Errol Morris, The Thin Blue Line (1988)

1538 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impact of media in society

Nowadays, films can have an enormous impact on society. It can change ideas and thoughts. It can change people’s lives. Example of that is the film created by Errol Morris, The Thin Blue Line (1988). Errol Morris, born in 1948, is a very successful documentary film maker. Gates of Heaven (1978); Vernon, Florida (1981); Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997); First Person (TV series, 2000); The Fog of War (2003); Standard Operating Procedure (2008), are the most famous documentaries that he made followed up by his latest, The Unknown Known (2013). Errol also made many commercials and short films/documentaries like They Were There (2011) and El Wingador (2012). Errol Morris graduated at the University of Wisconsin in History (1969) and he owns his own production company, Globe Department Store.

Right after his first two documentaries, he found himself without any source of income for his projects. He then looked for an unusual way of getting financed, working as a private detective in New York City for six years. The time he spent being a detective helped him improving his investigative skills, which lead him to his project called The Thin Blue Line.

The Thin Blue Line is an exceptional documentary that dramatizes and re-enacts a crime scene which involves the murderer of a Police Officer in Dallas (Texas, USA). Morris gains interest in a psychiatrist, Dr. James Grigson, known as Dr. Death, which his job consisted on testifying against criminals and analyse if they would commit further violence crimes. In almost all of the doctor’s cases he would say that they will commit crimes with one hundred percent sure. Therefore, these criminals would be punished by a death penalty.

Through his investigation on the Doctor, Errol Morris foun...

... middle of paper ...

...ead the audience to a self-conclusion in what happened in the incredible story of a youngster who stole the identity of many children, real or made-up. The imposture was eventually discovered as a result of a suspicion by a private detective and by an FBI agent.

The Thin Blue Line was released in the US cinemas on 25th of August in 1988. The documentary generated more than a million dollars, helping Randall Dale Adam to go out from jail. This documentary is a good example of the influence that documentaries have in the society, even when it relates to police cases like this one. The message that Morris shows in his film is so powerful that he manage to do what the Police from Dallas was incapable to do; find the real guilty of the murderer. The murder had, in fact, killed again and committed another violent crimes ending up in the death row under the Texas Law.

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Death And Justice By Ed Koch

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay “Death and Justice”, Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City, presents an argument defending the use of capital punishment in heinous murder cases. In advancing his viewpoint on the subject matter, Koch addresses the arguments made by those who oppose the death penalty. This novel approach to making an argument not only engages the reader more in the piece, but also immediately illustrates his balanced understanding of both sides of the argument. Rather than simply presenting a biased or one-sided argument regarding his opinion, Koch explores a full range of issues surrounding the incendiary issue and displays both balance and erudition in expression his opinion on the issue of capital punishment.

    Read More

  • Laidlaw by William McIlvanney

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jack Laidlaw is a universe apart from other examples of detectives , he examines the more intriguing issues of how and why people can commit the reprehensible crime of murder and the harrowing aftermath of crime and violence. Jack Laidlaw can deeply understand people more than anyone could ever imagine.

    Read More

  • Early Indicators of Someone Becoming a Serial Killer

    1983 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dee, C. (2007). Serial killers, up close and personal: inside the world of torturers, psychopaths, and murderers. Berkeley, Calif: Ulysses Press.

    Read More

  • Responsibility And The Limits Of Evil Gary Watson Analysis

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gary Watson shares the true story of the serial killer Robert Harris in his essay “Responsibility and the Limits of Evil”. This inclusive narrative shares of a man who was once a very sensible young boy who found himself on the south tier of Death Row in San Quentin Prison. Through this story, the reader learns first about Robert Harris’s crime and then about his upbringing. Both of which are stories that one could consider hard to read and even consider to be a true story. Those who knew Robert Harris claimed that he was a man that did not care about life. He did not care about himself nor anyone else. Each inmate and deputy, from the prision, who was questioned about

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment in the American Colonies

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although the flaws of death penalty are lucid, they are often times over looked by society. Innocuous people have been ruled to death based upon mistaken eyewitness testimonies, mistaken identity, and false confessions through coercion. Former Governor of Illinois George Ryan was a staunch proponent o...

