Transit
Synopsis
A man is just another passenger on a bus until he comes face to face with a thief. And a choice. Directed by Steph Green, stars Cassandra Braden, Kelly McCracken, Marija Thomas, Roddy Jessup.
Keywords: films, crime, witness, moral challenges, moral decisions, Steph and Green
Special Features
Interview with Director Steph Green
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Sometimes, it’s easy to know what the right thing is. Other times, not so much. If you witnessed a crime like the hero in Transit, what would you do?
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Comments (45)
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Let them eat cake
I loved the ending of the film, will there be a part two on any of these?
Let them eat cake
As of now, Robert, no. We aren’t planning any sequels to any of our films. But hey, you never know:)
Wait!
Why is he a hero? Here’s my take. He took a long time to do anything. He contemplated doing something many times. And, he may well have confronted the burglar at the end of the movie, but he hadn’t done anything yet. If he leaves and does nothing, he was not responsible and it would be for good reasons. If the burglar has a weapon the responsible thing to do would not neccessarily be to get shot just to return the purse. But the video certainly puts into a good context the number of outcomes that could have occured. Stopping the bus, alerting the police, calling 911 etc…
Fear alters choices…
Although I don’t think it was right for the man in the video to wait long cause he did have the robber enclosed so the capture would have been easier, but sometimes people react out of fear and hesitation when they think of their personal consequences based on their actions. Let’s face it, most robbers aren’t doing this because they are nice, kind people so there are risks involved with confronting a criminal. I know cause just last week I was presented with a similar situation. I saw a man being mugged by 3 thugs and when I finally got my phone out to call 911, the robbers already ran down into the train with no place to be found. Since it was 11pm and no-one else around, I did not yell or scream because there would be no one to help and I would have possibly put myself in danger just to save the old man’s wallet. Unfortunately, it’s times like this when you wished the cops would be around and not standing around in group gatherings watching pot holes being repaired.
Director
Nice job Steph! Really enjoyed the video! Decisions we make…..
Interesting
With the current ending there’s no proof that he actually did anything. He just stood there, will this be like him calling 911 and hanging up? He could just walk away. What was so RESPONSIBLE?
for you to decide…
True – it’s possible that the witness did nothing responsible but the cliffhanger ending leaves the decision in your hands. Its up to you to decide whether he hands the crook his cupcakes or actually confronts him for the crime he committed.
Responsibility isn’t always black or white.
It’s a cliffhanger ending alright, Brad. But we did that for a reason. Does the guy actually confront the thief? Maybe. Maybe not. If he does, is that really the responsible thing to do? One would think so. But hold on a second. What if the thief has a gun in his jacket? If our hero gets himself shot because he tried to do right by a total stranger, how responsible is that to his family? By ending the film where she does, Steph is saying, I’m not going to decide this for you. You decide for yourself.
Afraid what might happen if you do this in Texas
I wouldn’t do anything for fear of being hurt myself and my family would be left to deal with that but my husband-well I have to hold him back sometimes and remind him that he has a family to also take care of. He would approach the person and try to “make it right for the wrong that was done”.
You know better in Texas
History can teach us some great lessons if we just look back once in a while… remember the ‘Old West’ where robbers would have to ride away on their horse as fast as possible when pulling a heist such as what this punk did? The fear of Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson being on this bus is exactly why this punk is nervous as he rambles thru the ladies purse (especially so in Texas).
Untitled
I am in total agreement with you on this one! If the good guy had approached the thief while “allowing” him to see he had a pistol in his pocket, the dynamics would have changed.
Its easy to do wrong
It’s easy to do the wrong thing. Regardless of what decision the man in the film made, it was deeply unsettling that someone would see something like that and not do something about it. The inherent question posed by the movie and by Liberty Mutual is; What is your responsibility? In this film, the writer insisted on making no moral judgment call at all, which I think is the worst moral failing of all.
The worst moral failing
We hear you, Geoff. But like we asked in our response to Brad’s similar comment— see above— if you knew the thief had a gun, and wouldn’t hesitate to use it, what is the greater moral failure, letting a total stranger down or letting your family down? Not saying one is more right than the other. But it’s worth asking the question, we think.
