'Fruitvale Station' Raises Awareness About Racial Profiling

 

'Fruitvale Station' Raises Awareness¹ About Racial Profiling

The film includes real footage taken of Oscar Grant's deadly shooting on a train platform by transit² police in Oakland, New Year's Day, 2009.

On New Years’ Eve, Oscar made resolutions.  He decided³ to lead a lawful⁴ life, be loyal to his girlfriend, be a better father and a better son, a tall order after his incarceration⁵.

Coogler humanizes Oscar by reconstructing his interactions with family and friends in the last 24 hours of his life.

“When young people like Oscar die in the streets, people don’t think about the fact that this guy was 22, he had a life and he had people he meant the world to," he said.

Coogler says the film is personal to him because what happened to Oscar could have happened to him, his brothers, his friends.  But he adds, Oscar’s portrayal⁶ is not meant to polarize but to offer a human perspective on a young black man’s life.

He also hopes his film will shed light on racial profiling and how African American males are especially vulnerable.

“So moms give advice in situations: don’t mess with the police, don’t make sudden moves, don’t talk to strangers because they’ll kill you, they'll killl you out of fear or because they thought you had a gun or because you were up to something that you weren't," he said.

Fruitvale Station is powerful, with a strong cast featuring Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

5 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

6 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。