Frame of a Reference- The Deconstruction and Dehumanization of Breonna Taylor
This past Friday, 20/20 ABC premiered “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor”, an in-depth look behind the night of, the investigation, and the legacy of the murder of 26 year old African American female Breonna Taylor at the hands of Louisville police.
Tessa Duvall, in her 2020 article for The Courier Journal, “5 things to look for in Breonna Taylor documentary from ABC 20/20”, writes, “the two-hour 20/20 and Courier Journal special was a comprehensive look at the case that led police to Taylor’s apartment door on March 13, the ensuing investigation into her death, the protests that have gripped Louisville since May and Taylor’s legacy through police reform.”
Featuring in depth interviews from Breonna’s family, her close friends and confidants, and investigators and members of the Louisville Police Department, one phrase comes to mind: frame of reference.
Dictionary.com defines the term “frame of reference” as “a structure of concepts, values, customs, views, etc. by means of which an individual or group perceives or evaluates data, communicates ideas, and regulates behavior.” The term was first coined by scholars Tversky and Kahneman (1981) and is one of the many factors in how one’s bias, understandings, perceptions, and attitudes, can become their own judge and jury, regardless of any ocular evidence.
From the interviews with Kenneth Walker to even Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, to insightful looks into the eventual settlement between Taylor’s family and the city of Louisville, the frame of references rapidly shifts as viewers are left in the hands of the documentary to help decipher the theories and understandings of the unfortunate events that lead to the senseless murder of Taylor. Obviously, everyone’s frame of reference will vary based on degrees of knowledge, comprehension, and experience with law enforcement and civil rights.
But what does frame of reference suggest about the moral and ethical actions and values involved in the deconstruction and dehumanization of Breonna Taylor? It suggests that justice is not the only thing that is blind. Human decency is as well. With a plethora of testimonies, in-depth analyses, and revisited footage, viewers are left baffled as to why the verdict exemplified that Taylor’s black life only mattered as it pertained to the white lives that were interconnected: her neighbors, Sgt. Mattingly and his family, and the other police officers in the investigation.
Questions re-emerge. Why weren’t these officers fired for wrongfully killing an innocent 26-year-old Black female? Why was Mattingly taken in right away to the emergency room while Taylor was left for dead in the hallway of her Louisville apartment while her boyfriend was arrested and treated like a criminal for having a license to carry? And why did the frame of reference shift the moral and ethical value from the innocent life of a human being to an inanimate object?
Let this be a trigger warning (pun intended). The 20/20 Breonna Taylor documentary is thought-provoking and continues to move the needle toward conversation surrounding police reform. However, it should be noted that the documentary does nothing to make up for the inflicted pain and loss of a mother, a family, and a community at the hands of those meant to protect and serve.
