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Spoiler alert! If you are going to see the movie Blindspotting and do not want any spoilers, then perhaps put this on your reading list for later. If you have already seen it or don't care about spoilers, read away!
In the movie, Collin the main character is a young black man who is on parole. Collin is driving home from his job and is at a stop light when another young black man runs in front of Collin's truck. Closely behind the man running is a police officer chasing him. The police officer ends up shooting the young black man on the run right in front of Collin. Throughout the movie, Collin has flashbacks and nightmares of the young black man shot and killed in front of his very own eyes. Collin appears to be demonstrating symptoms of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as evidenced in his frequent nightmares, anxiety, and flashbacks associated to the event long after it occurs. As we continue to follow Collin throughout the movie, it appears to be obvious that Collin is also experiencing a great deal of guilt for witnessing the murder and not saying anything. The movie as mentioned in the title of this post, brilliantly demonstrates what has been happening in our society. As a society we are shocked, appalled, and saddened by all too frequent police brutality to people of color, but as individuals how do we cope with these tragic shootings/deaths?
It is easy to put it aside because if we do not know the person personally, we may think it is easier to detach, however seeing multiple police shootings and killings of people of color is horrifying and beyond saddening. Just like any loss we need to discuss and process the impact of these losses. Bringing our concerns to the media and speaking to other concerned individuals helps move us along in the grieving process while providing awareness to the general public as well. "You Cannot Change or Heal What You Don’t Acknowledge"- Alex Blackwell.
In the movie, Collin speaks to his ex-girlfriend and best friend Miles about witnessing the murder which appear to help him process through his grieving as he did not speak about it initially. Although Collin's experience may be a unique one, we can learn a lot from this movie. One of the main things we can take away is that we need to talk to others and process losses even if they do not directly affect us.
As always- Thanks for talking it out,
Melissa