{"id":8703,"date":"2011-08-29T00:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T07:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muslimahmediawatch.org\/?p=8703"},"modified":"2011-08-29T00:00:57","modified_gmt":"2011-08-29T07:00:57","slug":"the-interrupters-ameena-matthews-anti-violence-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2011\/08\/the-interrupters-ameena-matthews-anti-violence-powerhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"The Interrupters’ Ameena Matthews: Anti-Violence Powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Steven James (director of the classic American documentary Hoop Dreams<\/em><\/a>) and Alex Kotlowitz\u2019s The Interrupters<\/em> (2011) looks at the work of a group of violence preventers\u2014the Interrupters\u2014in Chicago. Inspired by an article on CeaseFire\u2014the violence prevention organization the Interrupters work for\u2014that ran in the New York Times Magazine <\/em>by Alex Kotlowitz in 2004<\/a>, the film follows three of CeaseFire\u2019s violence interrupters for a year.<\/p>\n

Dr. Larry Slutkin, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois-Chicago, created CeaseFire as a way to combat the violence epidemic that afflicted the city from a public health perspective. From the organization\u2019s website<\/a>: \u201cWe combine Science and Street Outreach to track where violence is heating up and then cool the situation down.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the film, the Interrupters aim to prevent violence a variety of ways: harrowingly mediating conflicts on the ground, performing community outreach endeavors, and to working individually with youth as mentors. They mention their own gang experience and resolve to engage in peaceful conflict resolution in their work. The underlying belief is that violence can be prevented through intervention\u2014that it is learned behavior that can be influenced by individuals who are personally familiar with similar backgrounds. The film\u2019s message\u2014that people aren\u2019t good and bad and that anyone, regardless of their past, is capable of change\u2014is compelling and comes across as particularly poignant during the month of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

\"Ameena<\/a>
Ameena Matthews.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the interrupters the film features is Ameena Matthews. She\u2019s one of only a couple of women who works at CeaseFire\u2014and is Muslim. The film follows her as she interrupts violent conflicts, shares her personal background as the daughter of gang member Jeff Fort and former life of \u201cdrugs, guns, party, fun,\u201d to a life committed to preventing conflict, mentors a young woman struggling with her parole, and interacts with youth and the community to promote the message of non-violence at vigils and funerals as a means to dealing with conflict.<\/p>\n

Some of the film\u2019s most compelling moments came when the film looked at the personal lives of the interrupters and how it intertwines with their work. In Ameena\u2019s instance, this included her daughter\u2019s birthday party at a rollerskating rink (where she invites the youth she mentors to no avail), prayer at the mosque where her husband is the imam, and participation of mosque members in her community outreach work. Through these scenes, the film quietly profiles the social embedded-ness and commitment of American Muslims in their communities. Ameena\u2019s decision to open herself in the film was a careful process itself, as she discussed with Terry Gross on NPR\u2019s Fresh Air <\/em>earlier this month<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The issue is that I fought so hard to get to where I am today. And what I do in the streets, it\u2019s personable and it\u2019s personal but they wanted the storytelling about who Ameena is inside and out of being a violence interrupter \u2026 I have children and some people don\u2019t look at my life \u2014 as far as my dad being who he is and as far as my journey and where I\u2019ve come \u2014 [as a] nice thing. And it was hard for me to let that guard down and let them in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The film has been incredibly well-received by film critics, several of whom have called it one of the best documentaries of the year\u2014it currently has a 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>. Ameena herself has been highly praised in the film:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know whether Ameena Matthews has any plans to run for office \u2014 conventional wisdom might hold that a Black Muslim woman with a criminal record has a limited political future \u2014 but she\u2019s got my vote, whether it\u2019s for president or dogcatcher or something in between. \u2013Andrew O\u2019Hehir in Salon<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ms. Matthews, partly because of the contrast between her petite size and outsized personality, and because of her ancestry and background, is a documentary gift. \u2013Manohla Dargis in The New York Times<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can\u2019t think of (m)any Muslim women represented in American documentaries where faith is not the primary subject of the film. Ameena comes across on the screen as a passionate woman committed to her work, a devoted mother, and a compassionate mentor to youth. While Ameena\u2019s faith is shown as a cornerstone in her life, the film portrays the larger portrait of how Ameena\u2019s personal background reflects in her daily work. There are no stereotypes here of the submissive Muslim woman theme\u2014instead there are critical accolades for her and the other interrupters\u2019 portrayals in the film. Ameena is a commanding presence\u2014an engaging, brave, and inspiring woman\u2014in this raw, important American documentary.<\/p>\n

The Interrupters is currently playing in limited release across the U.S. and U.K. Here\u2019s a list of <\/em>current and upcoming screenings at the film\u2019s website<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steven James (director of the classic American documentary Hoop Dreams) and Alex Kotlowitz\u2019s The Interrupters (2011) looks at the work of a group of violence preventers\u2014the Interrupters\u2014in Chicago. Inspired by an article on CeaseFire\u2014the violence prevention organization the Interrupters work for\u2014that ran in the New York Times Magazine by Alex Kotlowitz in 2004, the film […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[93,120,266,497,1368],"class_list":["post-8703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cinema","tag-ameena-matthews","tag-anti-violence-activism","tag-ceasefire","tag-gang-violence","tag-the-interrupters"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Interrupters' Ameena Matthews: Anti-Violence Powerhouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steven James (director of the classic American documentary Hoop Dreams) and Alex Kotlowitz\u2019s The Interrupters (2011) looks at the work of a group of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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