Straight Outta Compton focuses a lot on representation, but
not so much on the representation of men. However, it’s obvious that the leads
were all male due to the entirety of N.W.A being male and therefore considering
their music held power and influence you could suggest that this is a representation
of men as having power and influence, however I don’t think it’s gender
specific. The music clearly held power, one way that this is proven is that it
is still relevant today, “During a year in which systemic racism and police
violence against black Americans have been more public and undeniable than
ever, Straight Outta Compton is a literal and figurative middle finger to the
white establishment, a highly satisfying statement of rebellion in
motion-picture form.” However, the film faced criticisms over the fact that the
film ignored the bands lyrics that could be considered offensive in terms of
women, as well as ignoring Dr. Dre’s abuse of women, “But one story that
Compton didn’t tell is getting almost as much attention as the film’s success.
That’s the story of Dr. Dre’s history of violence against women, which the film
doesn’t touch upon. The omission has sparked a new examination of his life, his
songs, and his lyrics. It’s ignited broader questions about why the film
omitted this horrible chunk of history.” This would have been ignored because Dr.
Dre and Ice Cube where both producers on the film and so they would’ve wanted
to cut it out. The film faced criticism because when women had screen-time they
were usually shown as mothers, or ‘naggy’, “On the rare occasion that women do
appear, they’re nagging mothers, suspicious girlfriends, or bikini-clad
groupies who get ejected from hotel gangbangs by gun-toting millionaire MCs”.
There were several articles that complained about the representation of women,
such as this one as well, “Even when female characters are important to the
central characters’ lives, they tend to enter and exit the story with little to
no fanfare at all, uttering a line or two of exposition or complaining about
raising kids by themselves. Some of this could be shrugged off as
representative of the characters’ feelings towards women and an accurate
version of their lifestyles. But given what the movie DOES leave out,
especially in regards to Dre’s public and repeated violence against women, it
begins to feel a bit insidious.”. Although the film was going to naturally centre
around males due to it being about the N.W.A, the representation of women can
arguably be better due to the reasons previously mentioned.
The film explores Straight Outta Compton’s music, and their music as well as the film discussed the racism of the time which is still relevant today. The N.W.A stood up for what hey believed in and used their voice to convey to society and people of power the discrimination that they as well as other black people faced on the streets due to racism; the film focuses on racist police which the band’s music also focuses on. The movie shows the power that the band had and the bravery and determination they all had to try and make a change. One article said, “At its heart, the film is about black survival in America. It makes no attempt to explain the origins of institutionalized racism or how we arrived to the time we’re in. Instead, it treats racism as it is — an inescapable force that haunts black men and women in America. Compton’s success is as much a testament to the talent of N.W.A as it is a celebration of overcoming the struggle of life in the inner city.”. Another article said that, “Using their music, these men were able to shed light on their life in Compton, arguably one of the most “dangerous places in America”, and revealed their experiences of institutionalized racism even as they were on the rise to fame. According to Universal Pictures, “their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today”.” The film explores the issue of stereotyping, there are several scenes where the police interfere with the N.W.A purely because they are black, it didn’t matter to the police officers that they were innocent because they were obviously very clearly racist. One article says this, “In analyzing the movie Straight Outta Compton, we see firsthand how the members of N.W.A., Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella, and MC Ren, experience this form of racism and stereotyping. There is a point in the movie where all of them are outside their recording studio and then police officers show up, thinking that the N.W.A. group are drug dealers or gang members because 1. They were black men, and 2. They “looked suspicious and dangerous”. This is a form of racial stereotyping. When told they actually work there at the recording studio, the police officers scoff and continue to yell at the men, telling them to put their hands up and lay down on the ground so they could be searched for drugs or weapons.” The film was displaying the same messages as the N.W.A’s music about how these police officers are racist, discriminative and dangerous.
Refers to the control or guidance of media content by governments and other bodies. This means media production and consumption’s are monitored. Example: ’18’ certificate being given to a film for cinema release
The Media industries are subject to regulators of various types. Some are government-appointed (state regulation or statutory regulation). This means that the media can be controlled by laws set out in parliament.
UK film regulator: BBFC
BBFC – The British Board of Film Classification are one of the oldest regulators of media content and they classify films that are distributed in the UK.
