Movie Analysis : Fruitvale Station Directed By Ryan Coogler

Fruitvale Station depicts the real-life case of Oscar Grant III, a young unarmed black man shot in the back by a white police officer on January 1, 2009 in Oakland. The movie begins with cell phone footage of Oscar Grant’s death recorded by bystanders. Grant’s life was tragically cut short due to a white man’s racism and stereotypical perception of a young black man. The BART police officer Johannes Mehserle abused his authority and shot Grant for no other reason but hatred and racism. At the time of the shooting, Grant was unarmed and pinned on the ground in handcuffs. The movie then walks you through the last twenty-four hours of Grant’s life. As you watch the movie and research the aftermath of Grant’s death you a forced to ask yourself a few questions; why does the media have the right to take away Oscar Grant’s humanity? Where do we draw the line between racism and holding others responsible and will the public’s perception of black men and women ever change? Lastly, we must focus on how this case and others impacts African American society and culture. We also must focus on the necessary changes African Americans must make in order to survive in a world that does not value black lives.

In the true story Fruitvale Station, Oscar Grant was racially discriminated after getting into a fight with an ex-inmate at a train station. After the fight, officers hand cuffed him and his friends and threw them on the ground. While Grant’s friends were let off, Grant was innocently shot and killed by one of the officers. In no, shape, form or fashion was the situation correct or supposed to happen the way it did. Oscar Grant did not deserve to be killed the

“ His uncle assumed there was probably an attack on the whole neighborhood, but La Inca gave Oscar a meaningful look that said she knew his activities were the reason their house had been shot at. He still didn't stop to think and consider that he was endangering his family,

Trouble began to brew because of the woman, and it seemed logical to any normal person to discontinue the pursuit; but Oscar’s stubbornness that was frequently depicted in situations throughout the novel led him to his death. In this novel there was no other way for Oscar to die logically; he needed a big bang to bow out of his eccentric life and what better way for him, than to die for love. True love, what Oscar had been searching for his entire life and finally found, had killed him.

As it unfolds in "The Golden Age" section, Oscar is part of a Dominican-American family that lives in Paterson, New Jersey. As a child he is pushed forward to the opposite sex by his mother, which is very proud about his early signs of virility. This is seen as one of the standing characteristics of Dominican males. Further on, we watch the decline of Oscar's success with women as he gains weight and he deepens himself in literature and isolation. This is caused by Maritza's rejection which affected him profoundly.

Everything begins when Oscar at the age of seven his mother finds him crying for a girl and his mother tells him to be respected by women, before this event Oscar was seen in the community as a small playboy Dominican Rubirosa, he has a relationship with two girls at the same time for a week, a week before the girls ask him to have to choose which of the two is going to stay and then the two left him.it can be said that from that moment everything began.

Many can say that Oscar was self-handicapping. He often created situations that he knew would made him fail. For example, he used his weight and inability to talk to girls at hand because he was afraid he would not succeed. He used it as a safety net to make him feel it was not his personality or looks that was drawing him away from girls others thought he should date. Yunior pushed Oscar to get over this fear that was only hurting him but, Oscar gave up every time and went back to “being

Oscar, who was a Dominican man, did not fit the stereotype of a Dominican man. He "couldn't play sports," did not know how to fight, and enjoyed reading science fiction and comic books (Diaz 20). Moreover, Oscar was also not particularly attractive and overweight. Unfortunately for Oscar, Dominican men were "supposed to have Atomic Level G", to "be pulling in bitches with both hands, and be athletic and muscular" (24). Furthermore, they were expected to be extremely macho and exude confidence. It was not Oscar's fault that he lacked some of these characteristics because he "didn't have no kind of father to show him the masculine ropes (15). As a result, he did not have much luck with the ladies and, "everybody noticed his lack of game", criticizing him (24). This illustrates how this stereotype and gender role was widely accepted and how those who defied it were alienated. Thus, life was extremely difficult for Oscar, who struggled with many problems throughout his life because he was not the typical Dominican

All of the problems Oscar faces was because of the curse “Fukú” that his parents brought with them to America. The word fukú means “Fukú American or more colloquially, fuku generally a curse or a doom” (www.shmoop.com). The curse is a supernatural ideas that Oscar’s family brought with them to America. It affects Oscar’s life a lot and his love relation with girls always end up dreadful. All the girls, he dated used him for fun when they felt lonely. He struggles to lose his virginity, can’t lose weight and constantly fighting with Beli and Lola. “It's perfectly fine if you don't believe in these "superstitions." In fact, it's better than fine—it's perfect. Because no matter what you believe, fukú believes in you” (www.shmoop.com). People in

New Year’s Day, 2009, a man is brutally shot by the BART Police of Oakland, California. Fruitvale Station, written and directed by Ryan Coogler, took audiences by surprise as it resonated with twenty-two year old Oscar Grant, a man who was shot down by the BART Police. This movie takes viewers on an emotional expedition as it takes a peek into the life and death of Oscar Grant and his family. The struggles of originating from an African-American background become apparent as Oscar Grant struggles with steering away from racial stereotypes and the misunderstandings of racial profiling.

Oscar P should have been digging for gold but instead he was buried in the grave

Fruitvale station, is a story about the real life Oscar Grant, a black man who was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer in Oakland. This film follows Grant and his last days before the shooting on New Year’s Day. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale station was his first feature film. Coogler expressed that he was interested in making this film because he wanted people to get to know Grant, get attached, so that when a situation like this occurs again, people will care more about that human life (Wikipedia). In addition, the cast includes Michael B. Jordan (Grant), Octavia Spencer (Wanda Johnson), and Melonie Diaz (Sophina Mesa), amongst a few others. However, there is an underlying concept in this film. This film relates back to Double Consciousness and the internal conflict and struggles within African American men.

Oscar is a movie from 1991 it was one of the first screwball comedies which are a principally American genre of comedy that became popular during the Great Depression (Dick 156). Oscar was directed by John Landis and produced by Leslie Belzberg. In Oscar, the main character has a quarrel relationship with his daughter to try to teach her how the “real world” is. Throughout the movie the main character Angelo known as “snaps” always wanted the best for his daughter Lisa; he wanted her to marry a well off man who was able to have anything in the world just for her. Lisa finally tells her father that she is in love with Oscar who is her family’s chauffeur.

Oscar remembers riding in a limousine to his father’s funeral. It was his first time but not his last. No matter how many simulations he runs through in his head, Oscar can’t figure out why his father died. As a child, it’s probably his way of expressing denial. He refuses to accept that his father is gone from this world. As a child narrator, Oscar’s wisdom is beyond his age. He expresses a thought process with too many questions and not enough answers. He even started mailing letters to Stephen Hawking to ask him about his questions. When asked if he was an optimist or pessimist by Mom, it didn’t take him long to reply. “Nothing is beautiful and true” (43). This quote expresses the inner coldness that Oscar feels toward his surroundings.

The film I chose is the most recent film we watched—Fruitvale. A particular scene that I chose is one that I believe was the most significant. It started off when Oscar Grant III was on the train with his girlfriend and some friends. They were innocently dancing to music and just enjoying the New Year. Suddenly, a white male that he knew when he was incarcerated recognized him and they started to get into a verbal altercation—when the white male threw the first punch. Soon, the cops were called and they immediately called on Oscar and his friends to get off of the train (not knowing who started it). However, not once did they even consider the thought of the fight being started by someone other than a black male. Ironically, it was