I’m essentially republishing a diary from yesterday because I think the subject deserves as many eyes as possible.
The latest directorial effort by John Ridley — who probably needs no introduction here — is airing tonight, Friday, April 28 on ABC at 9/8c. It’s called Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992. If you have a chance to see the unedited version (almost 2 ½ hours), it’s probably worth making the effort because at least some of the impact is going to be lost watching it on commercial television. Hopefully, at least some of it translates to a smaller screen.
The story is about the decade leading up to the riots following the acquittal of the LAPD officers who savaged Rodney King. Tonight’s airing is almost 25 years to the day after the verdicts were announced. I believe it’s worth a diary here because it’s really unlike just about any other documentary that I’ve seen, anyway. Rather than having experts talk about the trial and aftermath — as well as the decade that led up to it — the story is all told by people who had various personal involvement. None of it is sugar-coated; it’s real and it’s raw and it’s emotionally draining.
Also, I cannot strongly recommend enough that you do yourself a favor and read nothing about it before watching. Do not read any reviews and do not do your own research to refresh your memory of those events. Put your faith in Mr. Ridley and the editing because it is phenomenal and critical to your experience; you simply must watch it as it unfolds. My only quibble with the film is that I wanted another hour because it left some questions unanswered — but maybe that’s because we need to find the answers ourselves.
Mr. Ridley’s isn’t the only documentary taking a look back, as NPR has details on other efforts that take on varying viewpoints of the events that led up to the incident and its aftermath.
The biggest question, of course, is what has changed for the better in 25 years.