U -universal
PG – parental guidance
12A – children under 12 can go with an adult, it’s the newest regulation/classification. On DVD it would be a 12. 2001 was when 12A started to be used in cinemas with ‘The Bourne Identity’ but 12A started through pressure with ‘Spider-man’
12
15 – there are some images of violence
18 – owing to violence/sexual content
Ownership/Industry Structures of the Film Industry:
universal
A24
Pixar – Disney
Paramount
Dreamworks
Marvel – Disney
Disney
MGM
Pathe
Miramax
Legendary Pictures
Warner Brothers
Conglomerates and Subsidiaries:
Conglomerates: A company that is made up of Subsidiaries. Subsidiaries are smaller companies in their own right but still operate under conglomerate.
Disney is a conglomerate
LucasFilm, Marvel, ABC, Pixar are all subsidiary companies of Disney
Vertical Intergration:
Vertical integration is where a company can control the production, distribution and consumption of its products.
An example of a vertically integrated business would be a production company that owns a distributer or a retailer, or a magazine publisher that owns a printing company.
Production: Walt Disney Studios – create
Distribution: Walt Disney distribution – ‘sharing’ or ‘selling’
Consumption/exhibition: DVD store online, Disney plus, Disney store
Comcast and Vertical Intergration:
Comcast is a huge media conglomerate – by revenue, it is the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world, and it owns Universal Pictures. In terms of infrastructure in the film industry, Comcast owns companies at each stage of the supply chain enabling the institution to maximise profits and tap into new global markets.
An Example of Vertical Integration: Straight Outta Compton
Production and Distribution
Straight Outta Copmton was created by Legendary Pictures, and then distributed by Universal Pictures. Legendary Pictures have a deal with Universal regarding co-financing their films.
Exhibition
In terms of exhibition, Comcast was able to use its Xfinity streaming service to exhibit Straight Outta Compton after cinema release.
Horizontal Integration
Horizontal integration is where a company uses its subsidiaries to cross promote a brand and/or product across different platforms/subsidiaries
SOC: Subsidiary of Comcast (record label): Universal Music group — SOC soundtrack; Subsidiary of Comcast (movie website) Fandango, interview with Ice Cube
Synergy:
A term used to describe the cross-promotion of products – fir instance, the Straight Outta Compton soundtrack will help promote the film and the film will simultaneously promote the soundtrack
Synergy is therefore about different products and processes working together.
Case Study: Straight Outta Compton (Gray, 2015)
marketing
regulation
social, cultural, historical, economic and political contexts
discrimination
police brutality
Rodney King case – 1991 LA Riots
Crips/Bloods – LA Gang war
Artist exploitation and Inexperience/social position
Straight Outta Compton
Month and Year of release: August 2015
Actors/Actresses:O’Shea Jackson Jr. plays Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Lakeith Stanfield as Snoop Dogg, Alexandra Shipp as Kim
Director: F. Gary Gray
Producers: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, F. Gary Gray, Tomica Woods, Scott Bernstein , Matt Alvarez
Studio: Universal, Legendary Pictures
Budget: $50 million
Box Office: 201.6 million worldwide
Oscar Nominations: Nominated for best original screenplay
‘The Big 6’ – Major Studios
Hollywood is made up of major studios and independent studios. There are 6 makor studios which hold the most power in Hollywood.
Buena Vista (Disney)
Warner Bros.
Universal
Sony/Columbia
20th Century Fox (Disney now owns)
Paramount
(Hollywood) Major Studios control 81% – overall profit in the film Industry
The 6 major studios control 81% of the market sales, whilst the independent studios (hundreds) only control the 19%
This means that the Hollywood film industry operates in oligopoly
Oligopoly – this is when a small number of companies control a large section of the market
THEORY- CURAN AND SEATON’S POWER AND MEDIA INDUSTRIES
The idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power
The idea that media concentration generally limits or inhabits variety, creativity and quality
The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions
Marketing
Definition: The action of promoting and selling products or services
The distributors of Straight Outta Compton utilised a number of different marketing strategies when promoting the film
Trailer
Set up – listening to music, family
Racist policemen
“If you had the chance to change ? would you?” ??
