Centering the Masses: My Favorite Things 1 – Drop Squad

On select Thursdays (and occasional Tuesdays), various friends of Visual Communications — individuals, filmmakers, activists, and stakeholders from Little Tokyo and various endangered communities — will screen feature-length films that have moved and influenced them, sparked their creativity, or prompted them into action. By looking at this selection, it’s clear that films speak to the human condition, or leave an indelible impression on the public. From romantic comedies, social melodramas, to action and adventure tales, cinema has never failed to offer pointed and wry commentary on matters such as race, class, social and economic strata. So let’s see what moves this small grouping of individuals…

All events below will be at 341 FSN (341 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012).

FREE ADMISSION. Capacity is limited. Informal seating is available on a first come, first served basis.

PROGRAM ONE | Thursday, April 11, 2019  |  7:30 PM

Presented by DAREN MOOKO
DROP SQUAD
(1994, Dir., D. Clark Johnson)
Truly a guilty pleasure, this 1990s-era political satire follows an underground militant group that kidnaps African Americans who they feel have betrayed their community and seeks to “deprogram” them so that they will change their ways. The story follows the DROP (Deprogramming and Restoration Of Pride) Squad, a group led by Seavers (Vondie Curtis-Hall) and Garvey (Ving Rhames) as they kidnap Bruford Jamison Jr. (Eriq La Salle), an advertising executive who, as “minority development division” director, cranks out advertising campaigns that belittle blacks and women. But once the DROP Squad is called in, conflicts ensue as to the tactics to be used to reprogram Jamison.
86 minutes