Click on image above to watch the documentary.

Setting and story are invariably tied together, so much so we rarely think closely about it. For example, Lord of the Flies is of course set upon a deserted, hostile, tropical island. Where that story takes place naturally determines how the story plays out. When the Emperor Was Divine is naturally tied to time and place, because Japanese-American internment could only have happened during the early 1940s on California’s coast, during a time of war with Japan. But can setting have large impact when the connection between character, conflict, and plot is less obvious?

This documentary examines our home-city, Chicago, and explores how place determines fate in a number of disturbing yet subtle ways, ways we might easily overlook were we not paying close attention.

How might similar correlations have had an impact on Wes Moore(s)?