Trigger warning: This short film contains a graphic depiction of police brutality. Viewer discretion advised.

Science Fiction as a genre is known for its capacity to hold up a mirror to reflect issues society is grappling with at any given moment in time.

Right now, the United States is having a monumental reckoning with its legacy of systemic and structural racism that has always oppressed, disadvantaged, and even killed its Black citizenry.

The main theme of futuristic short BINGE WATCHING by British-Nigerian filmmaker Nosa Igbinedion is ripped from current headlines: Police brutality directed towards Black people.

The short is about a white, privileged, bored London suburbanite who is attempting to distract herself by using a highly advanced, virtual Netflix-like entertainment system.

She stumbles upon a program which allows her to see through the eyes of a young Black man.

The man is outside on the street waiting for a ride home when he is accosted by two police officers. Violating his civil rights, the two officers aggressively confront the man and the encounter ends in violence.

I am going to be frank here: this short film was extremely painful for me, as a Black man, to watch - especially in light of the protests and demonstrations ignited here in the United States by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers.

What is eerie is this short was filmed before Floyd’s death and released online the day after his murder.

Adding even more tragic verisimilitude to the short is the fact it is based on an actual encounter the filmmaker experienced with the police.

BINGE WATCHING is a difficult and challenging viewing experience.

It is also a very powerful, important, and necessary one.

Racism detrimentally affects the lives of millions of Black people in the United States and elsewhere. And as depicted in the short’s final, infuriating scene, it is also indifference and apathy on the part of the privileged which allows the devastating affects of gross inequality to continue.

Watch BINGE WATCHING in its entirety below. Then I urge you to share it with everyone you know.

Racism and police brutality disproportionately affect the lives of Black people. Take a stand against injustice by supporting organizations fighting for justice and equality: Organizations Fighting Against Injustice

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