    Read More

  • Film Analysis of All That Heaven Allows

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    BIBLIOGRAPHY An Introduction to Film Studies Jill Nelmes (ed.) Routledge 1996 Anatomy of Film Bernard H. Dick St. Martins Press 1998 Key Concepts in Cinema Studies Susan Hayward Routledge 1996 Teach Yourself Film Studies Warren Buckland Hodder & Stoughton 1998 Interpreting the Moving Image Noel Carroll Cambridge University Press 1998 The Cinema Book Pam Cook (ed.) BFI 1985 FILMOGRAPHY All That Heaven Allows Dir. Douglas Sirk Universal 1955 Being There Dir. Hal Ashby 1979

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of Healthcare Serial Killers

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals symbolize people whom we seek in time of need, but in the article, “Reconceptualizing the notion of victim selection, risk, and offender behavior in healthcare serial murders”, we are introduced to a new type of monster. Lubaszka and Shon define healthcare serial killers as, “any healthcare professional or worker who intentionally kills two or more patients in a care-giving environment for reasons not related to mercy, euthanasia, or physician ass...

    Read More

  • Thin Blue Line Essay

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Errol Morris, the director of Thin Blue Line, is an award winning director with 35 years of experience in the industry. Morris has come across great success in his career, he has had great directing roles in films such as The Fog of War and Mr. Death. Although he has come across great success, Thin Blue Line not only did not make any profits but left Errol Morris in one hundred thousand dollars in debt.

    Read More

  • Thin Blue Line Essay

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The thin blue line” is a phrase that many people have heard of yet do not fully understand. It is a name that applies to law enforcement officers and their essential role in society. It shows support to the living law enforcement officers and commemorates the fallen ones. It is usually presented as any black shape or object with a blue line through the middle. The half above the blue line represents the general public and law abiding citizens, and the half below the blue line represents the criminals. The thin blue line symbolizes the officers. The idea behind it is that the police officers are the only thing separating the public from the criminal element of society (Flosi 2016). They work tirelessly to keep these two groups

    Read More

  • Edward Koch Death Penalty Analysis

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edward Koch, who was former mayor of New York, wrote an article about one of the most controversial talks called the death penalty. This controversial topic questions if it is right to execute a person for a crime committed or if it is wrong. He made the point that the death penalty is good, in order to conclude that murderers should be punish with this penalty. He was bias in most of the passage, yet he tried to acknowledge other people’s opinion. In this article, Koch gives his supports to the idea to convict a murderer with death penalty by using a tone of objectiveness, shooting for the individuals who opposes his position to be the audience, and have a written form of conviction for the audience.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing The Death Penalty

    1653 Words  | 4 Pages

    Employing pathos and logos, Baude gives an explanation for why the death penalty is flawed as he tells the tale of a man on death row. Baude claims “.Judgments, right or wrong. This concern with concepts such as finality, jurisdiction, and the balance of powers may sound technical, lawyerly, and highly abstract. But so is the criminal justice system. Law must provide simple answers: innocence or guilt, freedom or imprisonment, life or death.”

    Read More

  • The Influence Of New Hollywood Cinema

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form

    Read More

  • Film Industry: Christopher Nolan

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    He made his first long film, ‘Following’ in 1998 which is a black and white film. He served as director, producer and writer of the movie. His non-linear story telling in this movie helped him to gain interest from other people in the business and propelled him to his next film ‘Memento’ Released in 2000. ‘Memento’ was a critical success and this was b...

    Read More

  • Death Penalty Position Paper

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Proponents of the death penalty are right to argue that capital punishment does provide a sense of “closure” to those who are faced with the tragedy of losing a loved one due to homicide, but they exaggerate when they claim that this is the only means by which murderers receive just punishment for their crimes. Advocates of the death penalty fail to recognize that there are alternative methods – such as psychotherapy – that are able to replace the barbaric method of the death penalty.

    Read More

  • The Effectiveness of The Death Penalty

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    The death penalty has been an ongoing debate for many years. Each side of the issue presents valid arguments to explain why someone should be either for or against the subject. One side of the argument says deterrence, the other side says there’s a likelihood of putting to death an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder itself. Crime is an unmistakable part of our society, and it is safe to say that everyone would concur that something must be done about it. The majority of people know the risk of crime to their lives, but the subject lies in the techniques and actions in which it should be dealt with.

    Read More

More about Errol Morris, The Thin Blue Line (1988)

Open Document