Riotsville, USA

Great use of archival footage, shifting back and forth between these horrendous exercises that have helped shape the way the US has continued to militarize its police force against its own people and then the broadcast footage of the spin of why this was a necessary and good thing. Tough to watch at moments and think of the way it's progressed in the decades since.

Would be interesting to see this grapple with the connections between the past and present, but I also appreciate the choice of allowing us to just make those connections ourselves instead.

Great use of archival footage, shifting back and forth between these horrendous exercises that have helped shape the way the US has continued to militarize its police force against its own people and then the broadcast footage of the spin of why this was a necessary and good thing. Tough to watch at moments and think of the way it's progressed in the decades since.

Would be interesting to see this grapple with the connections between the past and present, but I also appreciate the choice of allowing us to just make those connections ourselves instead.

Use of reconstituted footage is a documentary style that I have always liked a lot since it feels like a sort of collage-style of building a narrative that connects the past to today. Riotsville, USA is very effective in this regard, showing the folly of the idea that the American government to control its people, weaponizing itself with half-baked assumptions and misinformation which in turn served to militarize our police against black and brown communities. 

The end card before the credits notes the time period when this documentary was being produced, which, when recalling certain talking points said by media and politicians during the time period Riotsville, USA covers, produces a disheartening and uncomfortable parallel with how talks of “civil unrest” are discussed by those same groups today.

Use of reconstituted footage is a documentary style that I have always liked a lot since it feels like a sort of collage-style of building a narrative that connects the past to today. Riotsville, USA is very effective in this regard, showing the folly of the idea that the American government to control its people, weaponizing itself with half-baked assumptions and misinformation which in turn served to militarize our police against black and brown communities. 

The end card before the credits notes the time period when this documentary was being produced, which, when recalling certain talking points said by media and politicians during the time period Riotsville, USA covers, produces a disheartening and uncomfortable parallel with how talks of “civil unrest” are discussed by those same groups today.

This was a really interesting and cool way to film a documentary. Unfortunately I am exhausted and could barely pay attention to what was happening so I may need to give this a rewatch in the future.

This was a really interesting and cool way to film a documentary. Unfortunately I am exhausted and could barely pay attention to what was happening so I may need to give this a rewatch in the future.