Extra Credit Review: The Interrupters-A Must See

On a dreary and chilly night, my friend, Miesha Morse and I attended the University of Southern California’s Visions & Voices event of the screening of “The Interrupters”. Even though, we arrived at the Norris Cinema Theatre fairly early, majority of Frank Sinatra Hall was filled with students. USC’s own alumnus, critically acclaimed director, John Singleton came up to the podium and made a simple, direct introduction. At this point, I was anticipating the documentary to start and soon enough, the film started. 
“The Interrupters” was a film that was created by Steve James in 2011 and was shot over the course of one year in Englewood, Chicago. Englewood should not be confused with California’s Inglewood as this Chicago city is heavily stricken with violence and murder. However, the main focus of the film was the work of the CeaseFire team and their initiative to start a pay-it-forward campaign called the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention aka “CeaseFire”. 
The documentary focused on this Chicago Project. The main characters were the director of CeaseFire Illnois, Tio Hardiman and the violence interrupters, Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra. Majority of the people who were in the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention were former gang members or were former hustlers. One interesting fact that I learned was that Ameena Matthews was the daughter of the infamous Chicago gang leader and Black radical, Jeff Fort. Ameena Matthews was the main violence interrupter as she was deeply passionate about advocating to the youth about expressing their hatred or feelings in a non-violent manner. As Tio Hardiman stated, “she knew how to get in and out with the troubled youth”. Ameena was inspiring as she always spoke wisdom and persuaded the young individuals to not embark in violent actions.
CeaseFire is truly a pay-it-forward movement that can transform at-risk individuals such as Caprysha (Ameena’s focus individual throughout the documentary) to stop the escalation of violence within the urban community of Chicago. Throughout the film and in the discussion, the Violence Interrupters (Ameena, Eddie and Cobe) emphasized that violence is not the cure to solve one’s problems but the individual choice to stop living a life filled with violence is more rewarding, impactful and inspiring. All these three elements are what the members of CeaseFire instill within the individuals they embark throughout their violence prevention program as this project not only helps reduce crime in Chicago but also, transforms the urban youth to change for the better. 

Breathtaking. Inspiring. The power of the individual voice for collective action and empowerment. These were the feelings that I was left with after I watched the screening of "The Interrupters" on November 30, 2012.

Violence Interrupter: Cobe Williams at work for Violence Prevention

Curious for more? Go ahead and be an advocate for Violence Prevention. Visit this link: http://dornsife.usc.edu/events/site/96/900437/film-screening-the-interrupters/