Creating to music
Stage performances
Pool with money – theme of money
“Our art is a reflection of our reality”
Dedicated time to the main characters
Group walk
What were the conventional ways the trailers used to sell the film to the audience?
different trailers were produced to target different audiences
(Interestingly) Establishing the main characters using the names of the stars themselves not the actors . This would appeal to the older fans of N.W.A. However, younger iconic cultural significance of Ice Cube and Dr Dre within the hip hop story.
The selection of visual codes of clothing and expression place the film within the sub-genre of music biopic
The selection of dramatic shots of action within the film, to highlight the narrative, appeal to the audience and suggest the production values of the film
Audio codes including a voice-over establishing aspects of the narrative. The voice-over also establishes continuity between the scenes chosen for the trailer and gives promises of pleasure to the audience.
Enigma codes: trailers offer audiences restricted narratives to encourage them to go and watch the film to find out the answers.
The use of on-screen graphics ‘the world’s most dangerous group’
Editing to build interest in the narrative and to create suspense
Additional industry information, including the Universal and Legendary logos, establishing the credibility of the film
Branding including the recognisable title graphics. The font style helps to establish the genre and style of the film and, as can be seen, was used in other marketing materials
Controversial scenes but overall the trailer is toned down
Establishing setting
Contrasting narrative strands
‘Coming soon’ – global trailer – comes out around the world at different times, might not of had a release date yet
Diegetic and non-diegetic music – actual N.W.A music
What’s a ‘red band’ trailer? R-rated movie trailers, designed for mature audiences
What are teaser posters? Early promotional film poster, a basic design without revealing too much information. Enigma codes.
What are theatrical posters? Used to advertise the film, reveals more than the teaser posters
Trailer Releases (general)
Conventions like comic-con
Festivals
Super bowl, world cup, Olympics – events
Legendary Pictures
When was it founded? 2000
Who is the CEO? Joshua Grode
What are the most popular films? Godzilla king of the monsters, Detective Pickachu, John Wick, Interstellar, The Dark Knight
What film franchises do they own? Godzilla?
Do they own any units/smaller companies? Wanda Group?
What is their yearly (estimated) revenue? $11.3 million?
How much are they worth?
Universal Pictures
When was it founded? 1912
Who is the CEO? Ronald Meyer
What are its most popular films? Jaws, Schindler’s List, Despicable Me, Hot Fuzz, A Beautiful Mind
What film franchises do they own? Meet the Parents? Despicable Me?
Do they own any units/smaller companies?
Subsidiaries
DreamWorks AnimationAmblin Partners (minority)Working Title FilmsNBCUniversal Entertainment JapanUnited International Pictures (50%)Rede TelecineOTL ReleasingMakeready (co-backing with Entertainment One only, film and television production company run by Brad Weston)[1]Back Lot Music
What is their yearly estimated revenue? $4.239 billion
How much are they worth? $11.7 billion ??
Straight Outta Compton Trailer Controversy
What was the controversy? Universal Pictures made different Straight Outta Compton trailers for black, white and hispanic audiences, according to claims made at the SXSW festival. According to Business Insider, the trailer for African Americans had them assuming they were familiar with NWA, but for white Americans, the trailer focused on Ice Cube and Dr Dre instead of the group itself. Hispanic audiences would have seen a shorter trailer which included flashing quotes in Spanish.
Which social media site was involved? It’s thought that bosses from the company teamed up with Facebook to “customise” them. Since people don’t identify as a certain race on Facebook, it uses what Facebook calls ‘affinity’ groups which displays content relevant to a person’s likes or interests. A person could fall into the Asian American affinity segment despite not being Asian if they like anime and speak Japanese.
Why is it controversial? Coming in the midst of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign sparked in part by this year’s Academy Awards featuring an all-white slate of nominees for top awards for the second year in a row, revelations of this strategy of “racial marketing” drew controversy.
Viral Marketing Campaigns vs. Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns
Viral marketing is the utilisation of digital resources in order to promote products/services
The use of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and websites dedicated to particular media products is standard practise in the industry, but the way in which these platforms are used can vary
e.g. inception: the films website featured only an animation of spinning top, once the top toppled over the website opened an online game which upon completion gave the films poster
Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy that focuses on low-cost unconventional marketing tactics, often on street-level, that yield maximum results.
