Stranger Fruit

Documentary does a good job of providing evidence to viewers in the case of Michael Brown, who was shot multiple times and, ultimately, murdered by a police officer. Shoes excessive force used by law enforcement but also the ways in which they tried to cover up what actually happened and the motives of the misactions of that particular officer.

This is as bad as it gets in terms of documentary filmmaking. We are in dangerous times, when this sort of material is given credence in legitimate film making circles.

The so-called "bombshell news", the video of Michael Brown's drug barter from the night before ultimately goes nowhere. This would seem to be the main selling point for this documentary, but honestly, so what? It doesn't change the fact that Brown strong-armed the store owner who then called the police. This is a big fat nothing. I mean was Darren Wilson supposed to know the barter arrangement ahead of time?

Not only is this a terrible documentary filled with half truths, logical fallacies and ridiculous premises, its damaging to a community that was starting to heal.

Just once, it would be nice to see a documentary from the police point of view that shows what a thankless, nightmare of a job it is to police these communities. That's the perspective that is completely absent from this piece of garbage.

Without a doubt, THE most blatantly partisan so-called "documentary" ever set to film! Jason Pollack's name should be shunned forever aa "documentary film maker! It is clear as clear can be that Michael Brown's "history" made quite clear that he was a career criminal in the making! He was hardly the "pure as the driven snow" individual he has been depicted by friends and family! Pollack's slanted film makes it appear that Officer Wilson was a predator who viciously killed this fine young Black man, who was innocently walking down the street, Lies, lies, and more lies, disproven by the facts! Facts, which Pollack's chooses to cavalierly dismiss as a "cover up," because the truth does not fit in with his agenda to depict Michael Brown as the "good guy!"

Jason Pollock is a shameless manipulator who has wantonly exacerbated an already volatile situation. He deliberately cuts and pastes to make the ludicrous assertion that Michael Brown "paid for" the cigarillos with a bag of weed. I'm not kidding. That's his whole point. Of course, you can view the unedited video to see for yourself that his "offer" was rejected by the store clerks and that he left the store in a big huff, leaving his "purchases" behind. Pollock also edits out the strong-arm robbery the next day when the store owner obviously knew nothing of any "deal" from the night before.

Many questions remain: Why does Pollock assert that this is new evidence? The store-video footage has been with the store-owner's attorney from the beginning and is now readily available to any who are interested in the truth. Pollock's big score is a big zero. Even if you give Pollock his baseless assertion of some hare-brained drug deal, what difference does it make to the events of the next day? Nothing! Nada! Zip! And anyway, why would Brown leave his merchandise behind if he thought he had "paid" for it?

Pollock uses a lot of foul language and false bravado to try to shame the audience into accepting his ridiculous claims. It seems to work on about half the viewers and that is a sad commentary on the ability of many viewers to think for themselves. Simply put, this film belongs in the trash bin of cheap, propagandistic junk. If it weren't for the hatred and falsehoods engendered by this film, that would be enough. However, Jason Pollock deserves a far worse fate for his wanton distortions and his incendiary rhetoric.

I suspect this film has been targeted by a group of racist trolls. Statistically, the probability of every rating being a "1" is very, very slim. Pollack does an excellent job showing inconsistencies in testimony and the PR efforts of the police department and the prosecuting attorney. Watch it yourself and make up your own mind.