8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: The Killing of George Floyd

2020, Society  -   15 Comments
3.98
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Ratings: 3.98/10 from 91 users.

From Brussels to New York City, the cries and chants of impassioned protesters have resounded throughout the globe. They seek to expose the continuing dominance of institutional racism and to foster meaningful reforms in law enforcement. This all comes in the aftermath of what many view as a sickening act of racially inspired violence. Produced by Sky News, the documentary 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: The Killing of George Floyd recounts this cataclysmic event, the public furor it has aroused, and what societal adjustments might be achieved in its wake.

On May 25, 2020 in Minnesota, during what should have been the routine apprehension of a suspect following reports of a minor criminal incident, George Floyd was killed by an arresting officer. The officer firmly planted his knee at the base of Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as he pleaded for his life. Autopsies have characterized this event as a homicide and concluded that Floyd could have been dead from cardiac arrest during the final three minutes of this encounter.

As cell phone video of the incident began to leak out to the media, the public outcry began to grow. In a matter of hours, protesters took to the streets to express their disdain for yet another officer-involved murder of a black man. This latest incident was not a rarity in American culture; it reflects the long and tortured history of racism that dates back to the roots of the country. But the activism that has grown in the immediate aftermath of this incident feels vibrant with renewed possibility. How will the new generation take the fight for equality to the next level?

The film explores the current conversations surrounding these important issues, including the culpability of those in power who have encouraged racial strife, the power of everyday citizenry to affect change, and the need to rethink the role of law enforcement in communities of color.

Narrated by actor Idris Elba and featuring interviews with noted racial equality activists, 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: The Killing of George Floyd is a searing and of-the-moment look at a defining moment in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Directed by: Gilberte Phanor, Toby Sculthorp

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15 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Phil Buchanan

    America... The greatest country in the world built on slavery.
    It’s a good thing Black People don’t want back pay.

  2. Winston Smith

    Racist propaganda

  3. Peter Hill

    Floyd was an ex criminal who broke into the house of a pregnant woman and threatened her with the gun pointed at her stomach. RIP to all innocent victims killed by the police.

    1. Percy

      That's weird? Because your "fact" of him doing that is actually completely false. He does have a criminal record, but that is nowhere on it. Don't comment on topics you have false information about.

  4. Anto

    This documentary conflates police brutality with racism. The harsh reality is that police abuse their power without regard to race. American media is currently reliant on a divided country.

  5. User 1

    Thanks for posting TD. There wasn't much that wasn't seen already, but it did serve the purpose of giving us a run down. I look for a video for Elijah McClain now. His life was taken with even less of a violation to the public.

  6. Iain Sanders

    Armed gang-house invasion, is not a Social occasion!

    1. Gator

      Nor is following up rioting, murdering, looting making a black martyr out of a violent career criminal productive.
      Watch "G. Edward Griffin: Communism and the Civil Rights"

  7. Shella

    #ICantBreathe

  8. suzanne petersen

    It is very nice that these people still refer to these rampaging pigs as officers. How many have they brutalized and murdered when no one was looking?

    1. DM Ferra

      Probably a fraction of the number of police brutally killed in the process of protecting everyday citizens, and an infinitesimally smaller number than the countless human beings the police come to the rescue of day after day after day. Don't project onto the innocent and trustworthy police the reprehensible acts of a few -- anymore than we do that with our fellow human beings because some humans are violently evil. This is the human story of flawed human beings who can do terribly wrong things. That doesn't mean all of us are always doing terribly wrong things.

    2. Tom Pain

      Correct. 2 weeks PRIOR to Mr Floyd's murder there were 2 murders of black people by cops! Since Mr Floyd's murder there have been MORE murders of black people by cops. All victims were unarmed, posed no threat and were needlessly slaughtered. The death toll that has NOT been caught on video is unknown and probably of shocking proportions. This is a systematic series of events that eerily looks like an agenda and policy. Very alarming and creepy, but unfortunately nothing new.

    3. Gator

      Blacks kill more blacks than any other race.
      Blacks kill more whites than whites kill blacks.
      Just imagine if whites rioted and looted and murdered every time a white was raped, robbed or murdered.
      Black lives, or any other colored lives, don't matter to blacks.

  9. Tom Lane

    #ICantBreathe

    1. Urban dweller

      There is a police "culture" of not "telling" on other officers...and a police union that sanctions murder.
      Someone suggested the idea that ALL officers will be fired who are in attendance...not just the one doing the harm but those officers who can't or who won't say anything now because of a destructive "police culture."
      With all attending officers equally implicated...they can easily speak-up and say stop to those officers who get out of control. Telling him, "Stop, because I don't won't to loose my job."
      it's a great idea. Easily enforced. Pointing out no one officer to suffer retaliation from other officers for speaking up.