Cops and Robbers is an animated short film directed by Arnon Manor and Timothy Ware-Hill and is based on the spoken word poetry by Ware-Hill. The short is created primarily by Black artists, students and VFX companies from around the world and is dedicated to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and every Black American who has been a victim of racially-driven crimes.
We are all tired of the police brutality in America, right? You might be living anywhere in the world, but seeing innocent people suffer at the hands of the police for the colour of their skin is not only horrifying, but it is also barbaric. After the deaths of George Floyd, we saw an uprising in America like no other. Americans from all walks of life got together to protest and lend their voice to the movement of their Black brothers and sisters and to bring about justice in this unjust world.
Taking these points into consideration is Netflix’s new animated short film Cops and Robbers. The film, all of 7-minutes-long, is based on the spoken word poetry video by Timothy Ware-Hill. The poem was originally written, directed and performed by Ware-Hill in response to Ahmaud Arbery’s murder on May 6, 2020. Arnon Manor was inspired to create an animated version of Ware-Hill’s poem and thus this collaboration took place. The project is the brain-child of 30 individual students, artists and VFX companies who have lent their voices, thoughts and talents to give birth to the short.
Each segment of the original poem is created by individual artists using their own visual representation of the source material, and the amalgamation of all of these talents has given birth to something so beautiful and hard-hitting that you cannot help but stop and take notice of the film.
The poem itself is a piece of hard-hitting literature that strikes a chord with everyone who has gone through something similar in life. And even if you haven’t, it will still make an impression on your mind like no other. On the other hand, the animation and the VFX all add the extra emotional depth to the short. Cops and Robbers opens your eyes towards the systematic racism and racially-motivated killings, along with the ongoing police brutality that has plagued the lives of Black Americans for centuries.
Cops and Robbers is streaming on Netflix.
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