FILM 1F94: Introduction to Film Studies Term Two Essay The film Straight Outta Compton directed by (F. Gary Gray 2015) clearly illustrates that racism was the root of police brutality with the stem being Hip Hop in the late 1980s. F. Gary Gray conveys this theme in several of the scenes throughout the movie Straight Outta Compton. The three parts, which specifically highlight the subject of police brutality caused by racism leading to the rise of Hip Hop, are when Ice Cube is on the bus going home from school, when he leaves Dr Dre’s aunt’s house to go home, and when NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) leaves the studio to check up on Dr Dre. Starting in chronological order these scenes will be analyzed in order to grasp a better understanding of …show more content…
As he exits the home the time has changed in the same Compton neighbor hood setting. It is later in the night and as he closes the door to start walking he hears sirens and vulgar language used by police officers towards the African- American neighborhood boys. At this moment the only light is the reflections of the blue and red police beams on the door. Here telephoto are used lenses produce a number of side effects that are applied to by F. Gary Gray to symbolize the confusion of the random search. The scene is seen as that it is very dark and after he examines the scene of police officers handling these boys so disrespectfully and roughly. He then begins to walk towards his home attempting to cross the street but gets stopped by a Caucasian police officer. At this point Ice Cube forcefully gets pulled into the neighborhood search with the rest of the local boys. The Caucasian officer dealing with Ice Cube has treats him so disorderly and continues to use profanity towards him for no reason. The explanation to this officer practice derives from racism as evident to the shadowing of stereotyping. ‘Stereotypes of black people have been more consistent in that they are thought to be more prone to violent crime and drug abuse, to be incomprehensible, suspicious, hard to handle, naturally excitable, aggressive, lacking brainpower, troublesome and ‘tooled up’ (Graef 1989; Reiner 1991) (Ben Bowling, Alpa Parmar & Coretta Phillips, 2006,530). The camera then turns to another Caucasian police officer forcefully slamming another man onto the hood of a police cruiser while he screams about their rights. Instantly turns and focuses to Ice Cubes dad and mom walking towards the officers. His father starts justifying to the Caucasian police officers that these boys are good boys and grew up on this block. Immediately the camera shifts
Chuck D, and Yusuf Jah. 1997. Fight the power: rap, race, and reality. New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press.
Plainclothes cops even pretend to be Clerks in the store, and they are so certain that he is black, looks unsettling that they even ask him to “holler” if he wants steal something, and they are ready catch him any minute. Additionally, Young writes about “Crowds gather/& wonder how/the spotlight sounds.” Here, “spotlight sounds” actually refers to the response from the narrator or black men to other’s attentions or treatments. Ironically, people do not listen to black people’s voice, and they simply judge from one’s skin
This movie was very sad but depicted the many social problems of struggling black communities in the early 1990’s. We learned in Adler, Mueller, & Laufer how criminal behavior as a result of frustrations suffered by lower-class individuals deprived of legitimate means to reach their goals are
The inner city can be a good thing or a bad thing, for African Americans it is often a bad thing as they get caught up in gangs thinking that this is the only way they will have family. This is true in some aspects, because depending on the family, children can be abandoned due to drugs or be subject to violence. In the movie, one of the children, who lives around the pizzeria, is a little girl is abused at home. This often happens in broken homes, like the ones depicted by Spike Lee. In other cases children come from good homes. For example, if one comes from a prominent African American family, they know that everyone takes care of everyone, they work together to take care of each other. In the film, there are several older black men that act like grandfathers to the people on the block. This is reminiscent in of one of the class readings, Family M...
