Writing 105

       If you have watched the news at all within the past 10 years, you’d know that guns and use of deadly force by police officers are relevant and recurring topics. Most of the time when we think about guns in the media, horrific events like mass shootings come up. However, in 2014, toy guns had everyone's attention. Cases such as the shooting of John Crawford and 12 year old Tamir Rice made headlines from their similar deaths that were only a few months apart. Filmmakers and married couple Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert examine these cases in their op-doc, No Guns For Christmas. Both people were fatally shot by police after false 911 calls about them waiving a gun around, when in both cases, each person was holding a fake gun. Initially the documentary seems to be about mistaken people frantically calling 911 and police acting violently despite having zero evidence, however the documentary is about race being a significant factor in their deaths. The documenta...

       When you’re watching TV and you hear “inmate,” what words immediately pop up into your head? Probably something along the lines of a violent thug, a robber, or someone villainous. Before watching the Op-Doc Huntsville Station , I would most likely use those words to describe someone locked up in prison. Produced by filmmakers Jamie Meltzer and Chris Filippone, Huntsville Station examines the positive interactions with newly released inmates. The documentary goes against many stereotypes placed on interactions and the personalities of inmates. They depict this by showing the inmates making an attempt to rehabilitate back into society by purchasing clothing at the nearby Huntsville, Texas bus station, borrowing phones to call their families, and scheduling a bus ride out of the city to meet up with their families. Their efforts prove they are ready to reintegrate back into society, but statistics show otherwise as roughly 40% of freed inmates will return to pris...