Law enforcement faces scrutiny as Americans demand justice after police violence claims multiple Black lives in Cleveland. The film examines the case in Cleveland where police officers shot at unarmed suspects in a car 137 times. Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams were the victims. While looking at policing standards within the city of Cleveland, '137 Shots' also examines the shooting of 12-year old Tamir Rice by Cleveland police officers. This film is an extremely tough thing to watch, but necessary in order to bring about awareness for change.
Lesotho's Maseru Central Correctional Institute in Southern Africa holds the country's most dangerous and disturbed criminals. Shockingly almost half the inmates are doing time for rape. The culture of sexual violence in Lesotho has deep roots in society. Women are taken as secondary citizens in their culture. And sexual aggression continues inside the prison. In this episode, Raphael Rowe will spend a week locked up in this African prison surrounded by sex offenders.
'It's really about terror and intimidation and people basically fighting for survival and often committing extraordinary violence in order to protect themselves or to stay safe. It's kind of like the weak dog in the pack. If others spot weakness, they're gonna pounce on you for a couple of reasons. You pounce on that guy, that gives you a little more status. So, I had to ask myself, are you gonna be a victim? No, I ain't gonna be a victim. Well, that really only left me one choice in my mind. That means I gotta be the victimizer. At some point, for some reason, might be legitimate, might not be, someone's gonna test you.. Even if you lose, you're gonna have to stand up for yourself. ' 'A guy comes over, and it's your day to get your package, and he tries to take your package from you that your people sent you, if you let him do it, there's gonna be 10 other dudes, oh, yeah, he let that guy take his package, I'm gonna go get his TV, right down the line until somebody's after your ass. But if you stand up that first time and they see you'll stand up for yourself, even if you lose, people will respect that. Oh, don't mess with him. There's easier prey. Why do you have to go and get that guy and get a couple lumps for it when he can go get that guy's stuff over there, don't cost you nothing. It usually only has to happen once or twice but just as importantly that you didn't go to the man for help... you're gonna be all right.'
Space isn't vast and empty space but a dynamic, cosmic storm. It's a storm that could kill us, but without it we wouldn't be here at all. This is a story about the weird connections, the near misses, the lucky breaks that created this amazing world. For 4.5 billion years our planet has been battered and bruised and punched and pummeled but we're still standing. It's actually the battle that's built us and this is the tale of the tape. Ever wonder how our planet got here? It was born in a cosmic storm. The violence could have destroyed us, but instead it made us.
Morgan Freeman travels the world to study the cycles of war and peace. From the ritualized combat of the sacred Tinku festival in Bolivia to Rwanda's post-genocide reconciliation program, this episode deals with humanity's enormous capacity for violence and the endless pursuit of harmony. Conflict can drive innovation, but is war necessary?
While looking at policing standards within the city of Cleveland, '137 Shots' also examines the shooting of 12-year old Tamir Rice by Cleveland police officers. This film is an extremely tough thing to watch, but necessary in order to bring about awareness for change.