MovieChat Forums > Valentine Road (2013) Discussion > Everyone is missing the point

Everyone is missing the point

posted 10 years ago by Sonmi
2 replies | jump to latest

The people interviewed in this documentary and those posting on this message board really illustrate the point the documentary is trying to make, and that is to examine the illusory nature of justice and the human desire to take sides. There are no winners in this story, only losers. Why are human beings so incapable of perceiving nuance? Or systemic causes, or the generational cycle of violence and intolerance? We are all products of our environment, including Larry and Brandon. Innocence and guilt are talked about as if it's a matter of black and white, right and wrong. It's all very Judeo-Christian, and it's what leads people to pick their team in the first place. But the reality is much more nuanced. Brandon was filled with rage, from growing up in an abusive household with a drug-addicted mother and a violent, bigoted father. How much would one wager that Brandon's father, and his father before him, were raised in a violent household? Larry was seeking out the love and affection and attention and acceptance he was denied in his childhood. We must actually examine these systemic/generational causes if we are to ever get beyond the counter-productive tribalist tendency to pick a side.

[–] RocketInNYC 10 years ago

I agree with what you say Sonmi. This shows how violence ruins many lives.

That being said, one boy is dead, and the other gets to restart his life in his late thirties.

Sides or not, I don't know what "justice" would be in this case. Part of me says
Brandon should give up his life, being in prison, until he dies. Part of me recognizes that kids are not adults, and their brains are not mature, and therefore actions should not be judged the same way.

It's a mess. Violence among kids is even more of a mess than violence among adults. I hope we can start to educate everyone how to resolve rage - yes rage - in another way other that violence. I don't expect that to happen for generations. It's part of our nature.

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Decisions are made by those who show up! So VOTE!

[–] Helena727 9 years ago

Sonmi, thanks for a truly insightful, and beautiful, post.

While it's hard for me not to feel that Larry was "more" of a victim than Brandon was, it's clear that both of these boys were robbed of the loving and accepting families that should be every child's birthright. If we can't look on Brandon with compassion, then we'll never find the will to address the many problems in this hate-filled and intolerant society.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."