> >But I think that the movie did wrong to so many people in death row and
> >in prisons by overlooking the race and class issue. And this is why I
> >didn't like the movie. In my mind the movie (and also the film industry)
> >is diminishing and underestimating the whole issue by portraying just the
> >white side of the "problem". The movie doesn't even ask why there are so
> >many people in prisons and death row? Why so many African Americans and
> >Latinos? Why so many uneducated, drop outs, working class people? Why?
> >Why to put money on prisons and police force? Why not to schools and
> >education?
 
but isn't the fact that we're talking about it proof that the movie
didn't overlook these issues?  as i posted earlier, i believe that
robbins is a reader response film maker.  by this i mean that he presents
a story and has the faith to allow his audience to come to their own
conclusions.  i'm sure robbins would be happy to know that we're
discussing issues such as race and class BECAUSE of the film he made.  i
do believe that his point was to make all who viewed the film (no matter
their stance on the death penalty) reconsider their views.  had he gone
the bleeding heart route, he'd have given us another innocent man on
death row film, and we would've been left crying "the system doesn't
work!"  as he told the story however, we're left questioning not whether
the system works, but the value of the system itself.
 
the revolution will not come about through art, but through people--who
may be inspired by art.  there's a difference and i believe that
robbins is keenly aware of that difference.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Rand Bellavia
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        "Religions die when they are proved to be true.
         Science is the record of dead religions."
 
                                        - Oscar Wilde
 
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