Roll Red Roll

Roll Red Roll is a thrilling and investigative documentary that illuminates the darker aspects of society. Released in 2018, the film is a cinematic exploration of high school football culture in small-town America. Directed by Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman, it spotlights Ohio-based high school football stars Ma’lik Richmond and Trent Mays, along with the roles of local heroes Mark Cole and Anthony Craig as they fit into this fervent culture, and the small-town journalist Rachel Dissell who fought tenaciously for justice.

The title "Roll Red Roll" is taken from the rallying cry of Steubenville High School's football team, the Big Reds, who are at the heart of Ohio’s mid-American football-mad communities. Mixing atmospheric cinematography with deeply layered mid-West culture, Schwartzman revealingly unravels the disturbing events that unfolded in the town of Steubenville, Ohio, in August 2012 involving high school football players.

One of the real-life protagonists who features prominently in the movie is Mark Cole, a central figure of the town's athletics scene. His personal journey and internal struggles, simultaneously dealing with the pressures of sports achievement and the weight of his own conscience, provide engrossing material for the central narrative.

Anthony Craig also presents a compelling character, providing an insight into the mindset of the football-drunk adolescents involved in the incident, while balancing youthful indestructibility with the emerging realization of the gravity of their actions.

The investigative journalism work by Rachel Dissell, the lone voice in her community demanding answers and accountability, brings an empathetic viewpoint and drives the narrative momentum. Her relentless pursuit of truth and justice offers an inspiring subplot toward tangential change within the conformist mass.

Roll Red Roll is a challenging and grimly captivating watch, using meticulously planned documentary techniques to shed light on the troubling aspects of rape culture and toxic masculinity. The narrative structure of the film analyses the societal norms that encouraged and permitted this culture of disregard for consent. By equating the football team's activities on and off the field, Schwartzman reveals the dangers of unchecked group mentality and the insidious charm of male privilege.

Without giving anything away, the movie is packed with tension, illustrating the courage it takes to stand against the tide of popular sentiment for a just cause. The filmmaker navigatively treads the line between sensationalism and fact by presenting social media conversations, posts, tweets, and video footage that embroils the film in a chillingly real-world horror.

Perhaps what is most terrifying about Roll Red Roll, beyond the appalling acts it uncovers, is the society that created the mindset for such gross misbehavior to be deemed acceptable. The small-town paradox of strong community feeling masking deep-rooted prejudice and unwarranted loyalty serves as a stark reminder of the complex roots of such heinous acts.

The storytelling method used in Roll Red Roll is accurate and hard-hitting, depicting both specific local events and their wider social context. Schwartzman uses the narrative arc to draw correlations between the incident in Steubenville and the broader issue of sexual assault, male entitlement, bystandliness, and enablement prevalent across America and around the world.

Bristling with emotion and fraught with unanswered questions, Roll Red Roll is a stirring, rage-filled indictment of a culture that venerates male athletes, yet turns a blind eye to their misdeeds, and it takes a resolute stance against the intimidating patriarchy that perpetuates victim-blaming.

To summarise, Roll Red Roll is not just a film about a harrowing night in a small football-crazed town, it's an examination of the societal conditions that permit such atrocities to take place. It's a clarion call for accountability, empathy, and change, making it critical viewing for everyone in the age we’re living. This raw and unflinching exploration of the varying degrees of complicity in the face of sexual assault will not only provoke thought but will undoubtedly demand discussion.