On DVD: Little Rock Central High 50 Years Later

Directed By Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud

Little Rock Central High School is a ubiquitous symbol of the American Civil Rights movement. It is a safe bet that most Americans have seen images of the day 9 African American students were blocked from entering high school—If not in a history classroom then at least on Forrest Gump. The National Guard were there, reporters, and angry white people who were against desegregation.

Little Rock Central High:50 Years Later, running only 70 minutes, provides a thought provoking look into how far we’ve come from the days of segregation. What you may find might frustrate you or shock you. It might be eye opening. Or, you might already be aware. Whatever the case, this HBO documentary is an important work in our ongoing efforts to evolve as humans.

The Movie

 Little Rock Central High falls within the traditional vein of documentary. The documentarians stay behind the camera and don’t even narrate the film. The people and images in the film speak for themselves. For an issue like race relations, I think it is important to let the natural story unfold without having some narrate make me try to see what’s going on. Of course, a lack of narration does not preclude the bias of film editing, but this documentary is solidly balanced.

The Renaud filmmakers take an interesting path for letting this story unfold. A brief history of the event putting Little Rock Central on the map is presented. Then we are time warped to Little Rock Central today where we find a school gearing up for its 50^th Anniversary of its desegregation, an event bringing President Bush and former President Clinton.

We learn that Little Rock’s notoriety and it’s plethora of advanced placement classes make it a great center of learning that gets many students a ticket into the Ivy League. This perspective is offered as one of progress and it is offered through the eyes of the white middle class parents and students of Little Rock Central. However, the film shifts to offer the perspective of black parents and students. Soon we learn that black students’ experience of Little Rock Central is quite different. Often they are several grade levels behind. Besides the academic divide, the school, though integrated, is still heavily segregated. White students eat their lunch outside while black students eat in the cafeteria.

The film moves back and forth between perspectives, bringing to light perhaps how much social status really does decide many things for us. However, this film also shows a quintessential American value: hard work. There are several disadvantaged students who rise above the status quo of the performance of their peers.

This documentary is smart about showing us the emotional aspects of the humans who populate Little Rock Central. We meet a principal who struggles to get students to mix and mingle with others who are different from themselves. Frustrated and saddened, tears stream down her face one day as she talks to a classroom about the gap between whites and blacks. We meet black and white students who are divided merely by a perspective and point of view. This film causes us to think about race relations in a constructive way.

8/10

The Video

The full screen format is good quality. It is a TV transfer, but the colors are vibrant and the images are sharp.

7/10

The Audio

The audio is good throughout the film.  The balance is good though with dialogue, score, and sound effects being well mixed and clear.

7/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

 The DVD release comes in a standard aramay case with an interesting picture of  the school half in black and white photo and the other half in color.

There are no bonus features.

6/10

 Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later is a solid documentary. Kudos to a filmmaker taking on this project and showing us that we still have a ways to come.  

Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10

The Review

The Movie 8/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 6/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10

-Chuck Knight