Fruitvale Station Thesis

Title

In America there is still prejudice and discrimination. Racism against African Americans has definitely not been put to a stop. Numerous individuals think that racism no longer exists, but films and television shows currently out in the would suggest otherwise. Media has become a major part of our lives. Indeed, it has shape the way we identify other races. Media is having a huge impact on race, by presenting different stereotypes to the audience, and saying certain races behave a particular way, in which in most cases might not be true. This then forms the way society sees races and in many times the way they see themselves. We tend to believe everything media says about people and other races without questioning if it is actually

true. For example, the movies Fruitvale Station, Selma, and Mississippi Damned.
The movie Fruitvale Station, shows some examples of what African Americans go through.

For instance, going through life and being blamed for certain actions that another person started. In this movie the victim was Grant. However, Grant was in prison for crimes that he committed in the past and had already completed his sentence, therefore making him an easy target to pin something on, since he had a history. Like any other stereotypical movie, the Caucasian man had a problem with the African American man. Grant had a job at a butcher shop before he was put in prison. After Grant was released he wanted to start a new life. He wanted to show his wife, mother and child that his time in prison had made him a better man, and that he had improved himself. He came from a wealthy family, but life there was always a struggle. The problem started one New Years Eve at a subway complex located in California named, Fruitvale Station. He was with his friends and his girlfriend, on there way back

home.
A customer from the past recognized him and approached him while calling his name.

At the subway complex the Caucasian man, in which he had a problem with while in prison, started a fight with Grant. Police officer’s where called into the scene, but as usual the Caucasian man gets away and they arrested Grant, the African American. While Grant was arrested, he was trying to get his friends released because they had nothing to do with the fight. During the argument there were people video recording the scene. To add, the police officers in this movie where Caucasian, and in the movie it made it seem like Grant was the unscrupulous person in the problem, but it was no't him. Due to the racist police officers, the Caucasian man was not arrested. The police officer’s made it seem as if Grant was trying to resisted the arrest, in the process of this Grant was scared to death, the officer keep telling Grant that he was going to tase him. When trying to pull out the taser he instead grabs the wrong weapon and shoots him. Grant died hours later. Grant was a great example of how African American’s get blamed for something they didn't do, because of misjudgment of others. Just because he had a bad past does not mean he stayed bad, plus the racism around him did not help get him proper justice. People need to learn how to not be so bias, and view the other side of the story not just

one.
The next movie was about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was fighting for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. During this time period, the 1960’s, there was a lot of racism with African American’s, specifically more in the South. This film talks about how African American where not able to vote because Caucasian people kept interfering with their rights. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had sympathy marches and it did not involve violence towards the white people but in one of the first marches, Caucasian did hurt the African American. This film shows that history keeps repeating itself, and there will be no end to it.
Mississippi Damned was about three African American Children been raised in a violence, abuse and addicted family. It showed that these children were trying to independently struggle to escape their circumstances and had to decide whether to confront what their family had plagued for generations. This movie made it seem that African America possibilities and opportunities seem to die.
These films made society look at African American a different way. For instance, there’s been a lot of news talking about how a African American are been killed by Caucasian Police Officer’s and make them see the worse, but we do not know the true story of what really happen. Society only want to see what the media presents to them but not knowing the full story. We as people need to stop these discrimination and prejudice, if we do not put a stop to it history will remain and will be no end to it.