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Many films throughout history have given insights into different issues that communities and races have faced over time. Often times the lighting, sets, clothing, music, and other film characteristics can give greater insight into how specific actions and events should be viewed. Around the time that many hip hop and rap films became prominent and still to this day, there have been a number of issues facing black communities. In this essay, Straight Outta Compton and Drumline will be compared and contrasted through aspects of the issues that the black community faces using scenes from the film and discussing their significance and by using specific quotes from the class textbooks. Within Straight Outta Compton and Drumline there are …show more content…
many comparisons that can be made between the two films. Straight Outta Compton and Drumline have one similarity in that in both films the main characters face the black community issue of being thought of as reckless and dangerous by prominent figures. A scene in Straight Outta Compton which emphasizes this issue is when N.W.A is questioned outside their studio by the police because the police believed that a group of young African American men would not be doing actual work in that particular area (Gray, 2016). The mise en scene in this particular scene is broad daylight outside of the studio which could show that this behavior was not uncommon amongst African American youth. The dialog pertaining to this scene was one of anger by the group and their manager due to the fact that they were just trying to work on producing their new album when this situation occurred. N.W.A was seen as they were “Associated with violence and a distrust of the police” (Sanchez 29). There are multiple scenes in Drumline which emphasize the issue. These scenes involve the main character Devon interacting with the coaches of the college marching band who believed he was a so-called “hoodlum” in comparison to his teammates due to his more outgoing nature (Stone, 2003). The mise en scene in relation to these scenes usually came in broad daylight in front of the whole team which could possibly be related to the fact that African American youth were and are still humiliated in public by authority figures from time to time. The dialog in these scenes were often ones of anger and frustration. As discussed, Straight Outta Compton and Drumline share multiple black community issues as seen through the analysis of the films. Although the films Straight Outta Compton and Drumline are similar in certain ways, there are also differences between them as well.
African American communities faced issues in a variety of professions, locations, and venues. One of the main differences between Straight Outta Compton and Drumline is the difference in profession and venue between the two films even though the issue of being looked down upon due to their different nature was the same. In the film Straight Outta Compton, the group of musicians named N.W.A are subject to extra scrutiny in the less professional and less intelligent environment of the music industry. This is showcased in a scene outside of their studio where they are chastised by the two police officers who force them to get on the ground and be searched just because of the fact that they were African American youth in an area that African Americans would not usually be thought of as needing to be in that area (Gray, 2016). Another scene in Straight Outta Compton that relates to this is when N.W.A is read obscenity laws by law enforcement behind the stage of their concert (Gray, 2016). To further illustrate that point, one of N.W.A’s songs “informed Americans about police brutality in South Central, Los Angeles. In fact, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent a letter to NWA warning them about the violent content of the song”(Canton 3). All of these things are done in broad daylight to once again showcase that this behavior towards young African American men was not abnormal and that the dialog in the scenes is often extremely derogatory which signify the views of African American youth in the eye of the average non-African American. In contrast to Straight Outta Compton, the issue of being looked down upon exists in a far different situation. The situation in which the main character Devon faces the issue of being seen as a hoodlum, is conducted in professional school setting. Devon is a young man who is seen as a
distraction and a deviant from the professional standards of the A&T Marching Band. A scene when this happens is when Devon does not wake up his roommate and is punished by the band director in front of the rest of the band (Stone, 2003). I believe this signifies that African American youths are often called out by authority figures in public in order to possibly make them look bad. Another scene in Drumline that relates to this is the scene when Devon incites a fight with an opposing band which gets him kicked off the band because his coach thinks of him as a non-conforming hoodlum due to him breaking a well-known drummer law that you cannot hit another teams drums with your own sticks (Stone, 2003). Both Straight Outta Compton and Drumline showcase differences in the type of African American community problems which they face. Finally, it is clear that both Straight Outta Compton and Drumline have some major differences between them that they also have things which are in common with each other. Both films showcase the issues that have and are still an issue within the black community. The issue with more outgoing African American people being looked down upon by authority figures was and has been a rampant issue within the black community and was showcased in these two films.
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 is a documentary film, directed by Goran Hugo Olsson with footage compiled by multiple Swedish filmmakers and journalists. The film provides an alternate and compelling view of America during the Black Power Movement—from 1967-1975. All the footage is from 1967-1975 and features iconic black figures, such as Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and other activists, artists, and leaders pivotal to the movement. Commentary is provided by black figures from the past and present. The film documents a plethora of issues associated with the Black Power Movement including the anti-Vietnam war efforts, the Black Panther Party, and the War or Drugs—and features the aforementioned black
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) is a 1 hour and 40 minute documentary that observes the black power movement in American history. This film is directed by Swedish director Goran Hugo Olson and has detailed footage that was shot during the 1960s and 1970s by Swedish journalists. The footage largely focuses on the black power movements. The film allows viewers to not only grasp a better understanding of this movement but allows us to understand why this movement appealed to Swedish journalists. The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 includes vintage interviews with Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, and other prominent leaders during the Black Power Movement. The documentary also contains contemporary audio interviews and commentaries from various entertainers, artists, activists, and scholars, including but not limited to: Harry Belafonte, Talib Kweli, Melvin Van Peebles, Erykah Badu, Abiodun Oyewele, and Questlove from The Roots.
