America claims to be a nation of laws. Yet, day after day, we watch as those in our government, our immigration system, and our police forces ignore those laws or apply them unequally. Art often precedes justice, and in the case of this week’s film and TV selection, we’re still fighting for the issues raised within.
More than anything, these selections raise some very important questions for each of us who live in and want to see the success of the idea called America. Who are we? Can we be truly free if the least of us is not free?
If America ignores its laws, what will happen to this grand idea to which we’ve all pledged allegiance as children?
Inherit The Wind (1960)
Available on Tubi
A teacher is arrested for teaching evolution, a violation of a city code in the movie town of Hillsboro. A courtroom drama that pits religion against the quest for knowledge and free thought.
Amistad (1997)
Available on MGM+ and Fubo
Enslaved Africans stage an uprising on the slave ship taking them from their homes to America. The men are held in Connecticut pending trial. With the help of a free man and the lawyer he hires, the men mount a defense for their freedom.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Available on Tubi
12 Jurors decide the fate of an inner city teenager. Their verdict and his life are intertwined in this tense battle of reason and evidence.
How To Get Away With Murder (2014)
Available on Tubi
Annalise Keating is a brilliant attorney who teaches a class called “How to Get Away With Murder.” From her students, she chooses assistants to help with her real-life cases outside the classroom.
Better Call Saul (2015)
Available on Netflix
This “Breaking Bad” spin-off series follows Walter White’s attorney Saul Goodman when he was still Jimmy McGill, a small-time legal hustler.
A Time To Kill (1996)
Available on Tubi
A Black father shoots the racist man who rapes his daughter as the man is scheduled to come to trial. Now the father needs to defend himself and hires a rookie lawyer to take the case.
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Available on Tubi
Four Nazis are tried in a court. The film takes the viewer on the descent of a democracy into fascism.
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Available on Amazon Prime and Google Play for a fee.
A Southern Lawyer defends a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.
