By Kelsey Brown / Photo courtesy of Ford

February 1, 2024 – Link to article

Yance Ford’s documentary Power, an investigation into 300 years of policing history, is not an easy film to watch. 

But, “It is a true film,” Ford said about the doc which premiered at the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival. “It is an accurate film, [with] moments that are difficult.”

The film begins with a black screen, with Ford’s voice asking viewers to watch with curiosity or, at least, suspicion, which is necessary when unpacking centuries of systemic violence and indoctrination about policing.  

“I want audiences to question their own relationship with police,” Ford said. “Think about positionality in relation to policing. Think about whether or not policing is working for you, personally. Ask the question: ‘Is policing working for the vast majority of Americans?’ I think that if you’re honest in answering that question, you would say ‘no’.” 

While tackling the dense history seems insurmountable, Ford diligently takes viewers on an intricate history lesson that draws connections with ease. It’s as quick as police investigator Charlie Adams pointing out that police still use the word “patrol,” deriving from slave patrols. 

It becomes clear that there isn’t a singular point of origin where police came to exude untouchable power. Through colonialism, and in turn seizing land from Indigenous people, patrolling enslaved peoples, and managing class order, the genesis of over policing and unchecked power began.  

“That kind of treatment has been deployed against different communities over a span of centuries, but always with the same goal,” Ford says. “Containing and controlling people and preserving and protecting properties.”

Read the full article here.