"Fruitvale Station" and The Weinstein Company's Push for Social Justice
The tears had not yet dried, but immediately upon exiting theater 15 at San Francisco's AMC Metreon for a screening of Fruitvale Station, each of us was handed a business card. On one side: an image of Michael B. Jordan (playing Oscar Grant) embraced by Ariana Neal (playing Grant's daughter Tatiana). On the other side: a message encouraging us to channel our newfound rage, confusion, and sadness to fix the injustice we just witnessed on screen.
Call it insensitive, or call it smart marketing, but The Weinstein Company is hard at work making Fruitvale Station more than just something to watch while munching on popcorn. They're engaged in a campaign to raise awareness about social injustice.
Just after midnight on January 1, 2009, Oakland resident Oscar Grant was riding home from San Francisco on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), when he became involved in an altercation. The train stopped at Fruitvale Station and transit officers responded to the scene. While attempting to restrain Grant, officer Johannes Mehserle shot him in the back. A few hours later, Grant, the 22-year-old father of a 4-year-old girl, died at Highland Hospital.
Numerous cell phone users captured the scene and uploaded their videos. Bay Area residents were incensed and protests erupted. Officer Mehserle later testified that instead of grabbing a Taser, he mistakenly grabbed his gun. Mehserle was charged with murder, but a jury only found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He was releases after 11 months in prison.
<snip>
http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2013/07/fruitvale-station-weinstein-company-social-justice?google_editors_picks=true
