On November 20, I attended ODI’s screening of Emanuel in Performance Hall at the Ohio Union. The event consisted of a showing of the film Emanuel, followed by a panelist discussion from various people who felt particularly impacted during the planning and production of the movie. The film was about the Charleston church shooting that occurred at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015. It delved into what happened before, during, and after the shooting and how it impacted the family of the victims and people all over the United States. Following the film, there was a brief discussion with three panelist who work at various universities around the nation who wanted to share their take on the shooting and the racial inequalities surrounding our society.
This event relates to international affairs because the US isn’t the only country that has problems such as church shootings, but it is the one closest to us. The film presents a representation of what goes on around the world and the issues that many countries also suffer from. The event impacted me because I got to learn more about the shooting and was able to understand how deeply a tragedy like this affects not only the family but communities as a whole.