Summary: The two protagonists of a too cliche story of police versus youth sit down to discuss the wide gulf between the police and the possibility of bridging it.
The premise of this piece is deceptively simple: a cop and a yoiuth sit down to engage in a dialogue, but then the listener discovers that they've met before across confronting side at a protest, the sounds of which run in the background along with a music soundtrack. While I'm one to usually not prefer music in a piece, it kind of works here.
What ever one may think of the rhetoric of the police officer or the nature of the questions from the young interviewer, this exchange is long overdue, and is worthy of airing to present positive action on the part of a young man who could have demomstrated his feelings in a les constructive manner.
Any station featuring a discussion on youth empowerment, or police/community relations would greatly enhance their programming by airing this piece.
I appreciated the quality of voices and sound in this piece. I thought there seemed to be long stretches of tape where the officer in question seemed to make what I thought were rather simplistic and condescending remarks about the community in question that should have been challenged. Similarly, the officer seemed to minimize the behavior of deputies toward young people, while commenting in a rather off-the-cuff way that officers would be polite as much as they were allowed to. Officers are bound to a set of professional ethics that involves deescalating conflict, and that should have been addressed. A good piece, but more time could have been spent expressing the community's concerns, rather than allowing the officer's dismissive comments about the protesters ("for kicks") to be supported without context.
What struck me most about this piece was the brilliant use of sound--the sounds of the crowd at the beginning that immediately set the scene, the use of music that complemented the discussion taking place, and the sound, which seemed to echo that used at the beginning, that closed the story gracefully. This skillful execution enhanced a topic--the friction between youth and police that sometimes erupts into violence--already rich in emotion. Addressing this topic by interviewing a police officer created an excellent balance between informational and emotional content. Although the piece flows fairly well, using narration instead of the actual interview questions might make the story move even more smoothly.
Comments for Kid V. Cop
Produced by KRCB Voice of Youth
Other pieces by KRCB Voice of Youth
Rating Summary
3 comments
Michael Johnson
Posted on May 25, 2006 at 02:48 PM | Permalink
Review of Kid V. Cop
The premise of this piece is deceptively simple: a cop and a yoiuth sit down to engage in a dialogue, but then the listener discovers that they've met before across confronting side at a protest, the sounds of which run in the background along with a music soundtrack. While I'm one to usually not prefer music in a piece, it kind of works here.
What ever one may think of the rhetoric of the police officer or the nature of the questions from the young interviewer, this exchange is long overdue, and is worthy of airing to present positive action on the part of a young man who could have demomstrated his feelings in a les constructive manner.
Any station featuring a discussion on youth empowerment, or police/community relations would greatly enhance their programming by airing this piece.
Ernesto Aguilar
Posted on May 13, 2006 at 12:01 PM | Permalink
Review of Kid V. Cop
I appreciated the quality of voices and sound in this piece. I thought there seemed to be long stretches of tape where the officer in question seemed to make what I thought were rather simplistic and condescending remarks about the community in question that should have been challenged. Similarly, the officer seemed to minimize the behavior of deputies toward young people, while commenting in a rather off-the-cuff way that officers would be polite as much as they were allowed to. Officers are bound to a set of professional ethics that involves deescalating conflict, and that should have been addressed. A good piece, but more time could have been spent expressing the community's concerns, rather than allowing the officer's dismissive comments about the protesters ("for kicks") to be supported without context.
Eilis O'Neill
Posted on May 07, 2006 at 12:57 PM | Permalink
Review of Kid V. Cop
What struck me most about this piece was the brilliant use of sound--the sounds of the crowd at the beginning that immediately set the scene, the use of music that complemented the discussion taking place, and the sound, which seemed to echo that used at the beginning, that closed the story gracefully. This skillful execution enhanced a topic--the friction between youth and police that sometimes erupts into violence--already rich in emotion. Addressing this topic by interviewing a police officer created an excellent balance between informational and emotional content. Although the piece flows fairly well, using narration instead of the actual interview questions might make the story move even more smoothly.