Cognitive dissociation has been just one of the devastating effects on victims of an elaborate police sting operation that took place in New York City between 2011 and 2015. A secret division of the New York Police Department, intent on rooting out material support by local Muslims for terrorist groups or individuals, sent an undercover cop to Brooklyn College, where she infiltrated an on-campus association of Muslim students. Filmmaker Katie Mitchell’s Watched is a startling documentary about that secret investigation and its ramifications for the now-traumatized students who befriended and supported their faux cohort for four years. Going by the name of "Mel," the spy not only attended events, but socialized at the students’ homes, and even served as a bridesmaid for one of the women. Suspicions about Mel did grow as she sometimes aggressively pushed people for information about their beliefs and politics. Now well past graduation, some of those students still feel vulnerable and targeted by authorities. The former students interviewed here generally agree that Mel’s infiltration, which was eventually exposed, caused them to lose personal motivation toward career and life goals that might have made them more open members of society. An unsettling film about brazen and unwarranted religion-based profiling and invasion of privacy, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Watched
(2017) 20 min. DVD: $75: public libraries; $175: colleges & universities. DRA. Collective Eye Films. PPR. Closed captioned. Volume 34, Issue 3
Watched
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: