Death by Misunderstanding

Ethan Saylor

I try and keep politics and things not related to movies out of my blog. This one is movie related so I felt I needed to do something more than just click on a link. I am posting this not to denigrate the police but to highlight a problem that gets overlooked. Ethan went to a movie and liked it so much he went back into the theater and sat down to see it again. Ethan died because of a misunderstanding. Ethan's Aid worker warned the Police that physical contact would exacerbate the situation.


I will let you read the letter I received I have a few more points to make at the end. Please feel free to add your name to the petition to make this issue something that people will pay attention to.

My big brother Ethan, who had Down syndrome, was killed by three police officers earlier this year. His crime? Not buying a $12 movie ticket. And now the police officers who killed my brother are getting off with no consequences.

On January 12, 2013, my brother Ethan went to the movies. When the movie was over, he returned to his seat to see it again. Three police officers told Ethan he had to leave, but Ethan didn't understand why. He got frustrated and afraid when the officers told him he was going to jail. His aide came into the theater and told the officers that they should not touch Ethan because it would only make him more upset. He needed time to process their request.
But the officers didn't listen. Witnesses say they threw Ethan to the ground and piled on top of him. Seconds later, Ethan couldn't breathe, and eventually died. The coroner ruled that his death was homicide by asphyxiation.

My family waited six months for the truth about what happened that night, but the officers' own department investigated and decided they deserve no punishment at all.
I started a petition on Change.org calling on the governor and attorney general of Maryland to launch a criminal investigation into the officers who killed my brother. Will you click here to sign?

Part of the problem is that police officers in Maryland aren't trained in how to deal with developmentally disabled people like my brother. I think training is an important next step in making sure that what happens to my brother never happens to anyone else. But I also want the officers who killed Ethan to be investigated for his death.

I am still in shock about what happened to my brother. I am shocked that when I go home, he isn't there. I am shocked that these police officers let a dispute over a stupid movie ticket escalate to a point where my brother died, rather than choosing a passive approach. I am shocked that the investigation was blatantly biased and the police department continues to claim the officers did nothing wrong... like my brother's life didn't matter.

I am sick of being shocked. I want to do something. I want my governor and attorney general to get justice for my brother, to find out what really happened and to implement training protocols so that no other family will ever have to experience the pain my family feels. We miss Ethan every day. He didn't deserve this. And no one else does, either.

Please sign my petition calling on Maryland's governor and attorney general to launch a criminal investigation into the officers who killed my brother.

Thank you,
Emma Saylor
Mount Airy, MD

When I was in high school my theater group did some work with mentally challenged kids and My mother worked as a house mother for adults who were working in the community and staying at a home that was giving them controlled independence. I have learned a lot in my experiences with this community and the one thing you can't assume is our level of understanding and communication is going to be received as you intend it.

This is a small situation that is made incredibly tragic by several escalating events.  The Movie theater manager who insisted his removal could have seen this was not a normal situation and perhaps let him stay. The care giver could have paid for another round and asked for rembersment from his parents. The police could have invited him out with promise of candy or a soda so they could talk. Many things lead to this tragedy that could have been avoided.

But we cant avoid is that all of us need to readjust our thinking when it comes to mental problems in this country.


 

Movies 101 - Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story – 136min - NR

Yasujirô Ozu’s vision in the movie takes a snapshot of Tokyo changing from one generation to another.  It takes place around one family comprising of grandparents and adult children and grand children. The Elderly Couple, Shukichi and Tomi Hirayama (Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama), travel to Tokyo to visit their adult children but they are caught up in their own lives to pay them much attention. The only one who shows them any kindness is their daughter in-law, Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who was widowed during the war.

While they are there the siblings chip in and pay for a trip to a resort so they can free up the room they are staying in for a meeting.  But the night life at the resort is too loud and disruptive so they come home early. Noriko again steps in to assist the family and invites them to stay with her.  During the long trip home Tomi falls ill and passes away. The family is now faced with going out to the country for the funeral. There the children exhibit different reactions to the death of their mother.  One is very quiet and passive and the other is practical and starts to stake claim to some of the belongings.

Noriko is the only one who shows compassion for father in-law, during this exchange Shukichi says that she is such a good person she should remarry as it would not dishonor the memory of their son.  She insists that she is a very selfish person but her actions have shown different.  She is given a watch that belonged to Tomi as a memento. The end of the movie shows her leaving on the train and on to a new future.

My Take Away:

This movie tells the story of how children grown up and become wrapped up in their own lives and at times leave the other members of their family out of their lives.  There is a scene where Shukichi stays out all night drinking. He and his drinking buddies lament the way their children have turned out.  They are all disappointed with their children’s lives and how they are all forgotten when they start focusing on making their own way in life. 

You can see the focus is different from the country life to the city life.  Elements in the story those shows how different life is lived in each setting, all of the children have moved away. 

This is an excellent example of show don’t tell.  We see how the children act we don’t need long explanations of what they are thinking. Their behavior speaks volumes.  Even Noriko is beautifully portrayed as someone who cares and who is deeply lonely at the loss of her husband, but hold true to his memory.  

This is a story that has a message that does not deliver it in a heavy handed fashion; it’s a sermon that is told in a parable, not thundering from a pulpit.

Time for Change

I am going to trying a new format with my reviews on What is Showing Next. I have become far too comfortable with my format and I think its holding me back. A good friend of mine told me that my best writing comes from the reviews that I am angry at. That scared me… Am I only showing my passion when I am angry? Am I going to be known as the angry reviewer?

After a long talk with my editor I have decided to avoid the form and just say what is on my heart. I do love movies, all kinds of movies I even re-watch movies that I hate, that’s how much I love the movie experience. Hell I hated Starship Troopers and I saw that four times in the theater.

 My editor suggested before I write I down a few shots so I have no inhibitions in my work. I am going to try and open up on the page and see if I can do this without the liquid courage. My review of Pacific Rim is going to be a little late because I have to write it again this time free of fear, concern for how people might feel if they read it and just be me.

Wish me luck.