Mediaboss Marketing

Added on August 9, 2017 Neely Swanson Movie Reviews , Neely on Reels , newsletter

Riot Police in Ferguson, MO in WHOSE STREETS?, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

by Neely Swanson

Whose Streets? is a heartfelt and emotional documentary inspired by the aftermath of Michael Browns death in Ferguson, Missouri. Written and directed by Sabaah Folayan and co-directed by Damon Davis, the film vividly expresses the anger felt by African American communities everywhere faced with this and too many other similar incidents that underscore the injustice faced daily by people of color. Would, however, that the filmmakers had been able to channel more of the anger into a cohesive and less chaotic film.

Michael Browns death was a catastrophic event for the country, revealing how stacked the deck is when racism, both overt and subtle forms, rears its head, whether it is a police officer claiming deathly fear of an unarmed suspect or a citizen in a stand your ground state who kills and is exonerated (e.g., George Zimmerman). Folayan and Davis set out to show how Browns death stimulated a new activism in the residents of Ferguson, a community that over the last 40 years has gone from 99% white to 67% black but still has an overwhelmingly white political power structure and police force.

As anger over the event built, demonstrations, both peaceful and violent, increased to the point where the governor, Jay Nixon, called in the National Guard to restore order that, to a certain extent, exacerbated the situation.

Certainly the portrayal of the peaceful protests and their leaders is informative; however, the juxtaposition of these protests with the rioting serves to undermine the directors point of view when they do not give enough context for the resultant looting, something that rarely supports the rationale for protests.

From the standpoint of storytelling, it would have been helpful to have given a site-specific history of Ferguson to make it more representative of the frustrations of its citizens as stand-ins for African Americans throughout the country. Ferguson is a suburb in St. Louis County, a region that participated fully in Jim Crow laws up until the 1960s. It was in St. Louis that the Dred Scott decision was handed down in 1857, deeming an African American born of a slave, whether now free or not, could not be a citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The directors use a quote from the decision as a chyron and introduction to one of the four parts into which the film is divided, but without context it floats away.

Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

In one of the more interesting segments the film follows one of the leaders of the protest movement, a young single mother. Perhaps if they had used her as the focus of the documentary, revealing her struggles for a middle class life as she balances school, motherhood, and a relationship with the new woman in her life all the while energized by the injustice she sees around her placing her in a leadership position at the protests theyd have had a more focused and accomplished film.

Any one of a number of quotes from Ta-Nehisi Coates book, Between the World and Me about the dangers awaiting black males as they try to navigate a world that has been stacked against them would have offered the kind of insight missing from the film. Instead one is left with what seems to be 100 minutes of palpable and justifiable anger missing historical context and a central focus. It may not be a fair comparison, but Ezra Edelmans outstanding documentary, winner of more than a dozen major awards including the Oscar, built its case on why OJ Simpson was exonerated using the historical context of past injustices to the local African American community. Never has the aftermath of riots and police injustice ever been made clearer.

Folayan and David have chosen to forgo the teaching moments to focus on the visceral. There is value to Whose Streets? but it suffers from a single minded anger without enough background context. Because of that, any viewer will find it hard to watch and the audience who is not already on the side of the filmmakers will probably not move into their corner.

Opening Friday August 11 at the AMC Sunset 5; Cinemark Rave Baldwin Hills; and the Regal LA Live Stadium 14

See the original post:
Whose Streets? Good question [MOVIE REVIEW] - Easy Reader

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) Newport News Police Chief Richard Myers plans to retire from the department Sept. 1,according to an email obtained by 10 On Your Side.

Myers has been serving the city since January 2014, after former chief James Fox retired.

We have been fortunate to have Rick as our Chief of Police these past three and a half years, City Manager Cindy Rohlf said. With his extensive knowledge and experience in law enforcement, he has served the citizens of Newport News well during his tenure here.

Before that, he was the interim police chief in Sanford, Florida. Thats the city where Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman.

Myers was brought in there to essentially clean up the department and restore public trust after the controversial shooting.

Myers will become the executive director of a national police chiefs organization.

The city released a state from Myers Tuesday afternoon:

It has been an honor and a privilege working with this Police Department, the City Manager, and City Council, as well as the citizens of this great city. This department truly exemplifies professionalism and community policing, and I am proud to have been a part of that This new opportunity is a natural and timely transition from being a chief while still being able to continue to serve my profession.

