“Psychiatrists like to meet me,“ says the subject of the acclaimed 1988 movie documentary “The Thin Blue Line.“ “Everyone comments on my sense of peace, my gentleness. I do have a sense of peace. I came 72 hours from being executed. At that point, you better make peace with yourself.“

“The man you see before you is here by the grace of God. The fact that it took 12 and a half years and a movie to prove my innocence should scare the hell out of everyone in this room, and if it doesn’t, then that scares the hell out of me.”

The above quotes are from Randall Adams. In today’s class discussion we talked about reality needing to be redeemed, and mediums having obligations. If Errol Morris had followed Kraucer’s guidelines then he wouldn’t have been able to make a very convincing documentary. Yet, through his portrayal of the facts of this case, Morris did indeed “redeem reality.” Reality is what placed Randall Adams behind bars for a crime he most likely did not commit. Errol Morris’ film is what ultimately helped to free him. Some may say that “The Thin Blue Line” was bias, and in many ways it was…from the music used, to the way the film was edited, to the reenactments. But at the core of the film were the facts which were not distorted. It’s amazing to me how a film can have so much power to influence people and cause change to occur.

Internet Sources:
Randall Dale Adams Website: http://www.journeyofhope.org/old_site/People/randall_dale_adams.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Dale_Adams