The Central Park Five Documentary
The 2012 “Central Park Five” documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon describes the arrest, trial, conviction and later acquittal of five American youth for the horrific crime of assault, rape, and attempted murder of a female jogger, Trisha Meili on April 19, 1989 at New York City's Central Park. The film almost entirely focuses on the lives of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam, the five black and Hispanic young men all between the ages of 14 and 16 years (Houston).
Issues Addressed in the Documentary
The award-winning documentary addresses various issues regarding the case including the rush to judgment by seasoned detectives, unethical practices by the police, racial tensions and the impact of media on the US justice system. A rhetorical analysis of the film reveals the role of pathos, logos, ethos, and kairos, dominant in the film, on the audience and role of the documentary’s content, structure and language on the interaction between the film creators, the text and the audience.
Logos: Using Facts and Reasoning
One of the most significant rhetorical appeals characteristic of the documentary is logos. The creators rely on facts and logical reasoning to create an intellectual appeal to the audience’s critical faculties. The film begins with obvious display of factual pieces of the case starting with the recorded confession of the five the convicted rapist Matias Reyes describing how he committed the vicious crime. Viewers are then familiarized with the names of the five teenage suspects convicted of the crime. The film thus accurately and vividly details the lives of the five including their upbringing in abject poverty and schooling and how one of the five admitted to a different crime he had committed. The conviction of the five suspects in spite of the inconsistent and unsatisfactory testimonies and lack of DNA creates a logical doubt among the film viewers on the rationale of the justice system in the guilty verdict. The film features journalist, Jim Dwyer, putting forth a rational argument on the innocence of the five convicted suspects saying, “All of the jogger defendants have gone home…” (Central Park Five 1:37:43). Also, the documentary appeals to the logic of audience on the unethical practice of the police in realizing the names of the five teenage suspects to the press thus effectively creating a public outcry that played a significant but unquantifiable role in their conviction. The press release was in violation of standard police procedure that prohibits the release of names of criminal suspects below the age of sixteen to media and the public. The logic and facts presented thus create an intellectual doubt on the audience regarding the role of the society, media and justice system on the conviction of innocent suspects.
Pathos: Creating an Emotional Appeal
The film also creates an emotional appeal to the viewership. The constant references of the background of the suspects, their fate, the actual offender’s confession and the opinions of various professionals on the issues arouse feelings of sympathy towards the victims and anger towards the justice system. The documentary utilizes firsthand accounts of suspects to create an emotional appeal to the audience. One element of effective use of ethos in the documentary is with respect to the statements uttered by Saul Kassin, a Professor of Psychology, on the impact of recorded confessions on the US justice system. Kassin states that “…confessions are irresistibly persuasive and almost the effects can’t be reversed” (Central Park Five 1:10:43). These words create an element of anger among the viewers on the police’s action of acquiring false statements of the suspects and the justice system for allowing the use of the recorded confessions of the suspects despite the existence of time gaps and the knowledge that the confessions were coerced from the young men. Towards the end of the documentary Craig Steven Wilder, professor of American History states that “I felt ashamed, actually, for New York and I also felt extremely angry because their innocence never got the attention that their guilt did…” This quote not only gives emotional credence to the skewed social perception of the justice system but also evokes emotions of shame among the viewership. The use of ethos is thus effective in creating an emotional appeal to the audience.
Ethos: Establishing Credibility
A review of the pathos component of the documentary components also reveals the effect of the film on the audience and effectiveness of the communication between the creator of the documentary and intended audience. The credibility of the determined through an analysis of their professional qualifications, the intention of the film and the credibility of the people interviewed in the documentary. Ken Burns is an experienced, award-winning filmmaker with a reputation of creating accurate and detailed documentaries including The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007) and the Vietnam war (2017). Sarah Burns, daughter of Ken Burns, is a lawyer and whose undergraduate thesis was about racism in the media coverage of Central Park jogger case (Burns 1). She also wrote a book on the untold stories of the case in a published book (Burns). This thesis was the inspiration for the documentary. Finally, David McMahon filmmaker and husband to Sarah Burns. The creators of the documentaries referenced distinguished professionals and academically successful individuals whose opinions can be held in high regard by the audience. The intention of the authors of the documentary also gives them credibility since it was to expose the role of racism and media frenzy on the criminal justice and to pressurize New York City to settle and compensate the five victims of injustice. Jim Dwyer is a journalist with the New York Times, Saul Kassin is a Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York while is an American history professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The professionalism, academic integrity and case awareness of the authors and cited professionals in the documentary give them authenticity, credibility, a moral and professional authority on the Central Park five case and thus makes them trustworthy in the eyes of the audience.
Effect of Language, Content, and Structure
An analysis of the language, content, and structure of the documentary reveals significance effect of the audience. The film utilizes imagery to communicate with the audience. The directors use panoramic and scenic images of Manhattan, Central Park, and Harlem to create a vivid perception of the place among the viewership. Repetition is constantly utilized in the documentary. The repetitive utterance of the statements “do you understand?” by the police detectives create a picture of intensity and coercion in the interrogation process of the suspects to the viewers. The first person narrative also provides a personal touch in the film to create an appeal to the inner humanity of the audience. The structure of the documentary features an overview of the case, the setting and chronological order of events. The setting feature pictures of the 1989 and portray the place as full of crime, intense poverty, and racial tensions. It indicates how the media portrayed the case as savage (Byfield). The black and Hispanics are perceived guilty of most crimes primarily because of the predominant crime in the neighborhoods, socioeconomic background, and race. The documentary is chronologically arranged from a night of the crime, interrogation, trial, and conviction and, finally, the vacation of the charges. The language utilized is simple and understandable English to effectively communicate with the audience. The content is delivered with visual and music appeals to the audience. Quiet music is used in interrogations, interviews and serious moments while rap music is used during setting scenes. In overall, the setting, structure, language and cinematic techniques allow for effective communication of the message I the documentary to the viewership.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon’s documentary Central Park Five tells the story of five teenage black and Hispanic suspects wrongfully convicted of the sexual abuse, assault, and attempted murder of a female jogger at Cental Park, New York. The film uses rhetoric tools (ethos, pathos, and logos) to appeal to the audience and its structure, content, and language effectively delivers the directors’ message to the viewers. As discussed herein the creators of the documentary utilized logic and emotional appeal to influence the audience. The professional experience, academic achievements and knowledge of the film creators and interviewed persons gives the documentary credibility and validity. Finally, the film uses simple language, setting of the 1989 social, economic and political environments and also the chronological arrangement of events communicates to interact with the audience constructively. It is thus accurate to declare that the documentary successfully communicates the desired message, of the impact of racial discrimination, media and flawed justice system on the conviction of innocent teenage boys, effectively. It thus serves its purpose as an awareness platform.
Work Cited
Burns, K., S. Burns, and D. McMahon. "The central park five [Motion Picture]." United States: PBS (2012).
Burns, Sarah. The Central Park Five: A chronicle of a city wilding. Alfred a Knopf Incorporated, 2011.
Burns, Sarah. The Central Park Five: The Untold Story Behind One of New York City's Most Infamous Crimes. Vintage, 2012.
Byfield, Natalie. Savage portrayals: Race, media and the Central Park jogger story. Temple University Press, 2014.
Houston, Shannon. “The Central Park Five.” Paste Magazine. (2013). https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/01/the-central-park-five.html