City officials say they will be conducting an extensive national search for Myers replacement. An interim chief has not yet been named.

Stay with WAVY.com for updates to this developing story.

Like Loading...

Continue reading here:
Newport News police chief plans to retire from department - WAVY-TV

Sun., Aug. 6, 2017, 6 a.m.

Former NAACP president Philip Tyler, who was a Sheriffs deputy and now works as a campus security officer at Gonzaga University, weighed in on law enforcements community involvement. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

Trust in law enforcement hit a historic low in June 2015 when a Gallup poll found that 52 percent of Americans trusted police. In 2013, that number was 57 percent.

Gallup attributed the drop to, among other things, the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who was charged with shooting black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2014 in Florida.

In its latest poll released in early July, Gallup found the publics trust in police is back at 57 percent with the highest trust levels reported among whites, older people and conservatives.

As he continues to search for good candidates, the upswing in public trust is a huge positive for Spokane County Sheriff Knezovich.

Its good to see that we are back up, Knezovich said.

The same Gallup poll found that just 12 percent of Americans have a great deal of trust in Congress, 27 percent trust newspapers and 32 percent trust banks the military was the big winner with 72 percent.

But the rebound in trust in law enforcement doesnt hold true for everyone: The Gallup poll found that Hispanics, blacks, liberals and people younger than 35 continue to lose trust in law enforcement with liberals coming in at 39 percent, blacks at 30 percent and Hispanics at 45 percent.

A lack of trust is one reason why agencies have a difficult time recruiting minorities.

I know we have a disparity issue, Knezovich said, but we reach out to every aspect of humanity we can think of when we recruit.

Rex D. Caldwell, a retired police chief and the deputy director of training delivery for the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, said hes recently visited seven states examining training and recruitment programs.

Caldwell said he has done a lot of outreach to minority communities African American, LGBTQ and Hispanic and found that they are especially reluctant recruits.

Ive had a lot of conversations with agencies who are having a hard time to get people from minority communities to even apply for a job, Caldwell said by phone from his office in Burien, Washington.

Spokane Police Departments chief, Craig Meidl, said hes especially committed to reaching out to minority communities.

We struggle tremendously with diversity, Meidl said. We struggle with getting people of color and women to apply.

Meidl said his department is reaching out to organizations such as colleges and military bases that already do a better job with diversity, hoping to learn and to reach a broader spectrum of candidates.

The biggest part of hiring diversity really is to go to community events and talk to people, Meidl said, adding that intense media scrutiny dehumanizes officers.

We have to rehumanize ourselves, Meidl said. We have to try to show that we are people too, we have senses of humor and we are human.

Thats especially important in communities of color, Meidl said, because law enforcement there is sometimes perceived as the enemy.

In communities of color, we ask people to be part of the change we are seeking. Its a big step for some, Meidl said. We also need community leaders of color to help encourage minorities to apply for law enforcement jobs.

Former NAACP president Philip Tyler, who was a sheriffs deputy and now works as a campus security officer at Gonzaga University, said law enforcement is doing a good job of reaching out, especially by visiting community events.

Dont set up a job fair and expect everyone to come there, Tyler said. That will work for some, but not for everyone. Go to where people are.

Tyler said one-on-one outreach at an event is a better way to create a relationship and establish that pipeline of good candidates coming to the agencies.

He added that interest in starting a law enforcement career is declining in some minority communities.

They come out of college and universities looking for a lucrative job they look for income versus impact, Tyler said. Public service is never going to make you rich, except in the impact you have on your community.

Published: Aug. 6, 2017, 6 a.m.

More:
Lack of trust in police one reason why recruiting new officers has become difficult - The Spokesman-Review

This may be goodbye for MartinShkreli. The34-year-old "PharmaBro"was foundguilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud at a federal court in Brooklyn.He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Shkreliwas convicted of only three out of eight counts. The charges stem from his time managing the hedge funds ofMSMBCapital Management and MSMBHealthcare between 2009 and 2014. The government has said thatShkrelidefrauded investors and stole upwards of $11 million from his companyRetrophinto pay the defrauded investors back.Shkrelidid not testify. The deliberation took five days.

