6. Fruitvale Station Is Released One Day Before The George Zimmerman Trial Verdict
The Movie: Ryan Coogler's 2013 movie depicts the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a young black man shot and killed by a white police officer under dubious circumstances in 2009. The Release: Fruitvale Station was released on July 12, 2013, just one day before the trial verdict of George Zimmerman, the white Hispanic Florida man charged with second-degree murder after shooting dead 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted, and the film's presence in cinemas couldn't have been better-timed, a reminder of injustice and the outrage surrounding white-on-black violence. Though TWC claimed that it wasn't deliberately drawing a parallel between the film and the case, ads for the movie aired during trial coverage, and writer-director Coogler had no qualms about mentioning Zimmerman while doing the press rounds.
Jack Pooley
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
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