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While some people are already washing their hands of the Trayvon Martin discussion, it is almost impeccable timing that a movie based on the tragic story of Oscar Grant has hit movie theaters. “Fruitvale Station” is the true story of Grant, who in the wee hours of 2009 was shot in the back and killed by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) officer while handcuffed and lying subdued on the ground.
Also check out this Movie and Article On #RIPOscarGrant
Fruitvale Station: The Story of Oscar Grant – Now Playing in Select Theaters #FRUITVALESTATION www.fruitvalefilm.com/#Real Talk Tuesday
While some people are already washing their hands of the Trayvon Martin discussion, it is almost impeccable timing that a movie based on the tragic story of Oscar Grant has hit movie theaters. “Fruitvale Station” is the true story of Grant, who in the wee hours of 2009 was shot in the back and killed by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) officer while handcuffed and lying subdued on the ground.
I lived in San Francisco during that time (which is right across the Bay Bridge from where most of the story takes place), and “Fruitvale Station” captures the feeling of the Bay pretty successfully. Apparently some of the actors actually spent time living in Oakland, to get a better feeling of the characters and setting. Many times while watching I felt like I was right back in San Francisco, or Oakland, or even on the BART.
One of the more realistic scenes was when Grant, our protagonist, his girlfriend and his buddies were delayed on the BART going to San Francisco, just minutes before the New Year. Someone on the train had the “good sense” to play music through personal speakers (a practice I loathe because it happens so often on public transportation); aptly Mac Dre. Dre is a fallen rap hero of the Bay Area, a pioneer of the independent scene and was killed right before what many think was his inevitable national rise to fame. His song “Feelin Myself” is a Bay Area classic and is one of the many reasons this film is a thoughtful, yet dramatic look into Grant’s tragic story.
Instead of a documentary, the director went for more of a dramatization, but it wasn’t overly “Hollywood” or cheesy. I’m not exactly sure who Oscar Grant really was, but this film made his character complex. This is much more than the “common thug” mainstream media frequently tries to make young black men out to be. While I know some of the drama had to be played up in order to pull at the heartstrings of the people who already know how this movie ends, it was a movie worth seeing.
It took alot for me not to write a Trayvon Martin blog. Similarly, it took alot for me not to write a Troy Davis blog, or make an Oscar Grant song. It seems people love to flock to tragedies as the flavor of the day, all the while ignoring thousands of tragedies that happen without media presence, also forgetting the “popular” tragedies days after they occur. But I’m thankful for “Fruitvale Station”. This film was done in a thoughtful manner, and keeps the light on a terrible event that unfortunately occurs everyday in the US: Police Brutality.
“Fruitvale Station” is playing in select movie theaters nationwide.
Love,Psalmieaka Psalm One©Charm Lab Founder | 1st Lady of @Rhymesayers | Buy Child Support NOW |#Realtalktuesday|@psalmone | www.psalmone.tv | www.regularanddope.com |www.facebook.com/psalmone
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