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The Black Male Body: Dead on Arrival (Fruitvale Station & Trayvon Martin)
by Christopher “Flood the Drummer” Norris With Zimmerman found not guilty, and Director Ryan Coogler recapping Oscar Grant’s last days on the big screen, the reoccurring injustices to the Black Male Body are painfully evident. While the “Not Guilty” verdict is saturating headlines from print to post, it’s not the only tragic story of an unarmed black male being crucified by an overzealous, gun-wielding “authority figure.” Millennial Movie Maker Ryan Coogler, 26, has bought his award-winning story Fruitvale Station, of a 22-year-old Bay Area resident Oscar Grant to the big screen. Produced by Forest Whitaker and starring Academy Award winner Olivia Spencer as Oscar’s mom, the 90 minute feature film…
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Four Seasons Philadelphia Interview: Ryan Coogler: FRUITVALE STATION
by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor I knew nothing about the true events which Fruitvale Stationis based upon – I’m sure the controversial racial implications of OscarGrant’s death reached the East Coast, but sometimes I go undergroundnews wise for weeks at a time, and when I emerge, I don’t go back to findout what I missed. I do however pay attention during theSundance Film Festival. And when I read about Fruitvale Station,winning so much praise, I thought, how dramatic can it be? We know theguy dies. But I was so wrong, the film has real heart and emotionalinvolvement because it is so “day in the life of”. As you’re watching…