The purpose of this type of marketing is to create buzz for a product through the use of innovative, almost-newsworthy ‘events’ which incites word-of-mouth. Internet has boosted this, as pictures/videos of Guerrilla marketing tactics are often uploaded to social media, thus further expanding the brand’s reach.
e.g. Grand Theft Auto: poster put around the city/town
Straight Outta Compton – Viral Marketing
In August 2015, Beats by Dr. Dre launched a viral marketing campaign for the film – custom “straight outta *somewhere*” memes to promote their tows/city
It was its own app and you could upload an image and edit your own logo and post it to social media
Ringo Starr: Straight Outta Liverpool — celebrities received no endorsement money
Number one of twitter, Instagram and faceboook, no other campaign has ever achieved this
People could relate to it – perosnalisation
11mil website visits
8mil dowloads
700k shares from the site
270k #straightoutta instagram posts
300k #straightoutta twitter posts
Celebrity Endorsement
Celebrity endorsement is an essential aspect of marketing, particular in relation to mainstream entertainment
Hollywood reporter aritcle:
“The “Straight Outta Somewhere” meme was the brainchild of Beats by Dre, in partnership with Universal. After three junior Beats employees were tasked with coming up with a campaign, they stumbled upon a video of Dre talking about how the members of N.W.A named their debut album Straight Outta Compton because they wanted to show they were proud of where they came from. “
” The Aug. 5 launch of the site featured a handful of Beats partners, including Dre, tennis star Serena Williams and NFL player Richard Sherman, presenting their own “Straight Outta Somewhere” stamps, and it’s taken off from there. “
“Tweeted images of the word “Compton” peppered across the sky all over Los Angeles also became a viral sensation.”
“Interscope Records organized the skywriting as a promotional tool for Dre’s new album. It was only on Aug. 1 that Dre announced he’d be releasing Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre, and that the album, from Dre’s Interscope label Aftermath Entertainment, would be released exclusively on iTunes and Apple Music on Aug. 7″
“The skywriting took over Los Angeles on Aug. 7 and 8, and also appeared in skies above the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco that same weekend. Plus, Interscope booked skywriting for Monday, Aug. 10, to coincide with the red carpet premiere of Straight Out Compton in downtown Los Angeles. “
” Interscope will also be tying their album promotion to the film over opening weekend by running an album teaser in front of screenings of Straight Outta Compton.“
Straight Outta Compton – Guerrila Marketing
Exhibiton of low-rider cars used in film events promoting Staright Outta Compton
Promotional party celebrating East Coast hip hop held in Neumos, Seattle
Trying to tap into the cultural aspects of the film
Audience and regulation (page 97 and use web research)
Who is the potential audience targeted by the film?
Fans of the gangster/rap genre, including the American and global audience. This music genre has a well established fan base, which can be maintained through the well-managed marketing of the film. In addition to the fans of the music, the film aims to appeal to a broader audience.
Fans of N.W.A
An audience who may be attracted by the hype surrounding the film and want to see it out of curiosity
Fans of those interested in the star appeal of Ice Cube and Dr Dre and how they have been represented in this film
Young people who may relate to the ‘real characters’ and situations in the film, including the misinterpretation of urban youth
What was the audience response to the film?
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Why is regulation important to the marketing and global research of the film?
Regulation is important to the marketing and global research of the film. The film’s producer and distributor want the film’s certification to allow them to access as broad an audience as possible. The film itself was rated 15 by the BBFC but the Director’s Cut was given an 18 certificate, as was the video release.
What was the BBFC’S response to the film? How was it classified?
As planned, the distributor released Straight Outta Compton on 28 August 2015 in the UK. The BBFC did not receive any complaints about the film’s 15 rating. The BBFC passed an extended ‘Director’s Cut’ version, which received an 18 rating.
