The Black Body Counted for Nothing

The Black Body Counted for Nothing

“How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?” is a question asked in the film, Strong Island. Strong Island is a documentary, directed by Yance Ford about the killing of his innocent black brother named William Ford, in Long Island, New York. Ford was shot to death by a white male back in 1992 over a petty argument about his mother. The documentary goes on to display the emotions felt during that tragic time with heart-wrenching interviews from his family and friends. The film brings up and describes how law enforcement treated this incident as if William Ford was the criminal and not the victim solely because of his skin color. Yance Ford’s film Strong Island is an empowering, saddening, and unforgettable documentary. By using specific film techniques and heartfelt, raw interviews, Yance Ford, Strong Island, effectively communicates the message of systematic injustice through a personal and artistic lens.

Unique techniques that are not usually used in documentaries but excels in this one specifically is the use of a close-up shot and hard lighting all in one. Ford uses hard light and a tight shot of his face when interrogating himself. He uses the technique of hard lighting on himself to make the viewer connect with him on a more personal level while still being serious. By doing this in these scenes, it makes the audience stay connected with him and focus only on him and the story he is telling. Charlie Phillips, a writer for The Guardian, voices his opinions about the use of hard lighting in the film. He states that they are intense and sometimes uncomfortable, but by doing this, it makes the film feel more authentic and unscripted (Phillips). The hard lighting is a way of telling the audience ‘don’t look away from me,’ and it gives the viewer no other choice but to stare at him and listen.

It provides a sense of realness and seriousness. Not many documentaries have shots like this; it is a rare artistic style that makes this documentary feel so personal. Another technique Ford uses on himself during his interrogations is close up shots of just his face alone. Ken Jaworowski, a writer for the New York Times, describes these shots to be “intense and elegiac” (Jaworowski). Jaworowski also depicts this close up shots to examine how Ford has suffered emotionally and how he refuses to deal with this tragedy. Ford uses these close up shots to reel the viewer into the story he is telling and make known how important it is. At times watching Ford pick at his brain and question himself can be somewhat off-putting yet intense. Then at the same time, it is so sincere and candid. This brings it back to how personal this film gets. The words Ford speaks during the multiple interviews remind you of the injustice and prejudice many black people have to face in this country.

The family of William Ford was active and ready enough to share their side of the story about William’s death but also what kind of man he was. Ford catches these moments by interviewing close family and friends that were all affected by his death. They share their stories and emotions. At times, it is difficult to watch the heartfelt, raw interviews without being choked up by the words they share about William. They paint him out to be a wonderful man that he was and how undeserving he was of what happened to him. Not only does Ford use these interviews from family and friends to further explain the tragedy, but he also uses them to reveal the raw emotions every person affected by Williams’s death. To reveal how painful his death was to the people that loved him. In the film, Ford interviews his mother, Barbra Ford, as she paints the picture of what she was thinking during William’s funeral. She whispers, choked up, holding back tears, “How are we gonna make it without him?” She also says to herself while at the funeral looking at her dead son, “Just wait till we get to court, this death is not going to be in vain.”

Sadly, little did she know that not a single thing would happen in court except for letting the man who shot William be set free with no consequences. As the audience watches Ford’s mother revisit the most painful time in her life again, they gain a level of how personal this film gets, but also they see how cruel law enforcement treated the Ford family through this time. Robert Abele, a writer for the LA Times, writes about the emotional interview from Ford’s mother. Abele describes it as heart-shattering to see how poorly she was treated by law- enforcement, painting her as if she were the mother of the criminal and not the victim (Abele). The viewer, while watching these interviews get an understanding of how unjust Ford’s family was treated and how prejudice is a real problem, many had/have to face back then and even now. To clearly express the feeling William’s mother felt when her son wasn’t going to get justice for his death, from his mother herself, makes this documentary even more persona. It also makes the audience feel for her. This effectively communicates how wronged the family felt, and rightfully so. Their son shot and murdered; however, it is as if he was the prime suspect in his murder. This documentary explicitly displays the injustice and inequality black people have to face. Moreover, it displays how a white male gets away scot-free just because the victim is black. It is as if his life matters less because of his skin color.

Ford shows the injustice that happened to him and his family through heartfelt interviews and specific film techniques. He does this to expose his truth as well as William’s truth on a personal level. Through Ford’s lens, he takes the viewer through the events taken place during those times. From the kind of brother, William was to his very last moments. This documentary not only shows the death of William but also a family dynamic between the Ford’s. This played a significant role in how personal this film is and how, as a family, they dealt with the injustice they faced.