Snap Judement
If the thief flashed a gun on the bus after robbing someone, the man watching would have been morally delinquent in not calling the police. At some point you have to realize that your actions (good or bad) will have an effect on others. At that point its a choice for evil or good, regardless of the outcome to others. If I call the police and the man shoots me, I may save peoples lives anyway because the man is caught and doesn’t have time to hurt others. None of us can see the future.
Point Missed
Many philosophers have written we should always do the right thing (it’s called the “moral imperative”). But, the reason this philosophy fails is that it’s subjective… ask 5 people and get five different answers about the “right thing.” I’m sure even Hitler thought he was right. THAT is why this short film is important— it gets us thinking about our priorities and our decision-making processes.
Each course of action has the potential for a different consequence for donut guy (and possibly others): Should donut guy have called 9-1-1? Maybe the police would not have responded in time. Or, maybe the robber would have heard him and attacked him. Does he have a greater duty to preserve himself for his family? Does he even have a family? Is the right thing to do different depending on whether or not donut guy has a family? Is it worth risking his life over property? Should he have politely asked the robber for the purse? Or, should he have angrily confronted the robber? Maybe the robber would have shot everyone on the bus. Was the donut guy wrong to hesitate while he thought about the “right” thing to do? Is someone more likely to make the “right” decision by thinking about it longer? When is an opportunity lost? Should we have invaded Iraq? Should we have thought about it longer? Would we have come to a different conclusion? Lots of questions… usually no super clear and easy answers. In fact, often decisions that seem obvious at the time turn out to be wrong when viewed with the benefit of hindsight.
The initial reaction from most of us is that the donut guy should have done what he needed to in order to get the purse back, but maybe we watch too many movies. Most would agree that the confrontation was stupid if donut guy was killed over a purse with $70.00 and a phone. In the movies, the hero would have been able to get the purse back either through force or persuasion… but this little film is meant to portray the real struggle to know and do the right thing. It is not a “moral failing” that the writer did not make a judgment call. It’s real life because to make a call is to oversimplify and romanticize and the important thing is that we think individually about our priorities. The scenario is just meant to highlight the fact that life has hard decisions and sometimes what constitutes the “right thing” is not instantaneously clear. At least Liberty Mutual is dedicating a site to just that conversation.
Untitled
Responsibility. Consequences. Bravery. Cowardice. Honor.
The thief made a choice to prey on someone weaker than himself, to take something that wasn’t his. The donut guy, when he hung up on 911, chose not to involve the police. He may also have chosen to not confront the thief, the video doesn’t show that part of the story. The thief had a responsibility, as a member of society, to protect both the woman and her property. The donut guy had the same responsibility to the woman and so far as we could see failed in his responsibility to the her. Thieves (and other criminals) have always preyed on others, but at some times and places in our society people have recognized a responsibility to deal with criminals regardless of possible personal consequences. Indeed, how can one retain any sense of honor if one does not protect other members of society? For myself, I believe the donut guy had a moral responsibility to see to the capture of the thief, by one means or another, regardless of personal risk, or of risk to others on the bus.
What would I do?
The clip was great. In fact I had to watch it twice because I read some of the comments & wanted to make sure I did not miss anything. The clip had me asking myself “What would I do?” The message of the clip was clear because I don’t think Liberty Mutual’s job is to tell people how to think but we do want them to think. Keep up the good work.
Untitled
I think the opportunity for “donut man” to do the right thing was lost as soon as he witnessed the crime and didn’t do anything immediately. The best solution I can imagine would be to inform the bus driver that a thief just stole the purse and has jumped on the bus and then call 911. Hopefully the bus driver would also do the right thing and not provide the thief with an escape route by continuing to drive on – “it takes a community.” Direct confrontation over the contents of a purse would be foolhardy, as the thief has already proved by his very act that he’s not a rational thinker. If, on the other hand, the thief were attacking the woman then the only proper response would be direct confrontation.
Great message, misguided realit?
I love the idea of the pay it forward ads and what they represent from a corporate culture as well as from the personal soul.
However, I have a problem with this movie. It sends a strong message in the way that it makes us question what the “responsible” thing is.
It makes us question the cup cake man’s motivation and what his future action should be.
As a former law enforcement officer, it makes me very scared for him, as he approaches the theif. I am not sure why he would not call the police, call for help, or take some other action ~ possibly fear for safety for himself or familly. But the, after he chooses not to take any of those actions, somehow he has enough courage to walk up to and in some manner interact with the theif?
