The Violence Epidemic
Posted on October 31, 2012This weekend, the 2012 murder toll in Chicago reached the total for all of last year – 435 dead, and many more wounded. In all of the election talk about threats to national security we don’t hear much about violence here at home, but it is at epidemic levels in many parts of our country. Out of Chicago comes an extraordinary program called CeaseFire, which creates “Violence Interrupters” – former gangbangers who now intervene to stop conflicts from exploding into violence. “The Interrupters” tells their story, and was one of the very best movies of last year (and it has a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score). It’s from Steve James, whose film “Hoop Dreams” is one of my all time favorites. You can watch “The Interrupters” for free on SnagFilms Thursday at 7pm, followed by a live online Q&A with Steve, his producer (the author Alex Kotlowitz), and Amy Ellenbogen and Rudy Suggs from a New York City program modeled on CeaseFire. Find out more here. And here’s an added-bonus: this is the full theatrical length version of the film, which has never been available on TV or digitally before.
