a dad. That moment made him so incredibly likable and relatable. It was so cute, and I could tell how much he cared for his family. While this scene may not seem as important as the scene where he was shot, it’s the scene that I keep coming back to. I think it’s because after watching him die like that, scenes where he is shown to be such a caring person mean so much more than they did before.
I think you made the right decision showing this to us. While it was so hard to watch, it’s still an incredibly important message. Some things you can’t sugar coat. Do The Right Thing, while a good movie, still had a somewhat positive attitude towards everything. To Kill A Mockingbird is kinda the same way (mostly because it’s told from a child's perspective). It was necessary to show something that was real and true. It has a different effect than the other two. I think the things that stick with people aren’t always the happy, positive things. Sometimes things need to be sad for you to really understand it.
Similar to the rest of my class, I was speechless after feel the film. This movie left me with a feeling of pain and unfairness unlike any other movie had. The biggest effect the film had on me goes along the fact that I had never even heard of this event. I think that it is easy to watch this film and be greatly disturbed by it, but I think it's so important to realize that this is a reality in so many peoples lives that they can never forget; their devastation isnt temporary after viewing a film, but their lives. Overall I thought the film was very well done and was acted really well. The growing relationship between Oscar and his daughter and the challenging but strong relationship between him and Sophina were really well done.
ReplyDeleteOne moment that stuck with me was the very last scene with Sophina and T in the shower. After Tatiana asks, “where’s Daddy?” there is this silence in which we the pain in Sophina’s eyes trying to figure out how to explain what happened. The camera then switches back to Tatiana and it ends in silence on her face, the question unanswered. I thought this scene was so powerful because it displays this quiet moment after the tragedy where the pain and unreversableness of Oscar’s death become reality.
I do not think this is too much. I think it is painful and awful, but the reality is is that this murder actually happened. Real people felt the pain of this loss and countless others have felt pain loss of the same racially rooted murders. I think it does add something different to our study as it is way more modern than any other the other pieces we’ve studied and since it is based on a real event the pain is tangible.
1. This film was devastating to watch. You could tell it had an effect on everyone because the class was completely silent as the reality of the film sank in. Not only that, but walking out of class, it was extremely difficult to think about anything else because, very deliberately, this cannot be written off as simply ‘just a film’. This film was very well done and felt incredibly real. The viewers felt the stress of the situations that Oscar had fallen into (like losing his job for being late too often and wanting to help his sister with rent while also needing to meet his own) and the happiness of the adorable scenes between Oscar and his daughter.
ReplyDelete2. There were many scenes that stayed with me from this film. Although, the scene that I immediately think of was not actually during the film itself but after Oscar’s death when there were shots of him smiling and giving Tatiana a piggy back ride. Then it cut to real pictures and footage of the event. One of which was young Tatiana crying with her face buried into a RIP Oscar Grant III T-shirt. This footage of Tatiana was even more devastating after the moment in the film in the shower when Sophina doesn’t have to say anything for Tatiana to know her father isn’t coming home. This was especially painful because Tatiana didn’t want Oscar to leave because she was scared because she heard guns outside. To comfort her he promised that they were only fireworks and that when he got back the next morning he would take her to Chuck-e-Cheese and buy her all the tokens she wanted. This promise was difficult to hear even before he got shot because we know that he spent quite a bit for his mother’s birthday but he actually lost his job two weeks ago for something as small as being late too often. These sort of unfulfilled promises and things to be done give Oscar’s death the often untold story of the innocent human being who was a victim of police brutality.
3. “Fruitvale Station” has a layer of realism that makes looking at these issues even more painful and relevant. The film’s realism comes from its honest introduction of the life, personality, and humanity of Oscar. I don’t think this film was too much. In fact, I think it is a film that deliberately hits home for its viewers in a way that is incredibly important and a different learning experience. In terms of comparing it to the racism and violence within the other works this semester, “Fruitvale Station” felt a lot more personal and I think it hit an important level of emotion that wasn’t as equally present in the other works.
1. This was an incredibly moving film. It was really difficult to watch this movie and get to know and love this character all while knowing he is going to die in the end. I kept finding myself hoping that it wasn’t going to be Oscar and that he was just going to a bystander.
ReplyDelete2. The scene that stayed with me the most was after the story was over and they were showing pictures and text about how it was a true story. They showed a brief clip of Oscar’s real life daughter in 2013 at a memorial at the train station and that really stuck with me after watching the movie. This made the movie so much realer; being able to see who this shooting affected and that she is a real person missing her father.