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.
I say this because it better informed me on issues that I have known were present in the hip hop/rap culture. One of the main points in the film was the manhood in hip-hop culture. Before I dig into this topic one thing to understand is that hip-hop was created in the slums of New York. People grew up in very tough times; poverty was the norm, violence was high, and drugs influenced people’s lives. As you watch the film you can clearly see that all of the artists portray a tough “don’t mess with me” image. When asked why Hip-Hop promotes these images artists responded almost unanimously. They said that when you grow up in tough conditions you can’t be a punk. People see anything that’s not toughness weak. Anybody who isn’t perceived as tough is looked at like a bitch. Another big topic in the film was the way hip-hop victimizes women, and African American women in particular. The culture of Hip-Hop reduces women to sex objects. They’re half naked or more in the music videos and dancing explicitly. An issue in the film was when popular rapper Nelly swiped his credit card down a woman’s butt cheeks in a music video. This lead Nelly to cancel a bone marrow donation event at Spellman College after students said they were going to protest. Another issue in the film was homophobia. When a rapper named of Busta Rhymes was asked about homophobia he didn’t even respond to the question he completely walked off set. That
The film that interested me for this assignment was “Boyz n the Hood”. The movie was about a Los Angeles neighborhood expanding of drug and gang culture, with increasingly tragic results. It was about how one teen had family support to guide him on the right path in life regarding the social problems around him. The other two teens in the film wasn’t as fortunate and fell into the social problems of drugs, violence, and gangs; where one ended up dead.
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,
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.
Spike Lee’s Bamboozled is a contemporary critique of the black community, how it’s exploited, how it’s viewed, and how it fails to resist the persistent prejudices it faces in and outside of itself. Though this film is sixteen years old, many of his criticisms are still relevant to today’s media portrayals of black people. It is a continuing cycle that has yet to change on a large scale. Within the film we see a multitude of issues throughout that plays on the so called authenticity of blackness, the selling out of some of them, the poverty and desperation of others, the failure to use platforms of power for change, and the blind consumption of entertainment despite it’s harm to the image of black folk.
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.
Hip-Hop’s criticism of George W. Bush is a good example of hip-hop’s reflection of Black public opinion. The Republican candidate who already had a low approval rating of 57% amongst African-Americans received an even lower approval rating after his lackluster efforts to support Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Jones, 2003; Cillizza & Sullivan 2013).
... model for how the entertainment and media industries depict black people must change. Despite the progress that blacks have worked toward since the days of slavery, society continues to give in to the monetary benefits of producing self-disparaging entertainment and media. It is not only up to the directors, editors, producers and writers to establish this change, but it should also be the demand of the people, or the consumer. If the images of black people in the media are improved the outlook within the community will improve as well. Not only will positive goals and achievements become more realistic for black people if the media outlets discontinue their practice of equating blacks with aggression, lawlessness and violence, but a greater good will also result for whites, which would be represented by a true autonomy and equality in American society.
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
Despite many progressive changes, racism is still a major issue. No one is born racist, racism is taught and it is taught in popular culture. Younger generations are exposed to racism through popular culture; one of the many mediums in which racial stereotypes are still supported. Matt Seitz, in his article, “The Offensive Movie Cliche That Won’t Die” claims that metaphorically, in popular culture cinema, African-Americans are mentors of a white hero, but beneath the surface, it is racially offensive towards these mentors because they are still considered servants of whites. Michael Omi, in “In Living Color: Race and American Culture” adds to the claim of Seitz that racial issues in our society brought on by the media and popular culture. He
McWhorter, John. “Rap Music Harms the Black Community.”Popular Culture. Ed. John Woodward. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 53-59.
The article, “White” by Richard Dyer explores both sides of the black and white paradigm in mainstream films –while addressing racial inequalities. Dyer talks about the “…property of whiteness to be everything and nothing [and that this] is the source of its representational power…the way whiteness disappears behind and is subsumed into other identities…”(Dyer 825). Also, according to Dyer “…stereotypes are seldom found in a pure form and this is part of the process by which they are naturalized…”(Dyer 826). Through the application of binarism to the film, The Green Mile, this essay will critically analyze the identities of black and white people. For instance, specific examples of the films mis-en-scene will serve as evidence to show the visible binarism and racial symbolism that exist in this