For some reason he would not take any action but the one with the greatest probability to be injured?
Perhaps we are used to the movies where the good guy wins, but in the real world when a stranger confronts a theif, for any reason, they will likely get hurt.
Becuase of this, I find myself not focused on what the responsible choice is, but how the cupcake man chose no responsible action and then chose what in most likelyhood is the least responsible.
I am not sure how I feel about that, but I am worried that while the pay it forward ads encourage a specific type of action this movie may do the same. I would not want people getting hurt after following the video’s example of what someone chose to do.
Just my thoughts.
Power to the People
Todd Beamer and several other complete strangers banded together on United flight 93 just 7 short years ago and exemplified how powerful “We The People” really are when we work together to do the responsible and right thing… Yes, that was on a much larger scale but the principal remains the same – that all of us are created with the inherent desire to do the RIGHT thing in situations like this.
Look around and you will find that you have a world full of Todd Beamer’s sitting around you.
Still not convinced? Just ask business travelers that fly often why they have no fear of flying and what would happen if four ‘thugs’ stood up in the middle of a flight today…
Heros Are Only Human
I was pleased that the main character in this film finally took a stand. It is difficult when your life might be in danger to step up. I myself would have called 911 or made enough rukus to get the bus drivers attention. We all need to step up when our fellow human beings can’t.
Unrealistic
I disagree with what some are saying here. The film is unrealistic. Let’s start with the beginning:
The thief jumped on the bus BEFORE “donut man” had even paid. The bus wasn’t even moving yet. “Donut man” had an opportunity to make a scene long before the bus even started moving. Instead, “Donut man” idly watched as the the thief jump on the bus and began rifling thru the woman’s purse. A split second decision would’ve prevented the thief from getting the woman’s address, phone number and other personal information, but he chose to passively sit back and watch while that poor woman was victimized and most likely would be raped later by this thug. There were plenty of people on the bus to back him up and prevent this man from getting away. “Donut man” could’ve grabbed the thief by the jacket, but chose to do nothing. His behavior was just as reckless and dangerous as the thief and I don’t believe this is normal behavior for someone watching a crime being committed. The author of this film didn’t think this thru. The problem I have with this film is that there are people who would view the message being sent as it is better to not take action than to put yourself in harms way. People are impressionable and this film could be easily construed as just that. My opinion is that this is a perfect example of the media being responsible for the actions, or inaction in this case, of others.
Unrealistic?
I usually have a comeback about 5 minutes too late when someone harasses me or teases me about something. It’s unrealistic to expect an untrained person to confront a thief; however, I would like to hear from more trained officers as to what a correct thing to do would be, since I’m sick & tired of creeps like that stealing from others. As a victim of theft myself, I would like to see these thieves doing some compensatory WORK instead of paying an itty-bitty fine or spending 1/2 day in jail doing nothing good for society!
Guilt
Have you ever missed the opportunity to do the “right thing,” and regretted it for the next hour, day, week, year?
Cup cake guy knows the right thing is to get the lady’s purse back, and I think you can see his guilt and remorse playing on him as he sits there, probably thinking:
“Why didn’t I do something? Why am I not doing something now? What should I have done? What if he has a gun? Does she really need her purse? Are those her kids in the pictures? Why didn’t I do something already? …”
We don’t often get to go back and retry the opportunities we missed. How different would we feel about the Cup Cake Guy if he sat indecisive while the film ended with the thief walking off the bus?
in his shoes
A lot of you have mentioned that this guy should have done something right away. Easy to say. I have personally found myself in situations like that. It’s not an easy decision know that you’re putting yourself in possible harm’s way for a someone else, and in his case a complete stranger. But the point here is that his did. Sure he waited and thought about it. But he did it before it was too late.
Is he a hero? No.
Did he do the right thing? Yes.
And he just put a nice big donation in his karma collection basket that will be used when he needs it most.
If I had been in his shoes.
I believe I would have done something. There was a lot of times that the thief was not paying attention enough that with my past training in the Marines I would have taken him down and held him till the police was called and picked him up. But you have to be sure of yourself and ability to be able to handle him before you do something. If you’re not sure, then wait for a safe time to call and try to keep the guy in sight so you can lead the police to them.
