THE INTERRUPTERSBY JASMINE HARRIS

ASHLEY ALABO

OVERVIEWThe PBS documentary, The Interrupters, tells a story about three people trying their best to prevent violence in their Chicago communities.

CINEMATOGRAPHYStrategic scenes shown to further explain the depth of the issue occurring in Chicago. In one note worthy shot shows a shot up car. One of the violence interrupters states that a 13 year old boy died there. The scene is then followed by several shots of home-maid memorials for young deceased teens throughout the community.

BIASED?

Yes• The film purposely showed characters who were

exposed the that specific type on environment; no diversity in situations.

No• The film highlights several characters purposely

to give insight on both sides of the story: The interrupters and the offenders.

• There were several situations being brought to light and how several people dealt with the issues, either accepting the help or ignoring the signs.

HOW CAN VIOLENCE BETWEEN YOUNG PEOPLE BE PREVENTED IN OUR COMMUNITIES?As a community, the need of adults to be involved in the lives of young people is greatly needed. By simply talking to young people and assisting them in channeling frustration into something productive and healthy, can we prevent so much violence from occurring in our very own homes.

LINKS OF INTEREST

• High school drop out prevention info:

• www.americanpromise.org/our-work/Dropout-Prevention.aspx

• www.learningmatters.tv/blog/web-series/discuss-how-do-we-best-prevent-dropouts/9834

• Poverty among minorties

• www.bread.org/what-we-do/resources/fact-sheets/african-american-poverty.pdf

• www.pewhispanic.org/2011/09/28/childhood-poverty-among-hispanics-sets-record-leads-nation/

• www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15957422