Last night at the BAFTA Awards ceremony, Sam Rockwell took home the Best Supporting Actor trophy for his turn in Martin McDonagh's critically acclaimed black comedy film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," but it wasn't the film's only achievement that day. It was also used by the activist group Avaaz as the basis for their protest against Marco Rubio, the gun-loving Senator of Florida, in the wake of last week's School Shooting that left 17 people dead.
'Three Billboards' method of protest being used worldwide
In the film, Frances McDormand's character posts three billboards on the outskirts of her town that call on the police to do more about the horrific rape and murder of her daughter after she is underwhelmed by how much they do to investigate the crime.
These themes have been picked up on as relevant in today's sociopolitical climate and around the world, activists have been using the billboard design to send message about other crimes that the police and the government have failed to do anything about. They've put some billboard up in London to protest the underwhelming Grenfell Tower inquiries.
The billboards in Florida call on Senator Rubio to push more for gun control laws in Congress. The messages on them read, "Slaughtered in school," followed by, "And still no gun control?" before finally asking, "How come, Marco Rubio?" It's great that cinema can still have this kind of cultural impact. Awards and everything are great, but surely nothing quite compares as an accomplishment to affecting real life change.
