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The loss of innocence, in a blink

  • The true crime mini-series, ‘When They See Us’, follows five black boys and highlights law enforcement’s treatment of people of colour
  • 'When They See Us' follows the difficult journey of the five boys whose lives were changed even before they had the time to finish eighth grade

Ava DuVernay retells their harrowing story in four episodes
Ava DuVernay retells their harrowing story in four episodes

In the spring of 1989, five boys of colour from Harlem were arrested and wrongfully charged with raping and almost beating to death a female jogger in New York’s Central Park. Prosecutors and reporters labelled them the Central Park Five. Ava DuVernay retells their harrowing story in four episodes. The initial signs point to a single attacker having dragged the young white woman off the path into undergrowth. But investigating officials insist that among all the suspects the Harlem boys “must" have done it, showing their explicit prejudice though they are never labelled as racists.In the middle of this drama, you realize the boys have grown into adults, under the most outrageous circumstances. When They See Us isn’t really interested in reinvestigating the case; it just follows the difficult journey of the five boys whose lives were changed even before they had the time to finish eighth grade.

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