Skip to main content

When They See Us

6/5/19
When They See Us
On May 31, Netflix released the series When They See Us. The four episodes are based on the true story of five teenage boys of color being accused of crimes they didn’t commit. The 14-16 year old boys spent years in prison because of the unfair law system. The story took place in 1989, but was recreated for Netflix recently. This four episode series goes into depth of the boys, detectives, and prosecutors that were involved. This series has been big in the media since it came out just four days ago because it is a true evaluation of our judicial system and overall society in America. Already the show has received much positive feedback and recognition for shedding a light on this little known problem that is rarely talked about. Personally, I enjoyed this show because it was entertaining as well as educational and I would advise anyone to watch it for either purposes.

I think When They See Us is a great example of media being used in a positive way. On social media, I have seen people talk about their experiences of watching the episodes. Many admitted it was hard or scary to watch. People were actually afraid to watch a series about our justice system as if it was a horror film. It is concerning to me that a documentary on our justice system is hard to watch because it proves how we don’t really know what is going on as we are hidden too much from it. The series is known to make the viewer feel pain for these five boys as you get to know their families and they potential they had. I think this may be the worst part- these boys could have been successful, happy, made good change for our society, but instead they were locked up for years. Their life was practically taken from them because of our unfair system and after finally being taken vout, they were still traumatized. I encourage everyone to watch this show and watch the suffering these boys had to go through.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mid90s

4/22/19 4/22/19 Last night I was watching a movie, mid90s, that was recently written and directed by Jonah Hill. The movie takes place in East Oakland, California during the mid 90s, and focuses on a group of four skaters and a little boy that looks up to them and eventually becomes a part of their close-knit group. Every member of the group goes through struggles that many go through today: abusive family, drug addiction, poverty, and loss of family members. Yet, all the boys come together to skate and use it as an escape from whatever they are going through. The main character, nicknamed “sunburn,” is the youngest character, looking for a getaway from his violent brother and immature mother. While on a bike ride through his neighborhood, he sees a group of boys skating a store and smiles while he watches them. Later that night, he spends hours teaching himself to skate, falling, and getting back up every time. He clearly is determined and it later pays off. S...

Women in Media

5/25/19 By watching MissRepresentation, I learned a lot about the history of women’s roles in media. I was surprised to watch how women journalists on the news were depicted by their appearance so much by men. It was unbelievable what men said about women on national television showing no respect. This movie helped me understand why women often feel so discouraged to be involved in politics and media in general. In the film a man said the more power  women get, the more backlash they receive for it. I agree with this statement and think it’s a result of men being taught that they have to be smarter, stronger, and better than women. The film also talked about this issue. I think boys are being raised to believe they can’t show their emotions and they have to act tough and strong. They learn these ideals through media and common phrases like “Boys will be boys” and  “You throw like a girl.” Although these may not have like they have a big impact on boys, when everyone in ...

Children’s Favorite Entertainment: Disney

5/15/19 Living in California, just about seven hours away from where many of America’s movies, shows, ads, etc. are made, I think we all can agree that we live in a time where the entertainment industry is huge. I personally rely on many types of entertainment each day. I couldn’t imagine a day without having the tv on or watching a video. One major business in the entertainment industry is Disney. I’d say it may even be the largest source of entertainment for children in America today. From the classics like Cinderella , to a dream vacation at Disneyland, Disney has had a huge impact on my childhood as well as many others. Each year they have continuously come out with new shows, movies, rides, princesses that make themselves one of the big businesses reliant on lovemarks. Having two little sisters, I tend to see Disney channel on the tv every Saturday morning still and have found that the shows being produced today are practically the same as 10 years ago. Shows that I love...