‘Us Kids’ documents the voices of America’s youth
Above: The documentary "Us Kids" opens Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre. (Photo/K.A. Snyder Productions)
Every time I access a news source, whether I open a copy of my daily Spokesman-Review or scan the Internet, I seem to read about some new gun-related crime.
And almost as quickly, I see the arguments being posted on both sides of the gun rights debate: We need gun control vs. the Second Amendment was written for a reason.
It’s not just the actual news, though. The issue has produced the kind of television where talking heads scream at each other, each side trying to make its case as loudly as possible – transforming the process into just another kind of reality TV experience.
And the one thing that all those commentators have in common is that, almost exclusively they’re adults. The film documentary “Us Kids,” which opens Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre, changes that equation.
Directed by Kim A. Snyder (“Newtown”), the film traces the movement that followed the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed and 17 others wounded.
That movement, which was originated by a number of students who survived the incident, made most of the national news feeds. It even spawned action across the country and across borders. Snyder’s film explores how all that happened and centers on the students – the kids – who were behind it.
Carlos Aguilar, writing in the Los Angeles Times, had this to say: “For its merits as a dynamic nonfiction piece incisively dealing with a pivotal issue from heartbreakingly human angle, ‘Us Kids’ is indispensable viewing for anyone who genuinely cares about the future of this country beyond ‘thoughts and prayers.’ ”
In the New York Times, Lovia Gyarkye wrote, “ ‘Us Kids’ skillfully handles a sensitive subject and prudently connects the Parkland students' stories to those of Black students whose experiences with gun violence rarely garner similar national attention.”
Meanwhile, Robert Daniels, a critic at RogerEbert.com, wrote, “Like the limited legislative change that has occurred due to the underappreciated efforts of these valiant activists, I wish Snyder's ‘Us Kids’ resulted in more.”
Daniels makes a valid point, at least about the overall results of the movement. In this 24-news cycle, the attention given most incidents goes away nearly as fast as the event itself appeared. There’s always something new to grab our attention. And the results don’t seem to change anything.
Even so, you have to credit filmmaker Snyder and the kids she documents: They haven’t given up trying.