LA 92

 

Release Date: April 28, 2017

Watch Date: May 25 - May 26, 2023

"Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, LA 92 immerses viewers in that tumultuous period through stunning and rarely seen archival footage. Produced by two-time Oscar winner Simon Chinn and Emmy winner Jonathan Chinn and directed by Oscar winners Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, the film looks at the events of 1992 from a multitude of vantage points, bringing a fresh perspective to a pivotal moment that reverberates to this day."

    This is a masterpiece. It really is.

    The issue of race is one often covered in documentaries, but so soon after the summer of protests in 2020, this film seems even more poignant. And it makes those riots and protests seem like another link in a chain, as this documentary itself references an earlier event in 1965.

    The trial of police officers who attacked Rodney King was mishandled, and justice was not served that day. I don't think anyone would agree that it's an excuse to destroy buildings, kill others, and loot. But it happened, because rage is like a fire that often burns out of control. But that footage could have been shown and I could have been told it happened in 2020, and other than the fashion and the quality of footage, I wouldn't have known any better.

    There's not just racism shown in one direction either, there is racism against every single member of the multicultural hub that is Los Angeles. Because everyone is capable of judgement and hate. Now, in the western world, is that bigotry and racism and judgement mostly pointed in one very specific direction - absolutely - but no one is immune.

    Bob and I were often shocked, and usually devastated by the images shown. Outraged at various moments. Annoyed and frustrated by the system, a system that continues to be broken, and by people who hurt others as a symptom of their own pain.

    I don't want to say too much because this really is a documentary you should experience, and not just be told about. But it's tragic and beautiful, it tells the story completely and wonderfully, not hiding from any detail, no matter how gruesome, and ties it to past events, and future ones, seamlessly and poignantly. The past is prologue is a significant tagline, and if change does not occur in our society it will just continue, and continue to fester until it blows up, again and again.

    We can and must do better, for our sake and the sake of our children.

    It's a masterpiece, could have earned many more awards than it did and certainly deserved the one that it did earn.