3. It was a very modern way to round out the semester. Do the Right Thing and To Kill a Mockingbird are movies that are along the same vein as Fruitvale Station but is was harder to make them feel real because they are obviously so long ago. This movie was based on something that only happened ten years ago. Ending the semester with this movie really emphasized that racism isn’t some battle that was fought and one; it’s still happening now in a very large and violent way. It was hard to watch but I am glad that we watched it.
1. Before I went in to watch Fruitvale Station I was entirely prepared to be unphased by the film, or at least not be phased too much. This is a story I’ve seen, heard, read about and watched so many times that I’ve unfortunately begun to feel accustomed to it. My immediate emotional response is more disappointed and annoyed than sad or angry. For the most part, my prediction rang true. My eyes were still dry when the screen cut to black, and I found myself almost more angry at Oscar and his friends for not obeying the cop than I was for the officer’s actions and their fallout. “Just do what they say” I kept repeating, both during the scene and after. It wasn’t until the film showed a short clip of the real Tatiana that I felt the emotional wave, and then, it hit me hard. As soon as I could I stood up and left for a walk. I left the High School Building and plugged the sounds of Gloria Jones into my head. Our viewing of this film came just at the very end of a week where I had been visited by both racial conflict and loss. That week, my racially-based comedy film for film class had been shut down by the school’s administration, and I’d been processing the passing of someone who I’d never even met. Both of these thoughts took up considerable amounts of space in my head on Thursday night, but it wasn’t until after Fruitvale ended that I connected them to this film. On my walk I went down to the elementary, and then all the way to the Junior High taking time to process the impact of this film. The situation which it presented suddenly became twice as real to me as it had been before. I saw myself in Tatiana’s shoes mourning the loss of my father, or perhaps my parents mourning my own death. For the first time, I really considered myself as a possible victim of racial injustice and police brutality. Not that I’d never put myself in those shoes before, but for the first time I really considered the repercussions and how it would affect not just myself but those around me as well.
ReplyDelete2. For many of the reasons I mentioned above, the image that stayed with me the most was the image of the real Tatiana that played during the closing text. Seeing her mourning her father finally compelled me to think about life from a different angle. I wish I could say it made me more appreciative to have it, but I think in reality I’ve just become more aware of what it means. We are all here for a very limited time and we usually don’t get to decide when that time is up. I still haven’t figured out exactly what to do with this information, and that’s been eating away at my mind for the past two days. The other scene that stuck with me was the scene in the station. I kept asking myself why I was more upset with the victims for not complying than I was with the officers for lacking decency. After hearing this type of story so many times I've started to view police officers (in these situations) as robots executing commands. I’ve seen it and told myself “just comply, just comply, just comply” so many times that I get upset when other don’t, but of course they don’t. They’re people in stressful situations and they’re not dealing with robots, they’re dealing with people too. It made me aware to how much I’ve changed my perception of the “boys in blue,” and just how many times I’ve seen innocent people killed in unnavigable situations.
3. This film really is the perfect culmination of everything we’ve discussed this semester, and so I think it makes perfect sense to show it. I don’t think it’s too much, but it really does bring everything we’ve talked about into the present. These issues are still present today and they still affect people in our own lives.
1. I was pretty much like everyone else in 5th period. My eyes were red and the tears kept coming after the film ended. I was devastated. However, on a better note, I thought the movie was fantastic. The acting from Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Díaz, and everyone else was great. Even the smaller roles added to the film. One thing I thought this movie did a good job of was that the film really invested the audience in their characters. I see some parts of myself in Oscar, which is an important part in making great characters. You get invested in his world that when you see him die, you’re devastated afterwards. That’s one thing I loved about the movie.
ReplyDelete2. One moment that stuck with me was when Oscar was shot. It wasn’t everything leading up to it. It was the motive behind it. When they were pinning down Oscar, he couldn’t move. They were pushing him against the ground. Now this won’t ever justify what the cop did, but Oscar make a sudden movement that caused the cop to shoot him. They just shot him. They shot him in cold blood while he was defenseless. It was just the uselessness of it all that really sent me. They murdered him, plain and simple.
3. This doesn’t answer questions. this is a reiteration of DTRT, but not in a bad way. It’s a reiteration because it shows that history is repeating itself. However, we treating it like racism is a thing of the past. No it’s happening now. I know as Paideia students we know this, but there are so many people who don’t: who don’t know that racism isn’t over. This may seem like an easy concept to grasp, but it’s not. If films like this keep being made, it is just going to keep backing up this point.
