Aug 15, 2015

"Straight Outta Compton" Review

Image Credit: IMDB
"Straight Outta Compton"

5 out of 5 stars

Family appropriateness rating: 1.5 out 5 stars
Rated R
-Strong language, including f-words, throughout
-Frontal female nudity as well as backside nudity
in a few scenes
-A few portrayals of sexual intercourse and one of
oral sex.
-Moderate amount of violence








"Straight Outta Compton" deals with issues that have become increasingly relevant today.

The film is a biopic about N.W.A., a group of artists who became pioneers of "gangster rap." When they first start out, people who did not grow up in tough neighborhoods (mostly white people) did not understand it. All they hear is "The police are horrible," and they have a negative reaction to it. They do not think of it as a serious art form.

This movie takes the controversial elements of rap music, namely the "F*** the Police" songs, and shows why the group would hate officers. It also shows why so many in the black community took it to heart.

The reason has to do with the racism that affected cops' decisions at the time. If there was a group of young black people anywhere, the police would assume they were gang members and approach them. Sometimes this would lead to either an arrest or brutal beating for no good reason.  

While many may argue "F*** the Police" is a harsh thing to say, it was obviously how the group felt. It must have been frustrating having to deal with the things members of N.W.A. had to live with. In the film, the character known as Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) tells a reporter their art is a reflection of their reality. Eazy then asks the journalist what he sees when he walks out the door. This is a way to point out that our experience as white, middle class people is very different than what black people from Compton go through.

All of this has recently come to the forefront of public debate. A big chunk of it started in Ferguson, Missouri when an officer named Darren Wilson killed an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown almost exactly a year ago. Since then, many other cases of police brutality on black people have come out, and many riots have erupted.

People who claim the Michael Brown shooting was not a racial thing have a point when they mention the forensic evidence. It shows that the narration of Brown putting his hands up in surrender could not have happened. However, the reason the officer approached the boy is hazy. Wilson claims it is because he had heard about a convenience-store robbery, but when that came out to the public initially, the chief of police said Wilson did not know about it. Another thing to point out is an investigation revealed the Ferguson Police Department had a lot of racist attitudes that affected their decisions before the Michael Brown shooting. In my opinion, even if Darren Wilson should not get any blame, the shooting was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The recent shootings were a catalyst for the movement known as "Black Lives Matter," which has been protesting modern-day systematic racism among police officers. Opponents claim police officers have a difficult job and the movement promotes disrespect towards them. They also think it diminishes the fact that white lives matter as well, and in fact, all lives matter. 

In my opinion, these people do not understand the movement. It is not that that cops should be disrespected. It is that they are humans who sometimes make racist decisions. The goal is to get them to not base their judgements on race. As for the "all lives matter" argument, that is a given. Everyone already knows white lives matter. We are not disproportionately targeted by law enforcement. When we get stopped or arrested, it is generally for good reason. That is not always the case when it comes to black people. Saying "Black Lives Matter" is important because it is what the public needs to understand, which it does not seem to know already.

Getting off the Soapbox

As a film, "Straight Outta Compton" gives me everything I want in a biopic. It is organized like a well-put-together, behind-the-music documentary that outlines the entire story about the rise and fall of N.W.A.

The thing that impressed me the most is the casting, particularly who plays Eazy-E, Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) and Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr., the son of the actual person). They look very similar to the real people they portray, and as the movie progresses, their appearance matures.

A big portion of the film outlines the relationship between the band members and Eazy-E, who I knew nothing about going in. Though he probably is not the most talented in the group, he is the one who leads them to getting a manager and a record deal. Ironically, he also causes some problems.

What amazes me about this film is just how fast N.W.A. gets really big. They put out one record, and everything falls into place for them. This may be because their style was so unique at the time that they had no trouble breaking out. 

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