The Inspection

A person wearing a striped shirt gently touches the face of another person dressed in a military uniform during an outdoor gathering. People and small flags are visible in the background under a clear sky.

Inspired by his own lived experience, Elegance Bratton’s debut feature follows a young, gay Black man name Ellis, rejected by his mother and living on the streets, who decides to join the Marine Corps. With few options for his future, he is determined to do whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of a basic training designed to break down recruits physically and mentally, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

The Inspection is a "complex portrait of the military at the height of 'Don’t Ask Don’t Tell' and a deeply moving story of becoming." - MoMA

The screening is cosponsored by the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection (CF+TC) and presented in conjunction with "Fit for Duty: Form and Function in Military Dress," a multi-site exhibition catalyzed by the CF+TC, on view Rachel Hope Doran '19 and Terrace Level Vitrines at the Human Ecology Building and Wortham Museum at Barton Hall through March 2026.

Part of our "Fit for Duty" film series. Courtesy of A24.