The trial was an odd one:Shkrelireportedly read a book during the prosecutions rebuttal argument; the defense talked about how Shkrelibrushed his teeth often due to his anxiety; and Shkreliheldlivestream sessions after court.

Prosecutor Jacquelyn Kasulisremarked that the trial "has exposed MartinShkrelifor who he really isa con man who stole millions." Following the verdict,Shkreli told reporters, "This was a witch hunt of epic proportions."

"PharmaBro"Shkrelicame into the national spotlight in 2015 after his companyTuring Pharmaceuticals inflated the price of life-saving AIDS medicationsby more than 5,000 percent.Shkreli, a noted bad and terrible human being, has been in the news for doing a variety of bad and terrible things. From trying tobuythe gun George Zimmerman used to killTrayvonMartin to harassingwomen online to a very long list that I'm not even going to get into.

Though Shkreli is facing up to 20 years in prison, it's likely he'll receive, and serve, less than that.

Go here to read the rest:
Farewell, Martin Shkreli: 'Pharma Bro' Convicted on 3 Counts of Fraud and Conspiracy - Complex

This summer, the introspective artist is using his wardrobe to say what's on his mind.

And Ocean's style has also followed in that path. While he can clean up nicely in a tuxedo, the artist seems to favor shirts printed with some Tumblr-esque text written across them. His text-heavy Panorama festival performance tee (more on that in a minute) was just the latest example of Ocean's sartorial Tumblr moments of late.

Just under a year ago, the "Pyramids" singer released the video for "Nikes," his first single after a four-year hiatus from dropping a musical project. The clip is a kaleidoscopic montage of scenes cutting from one to the next, but amongst them, Ocean appears standing on stage wearing a tee printed with the Jenny Holzer's text-based work Truisms. While that garment is one of a only a handful made by a gallery that exhibited Holzer's work, West Coast-based brand Rust issued a riff on the T-shirt that has stayed in high demand, consistently selling out since the "Nikes" video. Unsurprisingly, Rust's founder Sean Stanton attributes that Frank Ocean.

In another, shorter scene in "Nikes," the "Good Guy" crooner wore a blue Bianca Chandon hoodie with the word "LOVER" written on it in bold white letters while singing in remembrance of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old black teen shot by George Zimmerman. "RIP Trayvon," he sang, "That n**** looked just like me." By the time the video was released, the T-shirt has already been sold out, but the attention Ocean brought to it drove the tee's resale value up. They now go for easily over $100 on sites like Grailed.

But it's not only videos that the 29-year-old uses to turn streetwear pieces into grails. Paparazzi caught Ocean walking through Soho in New York with Luka Sabbat and Kendall Jenner this summer, pink-haired and wearing a striped "Maintain the Mystery" tee from the West Coast streetwear brand The Hundreds. For many, it was a cryptic answer to why he had cancelled a recent performance in Barcelona, which he should have been at that weekend. For others it was a reason to drop $39 and sell out the design.

At the FYF Festival last month, while most were talking about the way he serenaded Brad Pitt, the sartorially minded had an eye on his "Instant Karma" tee. Many have cited that shirt as a product of a 1992 project which saw Nike licensing the use of a John Lennon song of the same name. And though imagery of a shirt from that project is available, the design differs from Ocean's version. Nike does confirm that it did produce a similar shirt in the '90s, making Ocean's an authentic original.

But most recently, the idea of Tumblr post as Frank tee was on view at Panorama. There, his anti-discrimination tee made countless headlines, racketing up both an incredible amount of sales (over 5,500 according to the company who designed it, Greenbox) as well as a brewing controversy. In fact, it was recently revealed that the design initially was a tweet, essentially reblogged onto a shirt, reblogged onto the Blonde singer's grand stage. Seems like the attention the Frank effect brings can also have a downside.

In a world of embroidered trousers and overly-designed, heavily graphic-ed blazers (if you're into it, no shame) Ocean's pared back approach to dressing and it's added benefit of speaking without speaking, is refreshing, thoughtful even. But would we expect anything less from a guy who released an album one day to fulfill his label contract and launched himself as an independent artist the very next day with another?

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ONE

View original post here:
Frank Ocean Is Quiet. His T-Shirts Are Not - GQ Magazine