Film on murdered teen 'Till' focuses on mother-son love
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[October 11, 2022]
By Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway
(Reuters) - Emmett Till’s murder and the
acquittal of his killers became a landmark case in the American civil
rights movement due to the brutality of his death and injustice that
followed, but “Till” director Chinonye Chukwu takes a somewhat different
angle.
Based on true events, the film focuses on a 14-year-old Black American
boy named Emmett Till who was abducted, tortured and lynched after
allegedly flirting with a white woman at the grocery store while
visiting relatives in Mississippi in 1955.
When the biopic trailer was released, some feared the depiction of the
violence of the teen's assault would be harrowingly graphic. However,
Chukwu went in a different direction.
"This is not a story about the physical violence that was inflicted upon
Emmett, this is the story about the woman who is responsible for the
world knowing who Emmett Till even was," Chukwu told Reuters. "It's also
a story that's a love story between Mamie and her son and the joy and
the humanity that also existed within them and between them as well."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Oct/11/images/ads/current/chicagost_sda_FHG_2022.png)
Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Mamie's mother and Emmett’s grandmother, said
it was okay for viewers to be worried about the violence of the story.
"I would say to most people, you've watched much worse stuff on your
telly, you've seen much worse stuff on your television, much more
graphic stuff. This is going to work in your brain, this is going to
make you think ‘How do we prevent this kind of thing from happening
anymore?’”
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![](../images/101122PIX/ent_a.17.jpg)
Emmett Till's home at 6427 S. St.
Lawrence Ave., which now has landmark status, is seen in West
Woodlawn, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. January 28, 2021. REUTERS/Eileen
T. Meslar/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Oct/11/images/ads/current/longviewbank_lda_PPP_2022.png) Actor Danielle Deadwyler portrays
Till's mother Mamie, who allowed for an open casket for her son's
memorial so the world could see the aftermath of excessive violence
against her son.
“We have to maintain an understanding that this is a human being
with a deeply urgent and tragic human experience that is still
manifesting today in the guise of people, other Black folks,
families losing their daughters, sons to a very, very similar kind
of thing," Deadwyler said.
While the story of Till is well-known for its impact on the American
civil rights movement, Goldberg said she doesn't want the story to
fade.
"We see the same thing slipping towards us. We see that people say
'No, we don't need to include LGBTQ history in a book, we don't need
to include Black history in a book, we don't need to include Asian
history in the book, we don't need to do any of that.’ Well,
actually you do.”
“Till”, produced by Orion Pictures, premieres on October 14 in the
United States.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Lincoln
Feast and Diane Craft)
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