Social Issues In Ken Burns's Central Park Five

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The main issues centered around Ken Burns’ Central Park Five documentary are malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress that the Central Park Five suspects faced and experienced. Provided in the documentary is background information, interviews, expert analysis, and associated facts related to the case and the conviction of five men. Throughout the documentary, it is insinuated that the New York police department had information that should have connected Matias Reyes, the perpetrator who ultimately confessed to the crime, to the case at the time that it happened. In the evidence given, there was DNA that distinguished him as the sole contributor of the semen obtained from the rape victim. The documentary is both political and social. It is considered political due to the intention that the director hoped to gain from the documentary. Prior to the release of the documentary, in 2003 the Central Park Five sued New York city for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress. The director, Ken Burns, stated that he hoped the documentary would persuade New York City to settle the lawsuit. The lawsuit was settled in 2014. It is considered social due to the social issues the documentary presents. One of the major social issues that the Central Park Five faced in the late 1980s was racial discrimination. In a city where race/color of an individuals’ skin categorizes crimes, it is not surprising that when a …show more content…

A few of his documentaries have been awarded Academy Award nominations and won several Emmy Awards. Ken Burns’ documentaries are well known and are highly rated. Not only was Central Park Five documentary very high rated from film critics, it was nominated and received multiple awards among the film world for Best Documentary. Using background, interviews, and new reports, Burns takes the audience back to how the case developed and what became of

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