I think we can all agree that this film was sad as fuck. When it was over and I left the classroom I wasn’t entirely sure of what to do with myself, and trying to make conversation with people was a strange experience. I didn’t know what to say and it felt like I had been through emotional trauma. In all of this craziness, though, I really appreciate Fruitvale Station and the significance it bears. Ryan Coogler did a very nice job setting up a backdrop of a lovable, kind man and amazing father who is perceived in a negative way based upon how he appears, which ultimately is devastating.
ReplyDeleteThe scene that affected me to most was when Oscar’s mom, Wanda, finally saw her dead son in the hospital. She says: “I told him to take the train. I told him to catch the BART. I didn't know they were gonna hurt my baby. I should've just let him drive. I should've let him drive, but I wanted to keep him safe. You gotta let me hug him. Please, let me hug him. Please. Please! He didn't like to be alone.” There are so many devastating elements in this moment; the most primary being the fact that her son is dead and all of the loss that comes along with that. These words were also extremely affecting as someone who has seen the effect that losing a child has on their mother in real life because it makes Wanda’s heartbreak more real. More broadly, though, I think that everyone can empathize with her, here, because we all have families or loved ones.
It was a good idea to show this movie. Before watching it I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of what police brutality is and what it does to families and communities, but experiencing this film has humbled me by exposing a more raw experience than I have had in school through books and other movies. Watching and hearing Oscar go through his day places the watcher in the story, giving it a deeper affect than reading similar stories in the news.
Watching this movie was upsetting, yet incredibly moving and important to watch. It left me kind of wondering what to do next, since it was such a heavy movie and nothing something I’d expect to see on a Thursday morning. I know the movie had the same effect on others in my class, since we all just sat in silence after the end of the film because no one knew how to respond to the end or follow up so much heartbreak and unfairness. That being said, it was a great moving. It kind of feels weird to say it was a good movie since the story was so sad, but it was beautifully directed and the actors did an incredible job drawing the audience in, making connections through the screen, and communicating the injustice that occurs in this world. Like some others have said, what gives the movie even more weight is the fact that this really did happen, yet nothing much has been done to prevent other tragedies like the death of Oscar Grant.
ReplyDeleteOne of the many scenes that stuck with me was when the flashback when Oscar was visited by his mom in jail. It gives more background to where he had been in live and what he had grown out from, which I think makes us like Oscar even more. He showed that he was working hard to change himself and not go back to jail by dumping the weed and trying to get his job back. The most heartbreaking part of the scene was when his mom was walking out, and he was just crying that he just wanted a hug from her. It kinda displayed how every human just wants to be wanted and loved, and because of that people become happier. This scene is also sad because later in the film on the train, we become aware that if Oscar had never gotten into the fight with the inmate in the first place, the fight on the train wouldn’t have happened, therefore he would never get shot by the police.
I think that this movie has been more powerful than anything else we have done this term. While the other material was strong and moving, this movie really topped it all off. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was based off a true story, or that with all the other material under our belt it was supported by everything. Either way, in no way was it too much. The movie impacted every single person in the class. I also think this movie was way more upfront and blatant about racism in our society. There was no hidden messages or insights, it was just simply out in the open. We watched Oscar and his friends being oppressed by white officers simply because they were black, and we saw Oscar struggling to beat the stereotypes the society places on black men.
I had seen this film before from when I was much younger (around 10-12). At that point I was aware of the apparent racism in our country, but I was not so educated on police brutality. After watching this film build up such a strong and resilient character, it was heartbreaking to see someone with so much potential be shot and killed. After finishing the film I was legitimately speechless. I knew what would happen at the end of the film, but regardless of the ending I was just hoping against hope that somehow the ending would change. Something that helps me from getting too upset about films is reminding myself that it is a work of fiction and that the characters were detached from reality, but this film was based on actual events and that made the emotion behind each performance that much more heart wrenching.
ReplyDeleteThe image that stuck with me the most as a whole was the out of focus shot of Oscar's mother as she walked out of the prison. You could see Oscar struggling to get free from the guards so he could hug his mother one last time before going back to prison. This shot made me think of the kind of toll Prison takes on your personal relationships. The whole scene inside of the prison sparked this interesting double-life dynamic throughout the film. It seems like Oscar finds conflict in choosing a life of crime or a safe life with family. We see Oscar getting into filthy arguments and fights with a fellow inmate in front of his mother. It is interesting to see how he code switches between being a hardened criminal and a loving son. It makes me question who I know that might be living life similar to this.
