3 1/2 Minutes Ten Bullets

On November 23, 2012 (Black Friday) Michael Dunn and his fiance pulled into a Jacksonville, Florida gas station and parked beside a car carrying 4 black teenage boys. Dunn asked the teens if they could turn down their music as his fiance entered the gas station. In less than 4 minutes an exchange of angry words between one of the teens and Dunn transpired into ten gunshots that resulted in the death of 17 year old Jordan Davis.

3 1/2 Minutes Ten Bullets is a film that was released in June of last year but I just recently got the opportunity to watch a few days ago. The emotional and eye opening documentary directed by Marc Silver sheds light on hidden prejudices and racial stereotypes that cause many people to prejudge and misunderstand individuals with different cultural backgrounds.    

The film follows the trial of Michael Dunn as he is being tried for the murder of high school student Jordan Davis. Dunn testified that he felt his life was being threatened, so out of fear he fired 10 shots into the vehicle of the 4 teens. He also testified that he saw Davis pointing a gun in his direction. After a police search of the teen’s vehicle no weapons were found. Michael Dunn was convicted of 3 counts of attempted murder and after a mistrial due to the ambiguous Stand Your Ground Law ,he was later convicted of the murder of Jordan Davis.

After watching the documentary I felt empathy for both sides; neither side came out a winner. It was a moving film and it shows how much work we have to do as a country and society in terms of human/race relations especially going into a new year. I encourage everyone to watch.

Check out the trailer here.