Harry Brown

Last night I went to the cinema to see Harry Brown. It tells the tale of one man who lives on a rough council estate. When local youths kill his best friend he decides to take matters into his own hands. His intent is not just to get revenge but to clean up the estate which is being taken over with drugs and crime.

I enjoyed the film, even though there was maybe a little more blood and violence than what I expected. What did touch me though, was that this story isn't make believe, there are some areas in Britain that are just like the one depicted in the film. Not only does this scare me a little, it is sad to think that some people have no choice other than to join gangs, commit crime and take drugs as a means of survival.

The film itself reminded me a little of the Bernie Goetz story highlighted in The Tipping Point. In this tale Goetz shoots four youths on a New York subway, after being hassled by them to hand over money. At the time newspapers 'dubbed Goetz the "Subway Vigilante" and the "Death Wish Shooter" and he was considered by the public as a hero.

At the time of this incident New York was run down and there was a lot of crime taking place. The subways and trains were covered in graffiti and these areas would have bee scary places to be around. However some years later there was a call for change. It was thought that 'graffiti was symbolic of the collapse of the system' and there were moves made to get rid of all graffiti and vandalism. This didn't happen over night, but a direct link was made between this action and the crime late lowering.

I don't know what can be done to tackle the problems in Britain but I think this example shows that change can be made. And even though it may take time to combat vandalism and crime it could happen. I honestly don't think the people on estates, like the one in Harry Brown, would have the same attitude to life if they were brought up in areas less run down.