CAST OF FRUITVALE STATION MOVIE

The director, the actors, and actresses went through extensive research to create a film that told the true story of Oscar Grant. This story appeals to logic and fact by simply being an accurate account of Oscar’s life. A story about the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old who was shot and killed by a BART police officer. He is growing as a character, and forming a relationship with the audience deeper than before.Ĭoogler uses the appeal to logic, otherwise called logos to sustain the realistic element of Oscar as a character and Oscar’s actions before his murder. It’s in this scene, the viewers see Oscar in a more in depth light. How he values her opinion, he wants to make her happy, and keep her from worrying. Coogler uses pathos in this scene to emphasize how strong his relationship is with his mother. Although, there is no overly affectionate language or hugging, the mother’s simple smile, and kind eyes looking at Oscar proves her unconditional love for him. During this scene, Coogler creates a quiet environment and focuses on both of their faces individually, then together, giving the feeling a true mother and son relationship. Mid way through the film, at his mother’s house, Oscar helps clean the dishes after shopping all day for her birthday. For example, the relationship he has with his mother. He is believable.Īside from the scenes with his daughter, Coogler uses the appeal to emotion through Oscar’s other relationships. These switches in his character, both good and bad, allow the audience to create a relationship with his character realistically.

CAST OF FRUITVALE STATION MOVIE

However, the next scene his daughter enters the movie for the first time, and Oscar proves to be a loving and caring father. Coogler paints Oscar in the way he really was, no angel.

He admits to cheating on her, which also appeals to the audiences’ emotion, but in a negative light. Soon after, Oscar and his girlfriend, Sophina, played by Melonie Diaz, have a conversation about his unfaithfulness as he blows marijuana smoke in the air. Coogler didn’t want Oscar to be pitied solely because he was shot. The black screen allows the audience to gather an idea of him from the words he says, without sympathizing with him, or having a preconceived notion of his character. These are the first words he speaks about himself. For example, the first scene is a black screen and the audience is introduced to Oscar for the first time. Coogler made sure to create a character that was real, someone who made mistakes, but had a good heart. Coogler is appealing to the audiences’ natural tendency to emotion.Īlthough, Oscar embodies the victim in the real footage scene, he is a real person with serious issues, as we find out shortly later. Fruitvale Station starts off with a bang, hooking the audience in the first two minutes, immediately evoking painful and scared emotions. The second scene, recalls the 2009 footage, captured by a camera phone that belonged to a bystander, ending with screams and a single gunshot. Through the use of pathos, Oscar connected with the audience and developed a certain relationship with each viewer.

Oscar portrayed both strengths and flaws in his character. Oscar, played by Jordon was a loving, yet troubled man trying to get on the right path. Jordon, a young black actor, delivered a moving performance that had critics raving. Coogler, determined to keep the story of Grant remembered, unlike the others, infused rhetorical concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos, to create a riveting and effective account of Oscar Grant III as a person, but more importantly as a victim of our racist society. Fruitvale Station, what the New York Times calls “sensitive and powerful” is a film that will go down in history (Scott 1). Other stories concerning the deaths of young black men are usually discussed for the few weeks surrounding the incident, and then never examined again. Oscar’s shooting set off riots, put news stations in frenzies, and made for a very frustrated American society. This critically acclaimed film is effective in not only creating an accurate account of Grant’s twenty-four hours before his murder, but also providing the audience with a humanized and humble main character. Young Ryan Coogler’s, Fruitvale Station is the adapted story of Oscar Grant, but more importantly the divides in our persistently, cancerously segregated American society.

Oscar Grant III, someone who I believe is gone but never forgotten was shot by a white BART transit police officer in San Francisco, California on the night of January 1st, 2009. A phrase that is often tossed around, but rarely infused with meaning.

Cast of fruitvale station