Educational Media Reviews Online

A Crime on the Bayou centers around an event that was all too common in the south, especially Louisiana, in the mid/late 1960s. A black man was arrested on dubious charges of “assaulting” a white teenager. Gary Duncan’s case could have been just another non-descript miscarriage of justice, another example of what happened to black individuals when they stepped out of line or chose to see themselves as equals to their white neighbors. But Duncan, his family, and his lawyer chose to stand up to the system of oppression that permeated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. With that decision, their case became one of the major turning points for civil rights in the south. Duncan’s case ultimately is heard by the US Supreme Court and becomes a crucial decision in reasserting defendants’ rights to a jury trial. This documentary brings public awareness to an important story that may be overshadowed by other more “infamous” civil rights events of 1960s south.

The documentary is built upon interviews with many important individuals to the story, including Gary Duncan and his lawyer Richard Sobol. It also utilizing archival audio, video, and images, and uses voice actors to read trial transcripts. The documentary tends to jump around a bit, inserting important historical perspective into the narrative of Duncan’s case. This structure, and the number of individuals interviewed, might make it a bit hard for students to follow the documentary at the beginning. The audio quality of some of the interviews is also a bit poor, which might impact using the documentary in a classroom setting. Despite this though, the varying content adds a dynamic layer to the documentary and does a superb job of demonstrating to the audience the context of Louisiana in the 1960s, and the dangers for defendants, and lawyers, who chose to fight back against established racism.

The content, imagery, and language may make this documentary more suitable for undergraduate audiences, though with an appropriate introduction, and discussion, the documentary would be very powerful in an upper-level high school classroom.

Overall, this film is highly recommended as an opportunity for students to gain a more complete view of the life of Black Americans in the south during the 1960s, and to recognize the systemic nature of oppression during the period.

Awards:
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature & Best Historical or Biographical Documentary, Critics Choice Association

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