Donut man, being unprepared, chose the worst possi
Being a student of humans and criminal actors, I agree with the former policeman who commented previously.
Sparking what is actually very likely to quickly become a violent confrontation in an enclosed space containing innocent parties while completely unprepared for a fight is hardly responsible.
Now, I certainly appreciate artistic license and the thought provoking nature of this film, but the course of action portrayed is likely to be disastrous.
———————
Others on this have commented on the impact that fear has on people’s decisions and behavior.
There’s a lot of truth to it. People shouldn’t live in fear.
Fear is normally a symptom of a lack of power. Power is the other side of the responsibility coin.
Responsibility cannot exist in the absence of power to impact the outcome.
Power comes with responsibility, and responsibility demands power.
Which brings us to preparation. Is it responsible of us to embrace responsibility without power? Is it just to claim powerlessness, and let it all slide?
Many of us have decided that the responsibility to protect ourselves, our families, and even strangers cannot be avoided, and therefore the power to do so must be embraced.
I, like millions of my fellow countrymen, am a responsibly armed citizen. On my way out the door every day, I put my carry permit into my wallet, my wallet into my pocket, and my sidearm into its concealed holster, right across from my phone.
This simple fact, coupled with the proficiency I have achieved in that sidearm’s use, very much changes my view of the events of this film.
The correct solution is
A) Be prepared, which means, be responsibly armed.
This puts you in the position such that you CAN attend to the next step, which is to
B)Observe, and surreptitiously inform the police. Because of this, I would have certainly selected the rearmost seat, for maximum privacy, to thoroughly minimize the chances of the thief taking notice.
C) I would most certainly NOT directly confront this criminal, unless he were to place someone’s life into jeopardy. In that contingency, I am as well prepared as anyone could be.
Confronting criminals is for well trained teams of professionals.
Having a gun doesn’t make you brave.
What makes you a brave person is to try to clearly see the world for what it is, and to determine that nonetheless, one has a right to an autonomous place in it.
Couldn’t agree more
It’s everyone’s personal responsibility to be prepared for the world around them. If you are not prepared yourself, you will not be able to effectively help others. I would never leave the house with out my keys, wallet, multi-tool, side arm, or phone; however, the last thing I would do (even armed) would be to walk right up to someone that has just committed a crime. My phone is there to call the proper authorities, my gun is to stop someone from taking my life or a loved ones life, and my brain is there to keep me out harms way while being a responsible citizen.
Yell and scream
If you see something wrong, yell and scream and give chase. The biggest thing with being caught off guard is you are caught off guard. There is a tendency to freeze. If you can snap your brain into action you can quickly amass a group effort that is extremely effective. More than 20 years ago, before cell phones, I could’ve stuck out my foot and tripped a guy who I had just watched take a woman’s purse. Unfortunately, I was trapped in the fog of disbelief that comes when the unbelievable happens right in front of your eyes. Once my brain processed the event, I turned and ran, screaming as I went. A few guys also joined chase, and we followed him for almost a half mile before he threw the purse down. The woman recovered everything. Hard to go through a purse when you’ve got people sprinting after you. Never underestimate the power of screaming and direct, immediate action. Even on a not very crowded bus, people generally rally to help one another, once they realize a wrong has been committed. No one was hurt and we all got some exercise. After that experience I will always walk in the city in shoes I can run in…….
Pures snatcher
The man with the cell phone’s next move is the wrong one.
Confronting the boy who stole the purse should have been his first move.
He knew the boy had stolen the purse, he towers over him and has many pounds on him.
The boy is unarmed and clearly scared.
By confronting him and telling that he knows that the boy has stolen the purse, the man has the opportunity to tell the boy to do the right thing, return the purse, no questions asked.
The police force will not respond even if they are called, and the courts will either bury the boy or let him go- either way the criminal justice system will make this situation worse.
People acquire their moral beliefs through empathy with others, the man with the cake has the opportunity to reach this boy establish contact with him and to help him realize the importance of the woman’s being able to move freely about the streets without fear of robbery or personal injury.
Ethics is ALWAYS giving up your seat on the crowde
My father taught me a great definition of ethics: obedience to the unenforceable.
