Yance Ford’s 2017 Oscar-nominated documentary “Strong Island” was an in-depth investigation into Ford’s brother’s death and the jury’s subsequent refusal to indict the man who shot him. Ford’s latest film has a whiff of the same sadness and anger that drove that film. “Power” (now streaming on Netflix), which systematically constructs a case against modern American police.
Ford’s documentary is not the first on the subject, nor will it be the last. The intersection of police and the justice system has long been a fascinating topic for documentarians, alongside investigative reporting that unravels assumptions about law enforcement. The results were truly kaleidoscopic. To name a few examples:
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Stephen Main’s “Crime and Punishment” ” (2018, Hulu) follows the whistleblowing police officers known as “NYPD 12.”
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peter nicks “The Force” (2017, on Hulu) captured the never-ending cycle of crisis within the Oakland Police Department.
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ava duvernay’s “The 13th” ” (2016, Netflix) explored the roots of the prison-industrial complex.
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theo anthony’s “all light everywhere” (2021, on Hulu) explored the widespread role of surveillance, such as police body cameras, in maintaining order.
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And Sierra Pettengill “riotsville, usa” (2022, available on Hulu) takes footage of a fake town built in the 1960s to train police to respond to civil wars and turns it into an astonishing history of the militarization of law enforcement. Ta.
“Power” is most similar to “13TH” in its structure and approach, relying primarily on historical context, archival footage of network news and political speeches, and a collection of academics and experts to explain a series of issues. There is. How have police and politics become intertwined? Why have American police become like the military? What does the term “law and order” mean on the ground? How and why are armed police involved in everything from patrolling to strikebreaking?
But where “13TH” often took a poetic approach, “Power” mixes the polemic and the personal. As the title suggests, its purpose is to recognize that much of the modern conversation about police is actually about power: who is in a position of power, when that power can be used, and when it can be given to others. It’s about emphasizing what you can do. Ford acts as the narrator, his voice guiding us through the maze.
This is interesting, even if it’s not particularly new information. Like many documentaries that aim to build a political or social discussion, even if you’re familiar with the history and issues, it’s like drinking from a firehose. It’s not the data that matters, it’s the spidery nature of the argument. Seemingly disparate matters (labor strikes, slave patrols, the removal of Native Americans from the land) are brought together in “Power,” an act of pattern recognition. It’s not an easy read, but it’s a powerful introduction to topics that seem fresh and relevant every day.
