Saturday, March 17, 2018

CITY ON FIRE

Another new addition to Netflix Australia which I highly recommend is LA 92, a recent (2017) feature-length documentary produced by National Geographic, which examines the incendiary racial riots and violence that occurred in the wake of the police beating of Rodney King and their subsequent clearing of the charges laid against them.
In Australia the King beating and the riots were big news, but there was still so much that I learnt from this riveting documentary, which is composed entirely of vintage news reports and amateur video footage shot by people caught up in the chaotic unrest. Brilliantly pieced together and combined with a powerfully effective score, LA 92 not only educates about its subject but puts you right in the midst of its terrifying whirlpool, which had clearly been simmering for years before the truly incomprehensible King decision (along with the earlier killing of African-American teenager Latasha Harlins by a Korean convenience store worker) forced the powder keg to ignite.