Power

This documentary is a very pointed wake-up call to viewers, demanding that they get a clear picture of the realities of policing in the United States. The country's relationship with the police will be perceived and described differently depending on who you talk to: The reality for a White male will certainly differ from the reality for a Black male. Director Yance Ford's Power gets to the root of why that's the case—and, like many alarming things, once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Power wants viewers to be haunted by what they've seen. It wants us to use that feeling as a conduit for change. Many Americans want a country in which everyone is treated equally and no one is treated unfairly because of their race or station in life. But in order to get to that kind of reality, Power demands that we listen to and understand the history of violence inherent in policing. Through archival footage, images from more recent police shootings, interviews with historians, and first-hand accounts from a Black police officer and an Indian American man who was a victim of New York's Stop and Frisk policy, viewers learn about the damage the U.S. police system has done. The result Ford wants is that his viewers will rise up and demand a better society. With what Power has to show, outcry is the only way to react.