Rosewood Burning

Less than 100 miles away from me is a town that is a reminder of the hatred that exists in those who grew up in the rural South. I just read Olympia Vernon's book on a similar subject, so it is fresh in my mind. The inhumanity of man towards our fellow man is incomprehensible to me. Whether it is Schindler's List or Rosewood, it is hard to understand. We only have each other, and to think than any one of us is better than the other is pure crap.

This film hits hard. It will move you to tears and anger you at how some people close by are seething with hatred. I would even go so far as to say that if it doesn't viscerally affect you, then you are either dead or part of the problem.

The film itself features outstanding performances by Ving Rhames, Jon Voight, Don Cheadle, Esther Rolle and many others. Their work will hopefully inform the viewer of this great tragedy and remind them that it is not something in the past. Florida's election fiasco of 2000 and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina serve as evidence that the State and federal government is full of racists who continue these acts today.

Rosewood on its own as a movie experience, it's pretty enjoyable. It is kinda hard to watch and you might feel bummed out watching the movie like me but there is great story telling going on. It gets very suspenseful around the middle of the movie and stayed that til the very end. The set design was great, the building and the environment was authentic and the costumes was on point and it felt like I was in this movie for a little bit or went back in time. This movie is based on a true story and the towns are still there today. I wanna say I can't believe these events happened but at the same time I definitely can believe these events happened just watching it.

I am white and grew up in the county where this really happened. I remember as a child driving by the place where this community was. There was a small sign that was put up by the Florida DOT that said "Rosewood" but there was nothing there. I asked my mother why and she was unsure what to tell me. Then when this movie came out I realized what had happened. I began asking the elderly people I knew, but they did not want to talk about this except for my ex-husband's step dad. He remembered being a boy and the mob trying to get his father to join them. He refused to participate and was threatened for the future of his family. I am also ashamed to say that race relations have still not gotten a lot better here. In 1969 when I was in kindergarten, I remember being sent home due to race riots in the high school. I now live in California, and I know some people found the movie distressing. Unfortunately the south has a subculture of violence even to this day. The actors did an excellent job on this film. I am so glad that the filmmakers had the courage to take this story on. People tend to think of Florida as an integrated state because of Miami and Orlando, but central and northern Florida is still very racist. For example the African-Americans still call the whites by names such as "Mr. John" or "Miss Ellen". Then little town I grew up in ,Williston, still has the African-Americans living on one side of the railroad tracks and the whites on the other "better" side. There are some whites that are very decent people and some blacks that are of very poor character. I keep waiting and praying for the day when a person will "be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" in the words of the great Martin Luther King JR. PLEASE SEE THIS MOVIE!! If Americas can take the violence that is in video games and stupid horror movies they should be able to take the true portrayal of man's inhumanity to man in this most wonderful film!!

I saw this movie in my African American Experience class in 12th grade. It was incredibly saddening to know that such hatred exists within this country. The fact that it's a true story makes it worse. Bout time movies like this are being made despite the discomfort to others. Black history should not be denied because whites or anyone else feels uncomfortable or guilty at the end of a film. No one should be robbed of their history because it makes you "feel bad". The fear and isolation are undoubtedly felt through the black characters. To live in absolute fear for your life because of your skin color is perceptible even today. This story forces people to reconcile with the past to avoid further instances in the future. Not to make people feel guilty. Besides, minorities have felt bad in movies for a long time and nobody gave a damn as long as you know who looks good. I'm not militant or whatever else comes to mind. This movie is excellent because it shows a true story in historical fashion. Everyone did an excellent job. I felt anger and I'm sure that wasn't by accident. Jon V. was really convincing. I'm a big fan of his and he really made me dislike him. Just the very events of having a system of hatred set up against someone so that they don't get a chance is played out well in this film. Please do watch and get a little perspective.

Director John Singleton who's first film (Boyz 'N the Hood)left audiences in awe has once again cast an emotional spell upon his audiences. Some people have a question of how historically accurate the film itself is. With some browsing around from site to site I found that the place and time period hold true, along with with the weaponry (I was skeptical about the dual pistol action)used in the film to be weapons of the time period. Also while browsing I came across a quote from the director himself "I am concerned about absolute historical accuracy to an extent, but I am really more worried about being truthful to the essence of what happened at Rosewood... I am making a movie that people will respond to." With that in mind the general plot seemed to take course as accurately as possible, (considering the account of this event has several different death counts depending on the source)all characters used the same names as the real life people, well besides Ving Rhames' character Mann who is entirely fictional built-in to make the movie more interesting. Other than that shady character John Singleton kept to the truth and provoked a variety of emotions from his audience once again, fulfilling his goal.In the end it was a very powerful film on a tragic event.