Kerry Washington is ‘so happy’ that people are watching her Netflix film American Son to ‘deepen their compassion and understanding’ amid nation-wide protests.
‘My dream for this film was to spark conversations that would lead to change. What questions are popping up for you as you watch or after you watch,’ wrote the 43-year-old actress in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday evening.
American Son follows the story of an ‘estranged interracial couple’ – played by Washington and actor Steven Pasquale – who reunite at a Florida police station to locate their missing teenage son.
So happy: Kerry Washington is ‘so happy’ that people are watching her Netflix film American Son to ‘deepen their compassion and understanding’ amid nation-wide protests
The film explores the social, emotional, and mental complexities of race and how Washington’s character struggles to be taken seriously by law enforcement.
American Son – directed by Kenny Leon – premiered on the streaming platform on September 19 and is based off a famous Broadway play of the same name.
During the film’s red carpet premiere in October, Kerry spoke to ET about how ‘police violence’ has become such ‘an extraordinary problem in our culture.’
And I think there’s a danger that these young men and women are becoming statistics. We don’t know their names, or we don’t think about their humanity, we’re just thinking about enormous numbers,’ explained the Scandal star.
Mission accomplished: ‘My dream for this film was to spark conversations that would lead to change. What questions are popping up for you as you watch or after you watch,’ wrote the 43-year-old actress in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday evening; Washington pictured in February
Kerry said that when she thinks about the situation as a mother, herself, she thinks ‘about how mothers feel, like that fear of having a black child and not knowing if they’re going to be OK in the middle of the night.’
Kerry shares two children, daughter Isabelle, six, and son Caleb, three, with husband Nnamdi Asomugha, 38.
‘And I just feel like tapping into that horror, parental concern and love, is so universal and helps us to protect these young men and women from being statistics and instead being a full, three dimensional, beautiful human beings that they are,’ she concluded.
Aside from landing a main role in the feature, Kerry was also named a producer.
American Son: American Son follows the story of an ‘estranged interracial couple’ – played by Washington and Steven Pasquale – who reunite at a Florida police station to locate their missing teenage son
Themes: The film explores the social, emotional, and mental complexities of race and how Washington’s character struggles to be taken seriously by law enforcement
After sharing her own love for the dramatic film, Kerry took to her Instagram Story to share some of the fan-written reviews she had received via direct message over the past week.
Many of the messages toted the film as being an ‘important watch’ based on the current racial climate in the United States.
Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.
In the horrifying video footage of Floyd’s death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck.
Speaking out: During the film’s red carpet premiere in October, Kerry spoke to ET about how ‘police violence’ has become such ‘an extraordinary problem in our culture’; Kerry at the red carpet premiere of American Son in 2019
Outrage: Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25; protesters pictured in West Hollywood on June 3
Eventually he went silent and limp, and he was later declared dead.
The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Chauvin, was taken into custody on May 29 and charged with third-degree murder, officials said.
On Wednesday, Chauvin’s charges were upgraded to second-degree murder.
Three more officers, Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, were arrested and charged with ‘aiding and abetting murder,’ according to the New York Times.
RIP: In the horrifying video footage of Floyd’s death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck; Floyd pictured on Rihanna’s Instagram on May 29
Path to justice: The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Derek Chauvin, was taken into custody on May 29 and had his third-degree murder charge upgraded to second-degree murder on Wednesday; protesters pictured in West Hollywood on June 3