The thin blue line. JSTOR. 872 S. Milwaukee Ave. Libertyville, Illinois 60048. With that in mind, government agencies, schools, and practically every other nay-saying organization probably ought to think twice before trying to remove or censor its use. Sherwin criticizes The Thin Blue Line for failing to resolve what he calls an "acausal" plot, referring to certain details about the case that were presented but remain unanswered, such as where Adams actually was the night of the crime (Adams himself answers this question by stating that he was watching TV in his motel room and fell asleep, but this is left without conclusive explanation, with Adams' brother, who was in the motel room at the time, not appearing in the movie to corroborate the explanation). 4.8 out of 5 stars. Film Quarterly 46.3 (Spring, 1993): 9-21. Web. Morris' camera broke down on the day of the interview, forcing Morris to use a tape recorder to document the dialogue. La Mesa police Lt. Greg Runge, a spokesman for the department, which displays a small version of the flag on its fleet of police vehicles, called it "a symbol of solidarity and professional pride within a dangerous, difficult profession and a solemn tribute to fallen police officers and their families.”. Errol Morris. Anderson, John. 26 Nov. 2010. "It's not meant to be about hate" or create a divide, said Schaeffer, whose cellphone case is decorated with the thin blue line flag. Social Media. [26], The film was scored by composer Philip Glass. Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text. The idea is that police are the force that stands between law and order and chaos, the force that safeguards society against disorder. © (Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune). Someone asked me, ‘Why Philip Glass?’ And I said, ‘because he does existential dread better than anybody. JSTOR. Among police officers, it represents a symbol of valor in service, in a fraternal sense. 26 Nov. 2010. [15], Morris later chose to refocus his research efforts into an investigation on the circumstances of Randall Dale Adams' conviction. The poster for the film gave it the feel of a whodunit, with the tagline: "A softcore movie, Dr. Death, a chocolate milkshake, a nosy blonde and The Carol Burnett Show. Errol Morris. In a certain sense, the whole crazy deal with the release was fueled by my relationship with his attorney. Sherwin, Richard K. "Law Frames: Historical Truth and Narrative Necessity in a Criminal Case." [57], Some scholars believe that by calling the certainty of events surrounding the murder case into question, Morris positions the film as a postmodern text. The Thin Blue Line book. Within this notion Sherwin notes sociologist Jean Baudrillard's interpretation of the postmodern media landscape as "flattening" meaning as well as the impossibility of the existence of "truth, authority, and history". Errol Morris. Errol Morris. The film's re-enactment scenes were built carefully from witnesses' statements. [13], In pursuit of creating this idea, Morris sought and received funding for the initial project from the Public Broadcasting Service. National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-Fiction Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Thin_Blue_Line_(1988_film)&oldid=1012964938, Documentary films about miscarriage of justice in the United States, United States National Film Registry films, Documentary films about crime in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 March 2021, at 08:44. Shop for Thin Blue Line gear and gifts at our shop. The "thin blue line" is a term that typically refers to the concept of the police as the line which keeps society from descending into violent chaos. The Thin Blue Line is proof that sometimes, though rarely, the political impact of a film can be as tangible as an innocent man being freed from prison. [30] Harvey Weinstein, the former head of Miramax, declared: "Never has Miramax had a movie where a man's life hangs in the balance". The thin blue line flag features a black and white image of the American flag with the horizontal stripe beneath the field of white stars on the black background. ", Weinstein even sent a note to Errol Morris pushing him to promote the film better during interviews. The Thin Blue Line (1995–1996) Series Cast & Crew. "The Eleven-Minute Psychiatrist: The Stop Smiling Interview of Errol Morris." After Adams' release from prison, he ended up in a legal battle with Morris concerning the rights to his story. ", Like us on Facebook to see similar stories. [39] Kim Newman from Empire called the film "riveting and terrifying. Law enforcement officers and supporters who display the thin blue line flag — on patrol vehicles, uniforms and, in the days of the COVID-19 … Miramax, the film's distributor, had originally picked it up for its unconventional look, and used marketing hooks to make the film "transition from the arthouse to the multiplex". [35], The Thin Blue Line was assigned a rare 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[36] and an average score of 79 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Morris became interested in the case while doing research for a film about Dr. James Grigson, a psychiatrist known in Texas as "Dr. Death" for testifying with "100 percent certainty" of a defendant's recidivism in many trials, including that of Randall Adams. 1 officer killed, another hospitalized after man drives car into barrier near US Capitol. He said police need to build "bridges of trust" with the communities they serve. [5] Adams "spent 12 years in prison before his conviction in the murder of a Dallas police officer was thrown out largely on the basis of evidence uncovered" in the film. "We don't need lines," he said. Interview by James Hughes. Errol Morris' stunning documentary exposed the truth of the case and is actually credited with overturning Adams' conviction. Questions like these are not up for grabs. [18] Morris himself has claimed all of his films are brazenly "anti-vérité" in style.