| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 87.3

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| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 87.3 | The History Cooperative

Movie Review

Watts, Then and Now: 1965–1991. Prod. by Tom Perlmutter. Dir. by David Paperny. Barna-Alper Productions, Inc., and Connection's Productions Resources, 2000. 47 mins. (Films for the Humanities and Sciences, Box 2054, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053)

In August 1965 Los Angeles—then the third largest city in the United States—exploded in a massive civil disturbance as a direct result of police brutality. What came to be known as the Watts Uprising, or riot, was driven as well by a complex mélange of factors including unemployment, inadequate housing, racism, and poor educational opportunities. At least thirty-four died—mostly African Americans—and thousands more were injured and/or arrested. Coming soon after the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, this stunning development marked a new stage in the struggle for equality, signaling the rise of Black Power, sharp critiques of the philosophy of nonviolence, and a wave of civil unrest that was soon to hit Newark and Detroit, among other major cities. 1

This documentary employs suspenseful music, interviews with now gray-haired participants in those epochal events, historical footage, and a somber voice-over narration to tell the story. This documentary also touches on the disturbances that swept Los Angeles in 1992 in the wake of the acquittal of officers charged with the beating of the black motorist Rodney King—a beating captured famously on videotape. Though this latter event is marked correctly in the documentary as taking place in 1992, the title of the film leaves the impression that it took place a year earlier. . . .

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