Netflix just added the new movie Monster to their Black Lives Matter Collection. This movie is truthful and honest and it’s very realistic to times where it seems like it could be a documentary. This movie has strong acting, is thought-provoking, intense, realistic, touching, and just an overall must-watch.

Monster starts off intense with a scene of two men that enter a bodega to rob it. The worker in the store notices and pulls out a gun to try and stop the robbers but one thing leads to another. The worker ends up dying and is left and the robbers get what they want and more now that they have no one to stop them in their action. Then a quick turnover and a voice-over reveal the movie’s main focus: honors student Steve Harmon. 

 Harmon is on trial for the murder of the bodega worker as well as another man of color that he knows. Harmon is like any other high school kid who likes to have fun with his friends but he’s passionate about photography and videography as seen many times throughout the movie. But Harmon is different from some of the kids in his town. He’s not gang-affiliated, he stays out of the streets, he’s polite, and he knows where he stands and where she should and shouldn’t be to make sure that he is in the right place always. 

 But this time it was not his time and he has been arrested and taken from his family for the murder of the store clerk. Then the movie goes from trial to trial deciding if Steve Harmon is guilty or innocent. This movie definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat just eager to know what will come next, what will happen next, and who will back him up and who will throw him under. 

  This movie is relevant and I think that that is what makes it extraordinary and something fresh that is brought to the table. In these past few years, many people of color such as Steve Harmon in the movie have gone through racism and stereotypes just because of the color of their skin. “Monster” portrays this perfectly, giving you a secondhand look into what it’s like for many people just because of how they look. It makes you think and look at the world from another perspective and it makes you want to know more about this issue. 

  Netflix has an amazing collection of movies in the Black Lives Matter Collection but I think this movie was just great to add to it because it’s not only informational but this movie is heartbreaking and stopping because of how it’s shown and what happens throughout the overall film. This is an excellent movie and I think it’s one that many people need to see for themselves to witness the feeling and movement this movie brings to you.