bfred (and others) I should reiterate I'm not saying I could possibly relate to Watson's sentiments, or his actions, but he was very honest in admitting that at that time he was not viewing Denny as a human being. Intellectualizing or judging his crimes 20 years later against our personal standards of what's right and…

And it really is surreal to watch the footage and realize, "This actually happened!" It's absolute anarchy.

bfred, reading your comment out of context as if it was referencing the restaurant chain just made my day.

This reminds me as well that one of the more alarming things I saw in this film that I never realized was that the police evacuated, essentially letting the riots resolve themselves. They probably just didn't count on its migration to other neighborhoods or it lasting 3 days. Arrogance got the best of them there, and…

I think the film's POV (and I tend to agree) is more that this one incident was the spark that blew a historical powder keg, hence the riots possibly seeming out of proportion in a vacuum.

Cmaxtlii, I appreciate your points re: constructs and related privilege. And ya know, I'm a reasonably privileged white Jewish male who still gets paranoid that some random bigot is going to spot me as a Jew and treat me like it's a pogrom. That stuff just gets wired in, and my paranoia is beyond mild compared to what…

I suppose it's true that most New Yorkers exercise a certain unstated, often begrudged tolerance of their neighbors just because of the necessity of rubbing up against them. I keep thinking of Do the Right Thing as we talk about this. It's a really interesting conversation. I don't know L.A. SUPER well, but I've been…

Thanks for your thoughtful comments Camaxtli. I wish I had more time to respond to them one observation at a time, but there's a lot to chew on there and appreciate the food for thought and you taking the time to read the review and engage. Although, P.S. you'd be amazed at how easily NYC can and has segregated…

I was going to mention Crown Heights, but figure that's a whole other ball o' wax.

Exactly, re: Bryan Levy. I'm also Jewish, and I can't help but think of my own people's tendency to always be on guard because of their history, so I do understand that part of it and agree with you.

All I can assume is Watson's got some series issues since that day and needs to disassociate so he can live with himself. It's complicated stuff, that's for certain. He also could be totally together and just being bracingly honest, which is equally intense. But I'm glad everyone was so honest. Ford is clearly a good…

In a way, he doesn't view it as something he did. He's completely disassociated. I can't really judge it one way or the other or really ever understand it, but it is shocking and certainly an effective soundbite.

I failed to mention, although the doc didn't, that this was in the heyday of the C.R.A.S.H. program. Check out Rampart to see the kind of LAPD that thing was recruiting.

Well, I think though that it's an important comment. That is what most people remember. So the doc basically says, "Let's really zoom in on that image" and then says, "Now let's zoom wayyyyyy out." If anything, it should have just kept zooming instead of narrowing to make the music metaphors fit.

Personally, I did my best to be objective and understand the point of view of the people Ford interviewed, since that was basically the thrust and editorial perspective of the film. I think it's a given that what happened to Denny was horrific. And I'm not saying I wasn't shocked by what Boyd and others had to say, or…

Oh god, I can only imagine. Let alone the fringe Twitter response. It was hard not to imagine how this would have all unfolded in the YouTube era.

Wishing I could find the a non-UMG-blocked clip of Rosie's Do the Right Thing dance right now…..

Those still could have been mutually exclusive things, but I for one was kinda "meh" on that whole revelation.

Even the sequel takes 90 minutes till Alien madness happens! God, I love those movies.

You've opened up a Pandora's Box my friend. Check this out if you haven't: 
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