[19]. $5. Get it as soon as Wed, Feb 24. Email:info@theblueline.com. The prosecutor (Douglas D. Mulder) does not appear in the film. One police department in San Diego County that embraces the public display of the thin blue line flag is the La Mesa Police Department, which allows officers to wear the symbol on their uniforms and displays the flag on its fleet of police vehicles, on the rear bumpers. "Mirrors without Memories: Truth, History, and the New Documentary." The matter was settled out of court after Adams was granted sole use of anything written or made on the subject of his life. E rrol Morris’s The Thin Blue Line (1988) is widely recognized as a monumental achievement in the documentary tradition. For this reason, the film was not nominated for an Academy Award, though it won several other awards for best documentary. Visit Thin Blue Line USA and Shop to Support Law Enforcement & Police. The matter was settled out of court after Adams was granted sole use of anything written or made on the subject of his life. "They're there as warriors, as an occupying force.". [48], The film was parodied in Season 1 of Documentary Now! In 2001, it was placed on the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. 4.5 out of 5 stars … [45] In 2001, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". "[61], In a video interview for the Columbia Journalism Review, Morris reiterates his view of an inherent value in truth, acknowledging that our view of history will always be flawed, but that truth should still be sought. This is a re-working of a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Tommy" in which he describes British soldiers (nicknamed "Tommy Atkins") as the "thin red line", from the color of their uniforms and their formation. And the key, he said, is changing police culture. He’s the master of existential dread.’[28], Marketing the film was not an easy task, as Morris wished to avoid having the label of documentary attached to his film. Even as law enforcement started to view itself as part of the community under the philosophy of community policing, the thin blue line's influence on the way police officers view themselves generally remained unchanged. Grigson does not appear once in the final cut of the film.[14]. In an interview at the Museum of Modern Art, Morris denied being postmodern in any way, and quipped: "I am no post-modernist. Web. "[42], The Thin Blue Line was placed on more critics' top ten lists than any other film of 1988, edging out Bull Durham by a single vote. The thin blue line. Instead, the end of the film abandons the "acausal" plot by returning to the easy-to-believe narrative, that which paints Harris as the perpetrator. 14 episodes. He also opened up the department’s files to the writers of “Dragnet.” The thin blue line originates from a battle during the 1854 Crimean War, known as the Thin Red Line, in which a British regiment wearing red uniforms held off a Russian cavalry charge. It's unclear when the adapted phrase was first used in police circles. More recently, in May of this year, San Francisco police officers responded to a housing protest wearing face masks emblazoned with the thin blue line flag — a display that drew immediate push back. What does the Thin Blue Line represent for the law enforcement community? "In the 21st Century, the police that we need is very different," he said. Some say the concept fails to recognize the community's role in public safety and the importance of community-police relations. The Thin Blue Line (307) IMDb 8.0 1h 41min 1988 X-Ray 18+ In 1976, Randall Adams was wrongly sentenced to death for the murder of a Dallas policeman. The phrase Thin Blue Line is old, and its exact source is unknown. Law enforcement officers and supporters who display the thin blue line flag — on patrol vehicles, uniforms and, in the days of the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks — view it as a show of pride and respect for a dangerous profession that puts officers' lives on the line. [6], After his release from prison, Adams ended up in a legal battle with Morris concerning the rights to his story. [52] The district attorney's office declined to prosecute the case again,[53] and Adams was subsequently ordered released as a result of a habeas corpus hearing in 1989. Fax:847-548-0333. 1989) (. Parker himself made a series of racist comments about Blacks and Latinos during his tenure, including in the midst of the 1965 Watts riots. Interview by Ron Rosenbaum. Suspect dead. The film centered around the "inconsistencies, incongruities and loose ends" of the cas… Web. I did not sue Errol Morris for any money or any percentages of The Thin Blue Line, though the media portrayed it that way. The British formation became known as the Thin Red Line. Steve Davis, a retired Colorado police officer, talks a little bit about what the Thin Blue Line means for the law enforcement community. There's a world where things actually happen. . [43], Since the film was marketed as "nonfiction" rather than as a documentary, it was disqualified from being considered in the documentary category for an Academy Award. [24], The final scene, in which Morris and Harris are only heard, while shots of a tape recorder appear from various angles, was not originally planned. "The La Mesa Police Department wholeheartedly embraces and supports the wearing and display of other symbols as well," Runge, the department's spokesman, said, adding that some officers choose to wear pink patches to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that rainbow-colored patches are being designed for officers to honor Pride Month if they choose to do so. The 1911 poem “The Thin Blue Line” by Nels Dickmann Anderson uses the phrase to refer to American soldiers (who wore blue) fighting against the British. [38] The film won many awards, but was also snubbed by some purists, including those at the Academy Awards, who felt the use of reenactments had no place in a documentary. Thin Blue Line USA quickly earned its trusted name among families, departments, and communities. Eventually the film reveals that the crime was not committed by Randall Adams. "Some of the situations we're seeing on video are partially a result of police not recognizing that they need to engage with the community," he said. The movement was apparently intended as a response to Black Lives Matter and grew out of a series of instances across the nation in which police officers were killed in the line of duty. 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