I think this story adds a whole new dynamic to the race theme we have been exploring this term. As I said previously, Oscar tends to code switch and talk differently depending on who is around, which I find very interesting. The film shows the struggle that many black men go through in resisting a life of crime. In Fruitvale Station you can see Oscar's internal conflict between taking the easy way out and becoming exactly what the police think he is, and making his life for the better by getting a real job and taking care of his daughter. So, I do believe that this film adds a whole new aspect to our race theme.
I had a strong reaction immediately after the end of the film. I screamed, “F**k” and threw my remote on the sofa. It just makes me so mad that this is still happening. I caught myself reacting to all the things that happened at the station; I covered my mouth with my hand when the white officer grabbed Oscar by the neck and dragged him out of the train, I choked up when he pushed him onto the ground and forced him down. I just hated that this happened.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought what the film tried to address was good, but I thought it was a bit slow. I understand that the director and writers wanted to build up his personality, though. I fell in love with the relationship that he and Tatiana had. It added a background and allowed us to empathize with him even more.
One of the moments that stayed with me was after Oscar got shot and the white officer was trying to act all nice and he said, “Keep your eyes open.” Like, what????? How are you going to grab him by the neck, physically and verbally abuse him, arrest him, and then act all caring when he’s dying? His life was only given value when he was dying. But before that, the officers felt free to abuse him like that. It just makes me so mad that they did all of that but then they wanna switch up and act like they’re sorry.
No, this movie is definitely not too much. Yes, it has a couple scenes that are hard to watch, but we need to watch them. We need to be challenged to grow, and more importantly, we need to face the truth of our society. I think that the scene with the police officer killing him was a portrayal of the hundreds of other cases of police brutality that happen in America.
I think that this movie is just another example of the fault in “the system,” just like A Lesson Before Dying and To Kill A Mockingbird and Do The Right Thing. I think this movie just readdressed what we have been learning this semester. The movie definitely has a powerful message about the black experience, but it is very similar to what we have already seen. However, this movie differs in the way that we see everything through the eyes of Oscar, but with A Lesson Before Dying, we saw the story through the eyes of Grant, even though Jefferson was the victim of “the system” in this case. It adresses the faults in the justice system, just like all the other books and movies did.
1. What affected me about this film is how accurately it portrayed the violence that can just happen to people today, and it doesn’t seem to gloss over any aspect of the relation in-between cops and black people. Its objectivity is also stark: the lack of commentary or exposition about police violence seems to accentuate the pure facts of Oscar’s death, and its injustice. I’m hesitant to call this movie a “racism movie.” There are many races besides just black and white, and, furthermore, the issue cuts deeper than that. The cops are hesitant to view the black people in the station as actual people with lives, family ect, because the cops want to show that they can protect the people with power in America (I.e. Rich and often white folks). The fact is, our society does not promote, and in fact seems to discourage interracial dialogue, and those that support our corrupt justice system are more responsible than the police on the ground.
ReplyDelete2. There were two: when Oscar dumps out his bag of Marijuana and when we see his bloody face prostrated on the sidewalk. I thought the moment by the ocean was symbolic of leaving his criminal past behind and turn toward the future, showing that he cares more about the gravity of the situation, rather than just the money, even though he probably can’t afford to dump it. As for the other scene, it’s just hard to watch someone die like that, even if it’s fake. I hope I don’t die in a subway station, helpless to change the facts of my life.
3. I would say this film is strong in its objectivity and reality. What’s important is that this event happened in our lifetimes and perhaps could happen to our peers today, arising from a simple misunderstanding. It is not hesitant to show another side of the officer, too, and is just too real.
I am in shock over this film. The way Coogler wrote it to exceed the expected message and effect of the of the film is incredible. I think the casting was perfect and the emotion shown by the characters was very real, like they could all in some way connect to the plot they were portraying. In addition to the scenes involving Oscar and his family, there are scenes in which only Oscar is present, such as the gas station with Oscar and the pit bull. It’s difficult to tell whether or not this scenes really happened. Scenes such as these that are not guaranteed to be true are extremely well written to the point of the plot and message, and I loved the final product it produced
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned before, the gas station scene really stuck with me. John, you pointed out to me that any scene only featuring Oscar is probably made up, and that this one is likely the most fabricated. Still, I love it because it’s such a random and creative idea and so beneficial to the emotional connection of the audience
While I think this is very difficult to watch, it’s not at all too much. Films like this were made to be heartbreaking. Every story of police brutality is different. Where they may be the same in principle and end result, each has its own circumstances, lead up, people, and their thoughts during the action. The fact that this is a true story adds an entire new layer to the film that Do The Right Thing did not have.