Boyz N the Hood was a film created to convey an anti-gang message as well as to provide societal members an in-depth look at life in “the hood” so he or she can expand their culturally awareness of identifying societal issues (Stevenson, 1991). Upon the debut of “Boyz N the Hood” violence erupted at theaters across the nation, resulting in multiple shows pulling the film from scheduled showings to alleviate future violent behaviors (Stevenson, 1991). The film profoundly illustrates the realty of the events revealed within the storyline that frequently occur on a daily basis within every impoverish community; however, is overlooked by the individuals who are not directly involved and or affected (Leon-Guerrero, 2016) Children of lower socioeconomic status often are raised in ghetto neighborhoods where they often witness, crime, violence, gang activity, abuse, and drugs (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). Ghetto communities envelop tumultuous cycles of violence and substance abuse creating a pervasive occurrence within the residents of the community. This is prevalent in lower developed communities that unfortunately many children and the youth populace indirectly inherit and sadly conform to, as there are no other means to an end for them (Leon-Guerrero,
On March 3, 1991, Los Angeles police officers attempted to stop a white sedan traveling at a high rate of speed through Lake View Terrace, a residential neighborhood in northern Los Angeles. After a short pursuit, King was ordered out of his vehicle at gunpoint. King refused to comply and became belligerent and uncooperative. The use of open-hand controls, pepper spray and tasers were ineffective, as King continued to assault officers while resisting arrest. More LAPD officers arrived and King was finally subdued with the use of nightsticks. Investigation later revealed King was under the influence of a combination of PCP and cocaine.
Spike Lee is brand name when it comes to the film industry. When you try to ask any group of people their opinion about this man, you will probably receive numerous positive responses from the film community as well as the African American community. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) is a film that illustrates how racial conflict can become a reality while showing the repercussions that come with racial segregation. Spike Lee uses a number of tools to write and produce the film in order to ensure the message reaches his intended audience in the best way possible. The use of location, soundtrack, and dialogue is abundant in this film. Therefore, this film analysis paper is for Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989). It is a film in which racial segregation ignites riots in a neighborhood dominated by the black population. The heightened scene of this film analysis is where Spike Lee throws a trash can and it is from this that hell breaks loose and riots begin.
A father purchased a toy gun as a birthday gift for his young son. His son went outside to play and and encountered a police officer who shot him seven times. This incident occurred in Sonoma County in October 2013. A similar incident occurred in November 2014 when Cleveland police killed a 12-year-old boy carrying a toy gun. Use of excessive force by police is common in impoverished "black" or "brown" communities.
George covers much familiar ground: how B-beats became hip hop; how technology changed popular music, which helped to create new technologies; how professional basketball was influenced by hip hop styles; how gangsta rap emerged out of the crack epidemic of the 1980s; how many elements of hip hop culture managed to celebrate, and/or condemn black-on-black violence; how that black-on-black violence was somewhat encouraged by white people scheming on black males to show their foolishness, which often created a huge mess; and finally, how hip hop used and continues to use its art to express black frustration and ambition to blacks while, at the same time, refering that frustration and ambition to millions of whites.
Two Caucasian police officers come to odds as one uses his authority to unnecessarily pull over a couple who they believe is biracial and therefore wrong. Throughout the entire film race, this is one of the most prominent themes. The film shows that racism is not one sided as the characters themselves are Caucasian, black, Persian, Iranian, and Hispanic. The film shows that race assumptions are not something that is just in existence, but rather society builds up these prejudices and ideas.
In the article “Gentrification’s Insidious Violence: The Truth about American Cities” by Daniel Jose Older, Older places emphasis on the neighboring issue of gentrification in minority, low income communities or as better known as being called the “hood” communities. The author is biased on how race is a factor in gentrifying communities by local governments. Older explains his experience as a paramedic aiding a white patient in the “hood” where he was pistol whipped in a home invasion by a black male. This is an example of black on white crime which is found to be a normal occurrence in the residence of his community. But that is not the case in Older’s situation because that was the first time he has
In the movie “Boyz in the Hood” director John Singleton, paints a clear image of the problems that happen very often in the African American communities. The movie deals with issues such as: the importance of a father in a young man’s life, the ongoing violence of black on black crime, and how black people are put in situations where they are put to fail and not succeed in life.
Jeffries, M. P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
It is often the case that media and more specifically, film, perpetuates the stereotypes of black men. These stereotypes include not showing emotion, being physically aggressive, embrace violence, supposed criminality, associated with drug use, lack a father figure, sexually exploit women, and others. In the film, Boyz n the Hood, Tre’s father, Furious Styles, encourages Tre to demonstrate loyalty to other people in relationships, resist aggressive behavior, and foster and exhibit sexual responsibility. Thus, throughout the film, Tre challenges the society’s stereotyped norms of black masculinity and what it means to be a black man.
The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...