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.

An Empty Seat in the Balcony

Rodger Ebert succumbed to his cancer this week and it only fitting that I post about him and his work and his influence on me. I remember watching him when I was a kid and truly enjoyed his reviews and his arguing with his partner Gene Siskel. Even when His and Siskel did not see eye to eye, it was a disagreement that was done out of respect because a good healthy dialog expressing points of view were valued. What I enjoyed most in his work was that he spoke to the audience because he was truly in love with movies. When I was a kid I used to measure my views with his almost like walking in his footsteps to help develop my film palate. When I was older I found myself not agreeing with his views as often because I had developed my own tastes but I always appreciated his point of view. His reviews were written in a very conversational style it was very open, honest and beautifully written.  His passion for film was infectious, I remember reading his reviews and it seemed like he was talking directly to me. In High school I was in the drama club all four yeas I was a performer. It was my dream to one day have my performance reviewed by him.

I met him once in Boulder, Colorado after I had gotten out of the Army. I was floating around not really knowing what to do with my life and he was hosting a screening of Silence of the Lambs. It was magical to be in the same room with him, I was completely start struck. After the screening he was talking with people, he was answering questions and was completely approachable, he answered every question without seeming put out or rushed. I stood close by for his entire time there, I was really directionless and had no place to go, he had to answer one question three different times and each time he did he was without frustration or being short tempered. He had gotten through all of the questions and turned to me, looked me in the eye and the best I could muster was a stupid grin and a short nod of acknowledgement.

If I could jump back to that moment, I would say thank you. Thank you for the years of inclusion I felt through your work. For giving the title of critic a good and solid bar to be measured by for providing an example for new and upcoming writers who love movies just as much as you do. Thank you for not looking down your nose at movies. Thank you for your honesty and your support of the explosion of new media. I know that at the time he hadn’t done some of these things yet but, hey I am going back in time from today. Perhaps this is a lesson to not let the opportunities pass, live your life with an understanding that nothing last forever and when you have an opportunity take it, don’t just grin and nod your head.

He had a story at the front of his book “Your Movie Sucks” it was about the first time he viewed the movie The Brown Bunny how he talked with Vincent Gallo about the problems with the movie and Mr. Gallo went back and re-cut the film, This is how I see his reviews as not sharp barbs or insults but a real desire to get people to improve their product. He knew the power of the medium, and he at times pleaded with some filmmakers to make a better product for social reasons.

Another example of his wonderful support was his help for a blog called the Mandy / Ebert Project; he gave her some encouragement by directing people to her blog. The direction of the blog was that Mandy is going to go through his book and review each movie. It was acts like this that really highlight how wonderful he was. You can read her stuff here The Mandy/Ebert Project she is truly a talented writer. I am trying to make my voice heard in this huge universe of media, if I ever make it as someone with influence I am going to live by his example and support people who are struggling to get started. Whoever asks for help I am going to try and help as best I can. How you treat your fans is so telling, I think that is the difference between true greatness and just fame.

Writing feels hollow now, I feel like a complete and total fraud for ever trying to write reviews but I guess it’s going to take more writing to fill the gap left by him. I don’t presume to be a replacement for Mr. Ebert no one ever can. All I can do is promise to keep the conversation open in the same manner he did, with tireless dedication and a passion for the movies.

It’s his way of communicating that I am trying to model. I write my reviews in a limited explanation of the movie to make sure to not give anything away. If you see it in the trailer I write about it so they are giving away the spoilers not me.  I try and keep the technical jargon to a minimum if you want to talk about the Depth of field of a shot or the 180⁰ rule, well it seems like more of a guideline today, The benefits of mes en scene or shot composition, or how the 3D effects after productions are completely different from the shots captured with a 3D camera we can do that. How a long take is different than tracking shot and it can be the most underappreciated and the most challenging shot to do.

Most people want to talk about how the stories made them feel what effect it had on them and I am willing to have whatever conversation you want but I am going to gear my reviews to just the person who enjoys movies and the conversation that happens after them. Good movie or bad movie it doesn’t matter, what you take away from it is way more important than what aspect ratio they filmed it in.

In parting I would just like to say Mr. Ebert if you can read this, know I am going to try my best to keep up the good fight for communicating and supporting this thing we both love, movies. Rest well sir, rest well.