Some of the most moving sequences are the intimate moments between parent and child as the adults are forced to explain the brutal realities of policing to children of colour.
WHEN THEY SEE US SERIES
DuVernay’s series is something of a revisionist history, choosing to focus primarily on the story of the five boys and their families as they navigate the sharp end of the criminal justice system. Williams, now 52 and best known for his role as Omar Little in The Wire, plays Bobby McCray, father of Antron, one of the five boys falsely convicted. Seeing them failed, and feeling like something was not adding up.”Ĭaleel Harris and Michael K Williams in When They See Us. “Looking at the news I see these young boys and they resemble me. Michael K Williams was 22 when the incident took place, living in the neighboring borough of Brooklyn. These videotaped confessions would later go on to secure convictions against all five boys in one of the most closely watched trials of the decade. The five boys were paraded in front of the media after, they say, they were intimidated by NYPD officers into falsely confessing their involvement in the assault – despite no DNA evidence linking them to the scene of the crime. The case ignited existing tensions in the city, drawing into sharp focus the racial bias of the city’s police force, its manifestly unequal justice system, and the prejudice of New York’s white establishment class. The five boys were falsely convicted of the rape of a white woman, Patricia Meili, in Central Park in the spring of 1989. I couldn’t imagine doing that to my son.When They See Us is a new four-part Netflix series from the Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay that revisits the case of the Central Park Five, a group of wrongly accused black and brown teens from Harlem. McCray says he still hasn’t forgiven his father. My father left.” The series depicts the moment when McCray’s father Bobby, pressured him into admitting guilt during his interrogation. “She was the only one there for me at that time. “The system broke a lot of things in me that can’t be fixed.” Although his wife has encouraged him to seek therapy, McCray says he refuses.ĭuring a particularly touching part of the discussion, he talked about losing his mother to cancer. I know it, but I just try to keep myself busy,” McCray admitted during the interview. Several members of the cast cried as he told his story. McCray was visibly emotional throughout much of the interview, choking back tears as he recalled his experience at the police station and his relationship with his late father. Antron McCray’s Heartbreaking Admissions: It was built to shape our culture in a specific way.” “She is a part of a system that’s not broken it was built to be this way… It was built to oppress it was built to control.
“I think that it would be a tragedy if this story and the telling of it came down to one woman being punished for what she did, because it’s not about her, really not all about her,” DuVernay said. Fairstein has since stepped down from several board positions and charities and was reportedly dropped by her publisher. Revelations On Linda Fairstein’s Role In The Case:įollowing the series’ debut, prosecutor Linda Fairstein received a wave of backlash for her role in the teens’ wrongful convictions.
WHEN THEY SEE US MOVIE
The first time you meet the movie is when it walks up to you and says, ‘Hi, my name is,’ and so it really needed to be more than Central Park Five.”Ģ. At every level as a director, my job was to look at everything, and the title was a big part of it. “It became really important to think about that. “It took away their faces, it took away their families, it took away their pulses and their beating hearts. Its working title was Central Park Five, but DuVernay, who insisted it be changed, said it felt like something “put upon” the men by the press, prosecutors and police. Winfrey revealed that early on there was some talk among the producers about what the name should be. I love horror, I love romance, I love action but to be able to create something with my collaborators that is actually gonna move people to action, move people to evaluate what they think and how they behave in the world was our goal.” “Entertainment serves all kinds of different purposes. Was to create something that was going to be the catalyst for conversation,” she said. “The goal was to create something that stuck to your ribs and that wasn’t junk food. While discussing her vision for the program, DuVernay said she wanted the series to spark dialogue and spur viewers to take action. Ava DuVernay’s Deliberate Decision-Making For When They See Us:
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