No one will make you give up your seat on a crowded bus or subway to an elderly person or pregnant woman, but you must do it. The longer you wait and question yourself, the more excuses you’ll make, the less likely you’ll act responsibly.
What a coward
I have spent most of my adult life working in fields were I had to deal with criminals. This man did one of the worse possible things he could do in this situation….Nothing! When decent people look the other way it empowers criminals. He didn’t even have the courage to call the police. That should have been the absolute minimum response.
My response would have been to draw my carry weapon (living in Michigan it is legal for law-abiding citizens to obtain a carry permit) and place him under a citizen’s arrest until the police arrived. Granted the ability to do so legally May very depending on the state you’re live in. Here in Michigan purse snatching is a felony and therefore subject to citizen’s arrest.
Unfortunately people in our society have gotten used to looking the other way. We rely on the police to protect us but fail to do anything to protect ourselves or others. Then we have the nerve to blame the police when they are unable to prevent crimes. Until the day comes when we are willing to do what it right, things won’t get any better.
Go with your training
In this situation, the witness should have followed through with his call to 911. Confronting a thief on a bus with other patrons and an unsuspecting driver, requires a training level that did not appear to be present.
how come none of comments support the thief ?
The responsible thing to do it leave him alone. How would you feel if you were hungry your family in dire need of medicine and somebody would have taken away your only chance to save your baby brother by stealing a purse with $100 in it from a rich lady ?
a shift in our citizenship
Did you see the news piece about the man who attempted to rob the beauty school (in Louisiana?) The teacher immediately acted, and directed the students to help her subdue the thief. Not to celebrate violence, but it sent a message to think twice before you commit such crimes. What if such stories were a daily occurrence? As citizens we need to address our response, especially as a group. If I were one of those VA Tech students or teachers that day, I would hope that I could have mobilized our collective force to subdue that crazy boy, although that may not have been possible. I honor the faultless victims of that day. Parenthood did change me: I am less inclined to risk, in any arena. From my perspective, the hero’s hesitance in ‘transit’ is the MOST heroic part. Can you text to 911? Can we teach pro-active citizenship in school? Living in Japan taught me that such problems don’t have to be a given – Japan isn’t utopia, but there are things to learn from other stances of citizenship. Self-defense taught me to look for the creative option. When a situation like that occurs, there ARE many options for the outcome.
Regarding Shmulik’s comment:
Are you serious?!
Call the Police!!!
This is an easy one.
1) Go to the back of the bus and quietly call the police. Give them the bus number and rough location. They will likely arrive within minutes.
2) Calmly walk to the front of the bus and tell the bus driver the situation. Avoid drawing attention to yourself.
3) If the thief leaves the bus before the police arrive, tell the police his location and physical description. If you want, you can follow him from a distance and report his location to the police.
Let the professionals handle the confrontation and arrest of the thief. No need to confront him yourself since he may be armed. But you do have a responsibility to report him to the police.
regarding Shmulik’s and Joyce’s comment
Well duh!!! considering the starving, homeless people in the world that might seem to be the right thing to do, it’s pitiful and still wrong, but hopefully the purse snatcher felt the guilt and learned his lesson……
Trust our basic instincts
The movie was well done and the cliffhanger ending leaves us deep in thought. I think we all have a responsibility to help others, whether it is a small or big way. Our purpose is to live amongst people just like us and when we begin to feel that it is not safe, then we are putting ourselves and others in a vulnerable place…The man should have done whatever he could immediately to stop the action. Why the thief did what he did is irrelevant. When you respond to one in need your basic instinct should be to do the right thing. I realize it was just a book bag the thief took, but if we all made the choice about how big or small the crime was before reacting, we would be failing those around us. No one needs to be a hero but the right thing to do is “always the right thing to do.” It should not change with each experience. If we were being threatened as a country, the right thing to do would be to gather support and protect ourselves from our source of danger. There were a few others on that bus and there were many things the man could do that would not have put anyone in danger. Non-reaction is fine when you are dealing with “ego” but when it comes to helping others pull out all the stops.
In hindsight, I can see a great many things the man could have done to stop the whole activity but he did nothing in my opinion and he did it by over thinking it and not trusting “within”.
god turned his brains to mush?
I’m with Annemarie. I generally have no problem knowing what to do and doing it, except that there are so many moral outrages that I have to prioritize my actions.
