Our America (2002)

The true story of two African-American teen radio reporters and their documentary investigation of a notorious child murder.

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson (as Ernest Dickerson)

Writers:

LeAlan Jones (book), Lloyd Newman (book)

Stars:

Josh Charles, Brandon Hammond, Serena Lee

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Josh Charles	...	Dave Isay
Brandon Hammond	...	Lloyd "Boo" Newman
Serena Lee	...	Janelle Jones
Roderick Pannell	...	LeAlan Jones
Irma P. Hall	...	June Jones
Peter Paige	...	Gary Covino
Vanessa Williams	...	Sandra Williams (as Vanessa A. Williams)
Mykelti Williamson	...	Graham Ellis
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rukiya Bernard	...	Sophie Newman
K.C. Collins	...	James (as Chris Collins)
Neil Crone	...	Paxton Wade
Jordan Duncan	...	Eric Morris
Daniel Farris	...	Elvin
Jordan Francis	...	Derrick Morris
Maxine Guess	...	Mrs. Shaw

Storyline

Based on a true story, "Our America" is a stark portrait of the urban ghetto landscape as seen through the eyes of two young African-American teens, LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. Under a radio producer's guidance and mentoring, the boys create a disturbing and remarkable documentary about life in the ghettos.

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | radio | teenager | radio reporter | ghetto | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brandon Hammond and Irma P. Hall played grandson and grandmother in the film Soul Food (1997), prior to this film.

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Quotes

LeAlan Jones: I live in the ghetto. I'm supposed to be a loser. I'm supposed to be snatching a purse and shooting your head off. I'm a person that doesn't vote. I'm the motherfucker that's supposed to fill your jails. I'm not supposed to be intelligent; I'm not supposed to know what I know, but I do. I've got an uncle and a cousin that are career criminals, no father, a mother who was pronounced mentally ill, and a grandmother that raised him and twenty kids, but I'll still make it. I know you don't want to ...

User Reviews

Great movie!

I live in Singapore. All the way the other side of the world, in Southeast Asia. I lead a comfortable life, there are no ghettos here. No shootouts. And this movie isn't the first I've watched about living in the ghetto or about the nitty gritty harsh realities of life that I have been lucky enough not to experience myself.

But I don't need to be in the ghetto nor do I need to have lived through them in order to empathise with the characters. This movie's portrayal of the common human condition was convincingly moving enough, without it being overly sappy, that I who live on the other side of the world am able to identify with their emotions and feel for the characters.

For that, I do think it was overall a good movie.

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2003 (Norway)

Also Known As:

El ghetto

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Come Sunday Productions, Paramount Pictures, Showtime Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1