10 Most Emotional Moments In It's A Sin

3. Jill Is Attacked By The Police

It's A Sin
Channel 4

Moving away from the AIDS plotline for a moment, it's incredible how It's A Sin also manages to cover other controversial subjects apparent in the 80s such as protestors rights and racism.

The latter issue comes to a head at the climax of episode four when, during an AIDS awareness demonstration, Jill is attacked by a group of policeman and, despite showing no resistance to them, is brutally bludgeoned in front of her parents.

As mentioned, there's clearly some racist implications at play here as Jill is black, and the attack highlights just how many social issues there were in this time period, including police brutality. It's a harsh reminder of the time period too - many people who lived in the 80s now look back on it with fondness (the first thing that comes to mind for this author is the music), but it really was a troubled period with a lot of challenges for the people who wanted to make positive change.

All Jill did in this situation was care about her friends, and ended up becoming a victim of the state herself.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Jamie is a freelance broadcast journalist and writer, with a particular obsession for sci-fi, theatre and politics. In his spare time he enjoys amateur dramatics and making homemade curries.