This movie seems senseless. but on second thought…
Isiah pointed out that those who don’t want to see will go blind. A very great corollary to the iron
law of karma: you will reap what you sow.
So this story could be seen as another corollary. If you don’t do the obvious thing you will wind up doing the dumbest possible thing.
Is Liberty Mutual doing the right thing?
If Liberty Mutual hopes to improve the moral climate of the US today I think they are wasting time and money. Give it to the needy.
Additional comment on this issue
I have been notified that several people responded to an earlier comment I made but never saw any directly related responses. My position is, simply stated:
If you intend to get involved in critical, possibly life threatening situations, get training, know what you are doing, or, quite possibly, you may add to the problem.
There is always something that can be done to assist injured or assaulted people but thinking clearly under those circumstances is probably the most valuable contribution anyone can make. If a life is being threatened or serious injury is at the doorstep, if only immediate and direct action can stop that threat, then the issue comes down to immediate action,regardless of the consequence. Those situations do happen but that is not what is depicted in this film.
A contra example would be the man who recently stood on the platform of the NY subway with his children and saw a person a few feet away stagger and the fall on to the tracks in the path of an in coming train. Without hesitation, that man dove on to the tracks and covered the unconscious stranger with his own body, protecting him as the train passed over both of them. They both survived.
The man in this film was dealing with an action that had already taken place at a time where there was no visible threat to anyone. All he had to do was contact the police with a description and a location and, most probably, the purse snatcher would have been on his way to jail. If he were a trained police officer himself or had similar experience then, given that he had the ability to ensure the safety of the driver and/or other passengers, he could have made the arrest himself.
In Bushido, it is said that, if you want to win 100% of the time know yourself and your adversary. Our subject apparently did not meet that criteria.
It is easy to judge when it’s not you
Excellent and thought provoking. With violence continually being reported in the news, I can understand the man’s reluctance to possibly create a violent scenario. It showed bravery for him to even walk up to the thief. Stealing is wrong. It would be wrong if someone jumped on that bus and stole the stolen backpack from the thief. As a society, we choose to have a few guidelines and stealing is on the NO list. I would not get on the bus. I would have called the police immediately. Bravo to Liberty Mutual for encouraging these types of discussions!
I just watched it again
It’s funny but when I watched it the first time, there were things that did not stay with me after it was over. Like the donut guy helping that particular woman before he got on the bus. I forgot that completely. I still think that there were other things he could have done but we really never know how we are going to react in every situation. I Believe that we should always try to help others, but this past week I made a commitment to myself to let go of “FEAR AND DOUBT” for 1 week and I found that when you let go of something, you should understand more about it, you should know what to expect…or at least have reasonable expectations of the outcome. I thought giving up FEAR was a good thing and I believe it is, but you have to know what will be on the other side when you do. I now understand “donut man’s” hesitation. Letting go of FEAR or DOUBT can means being vulnerable and having to trust everyone.
Is that really possible? I don’t think it is realistic to believe that by moving through fear will make things okay. It just might not. And, when you put yourself in a vulnerable position you should know what to expect or know yourself well enough to know how you might react in any given situation. Again, is that possible?
I hope Liberty Mutual is working on the sequel but the one thing they did was to heighten our own awareness of the real world and how we might, at anytime be expected to protect yourself or others – definitely “food for thought”. I love the eclectic mix here. Experiencing different viewpoints is interesting and it helps us to “perceive” things through the eyes or hearts of others.
Both ignorant and stupid
The so called hero is ignorant because he should have immediately notified the driver a mugger just got on her bus. She is in charge of the bus and would have called dispatch without alerting the mugger and a transit cop or city cop would have boarded the bus at a stop and safely dealt with the situation. He’s stupid because he did not call 911 but decided to confront the guy who would probably have kicked him in the head and out the back door. The dude would have fell and probably sued the bus company.
Yes, we should be fearful that criminals can hurt us, so we shouldn’t confront them unless they are hurting someone and we know we can take them out. Otherwise, call 911 and notify any authority or security around. The dude was a moron – plain and simple. It seemed like he was working with the mugger and he distracted the woman so the mugger could steal her purse. He distracted the bus driver so the mugger could get on the bus. In the end, he goes to the mugger and gets half the money from the purse.