Compton is a mainly working class city in California
65% of the population is Hispanic/Latino, 32.9% African American, 0.8% non-Hispanic white
26.2% of population living under the poverty line – Compton is one of America’s least funded cities
Notorious of gang culture – particularly rival gangs ‘the Crips’ and ‘the Bloods’
However, many musicians have derived from Compton – inc. NWA, The Game and Kendrick Lamar
LA Riots 1992
Riots sparked by the Rodney King (?) trial – police brutality
Much of the Korean community was left to fend for themselves
The riots cost the city over 1 billion dollars in damages
Kings second trial had two black jurers
King was paid millions in compensation
? and ? minorities
Social, Cultural and Political context
African American social group
Set in the 1980’s/early 1900s but made in 2005 – this film shows the link between both time periods and exclaims “nothing has changed”: police brutality, exploitation and greed in the music industry, racism, misogyny – not represented, gang culture, poverty
The N.W.A. – both positive (musical progression) and negative (gang association and misogynistic lyrics) stereotypes
The film mirrors these stereotypes – positive representation of black characters but the film has been called misogynist due to lack of representation
#blacklivesmatter campaign – does the film, with its “f**k the police” mentality, match the campaign message? It’s showcasing stereotypes as well as being progressive. SOC cast and real life members discussed #blacklivesmatter campaign as part of press/in press
Economic Context
Commerical succes – highest grossing music biopic of all time, at the time of relase (bohrap took over)
Ice Cube and Dr Dre produced – historically, actors/directors are used to sell films – in this instance, the producers were used as a marketing tool
N.W.A have an establsihed set of fans
Synergy – link to the soundtrack for the film, as well as Dr. Dre’s first studio album in 16 years, Compton
“For the second week in a row,Straight Outta Compton was the most-watched movie in America. It’s made an estimated $111 million since it opened August 14. To get to the $100 million mark means the N.W.A bio-drama has crossed demographics and transcended its genre — it’s not just rap aficionados watching the movie. It means that people who are unfamiliar with Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube are learning about them for the very first time. It means that people in suburban America are seeing this film. It means that people are listening to Dr. Dre’s new album. It means that Compton has defied the expectations of an industry.”
The Film and Racism:
“At its heart, the film is about black survival in America. It makes no attempt to explain the origins of institutionalized racismor how we arrived to the time we’re in. Instead, it treats racism as it is — an inescapable force that haunts black men and women in America. Compton’s success is as much a testament to the talent of N.W.A as it is a celebration of overcoming the struggle of life in the inner city.”
Dr. Dre and His History With Women, and Representation of Women in Hip Hop:
“But one story that Compton didn’t tell is getting almost as much attention as the film’s success. That’s the story of Dr. Dre’s history of violence against women, which the film doesn’t touch upon. The omission has sparked a new examination of his life, his songs, and his lyrics. It’s ignited broader questions about why the film omitted this horrible chunk of history.”
“Barnes came forward and wrote the essay because her abuse wasn’t depicted in the movie. Barnes explains she didn’t think there would be a reenactment of her abuse; that might be too difficult and graphic for a film to handle delicately. Rather, she writes, she expected and wanted to see some acknowledgment of Dre’s history of violence against women./Barnes isn’t the only woman Dre has assaulted. Michel’le (Michelle Touissant), a singer and Dre’s former fiancée, told hip-hop site VladTV that she didn’t expect to be in the movie or for it to acknowledge her abusive relationship with Dre. “If they start from where they start from, I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up,” she said.”
“Not acknowledging Dre’s violence is attributed to the fact that Dre and Ice Cube are producers on the film. The concern is that they — as with anyone producing his own biopic — won’t be or can’t be objective when presenting themselves and their history.”
“While it’s easy to see why Ice Cube and Dr. Dre wouldn’t want to include the dark spots of their histories, it’s a bit more difficult to figure out why critics didn’t bring it up in their reviews.”
“This isn’t to say that Compton is a bad film. It’s not. But there isn’t anything wrong in asking why this story is being told in a way that evades a major part of the stories about these men and the art they created. The failure of these critics to mention N.W.A’s misogynistic songs poses a question about whether critics have a responsibility to do so.”
“On Friday, just before the movie’s second weekend, Dre acknowledged the movie’s sidestepping of misogyny and his abusive past. “Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. However, none of this is an excuse for what I did,” Dre told the New York Times, responding to Barnes’s article and the women who came forward to speak about the violence Dre inflicted on them.”
“If hip-hop is about truth, then the truth for these men at this point in their lives was that women were, at best, disposable sex toys or, at worst, conniving traps. And it’s not like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube weren’t influential or their misogynistic lyrics weren’t a huge part of their success. The popularity of these lyrics crystallized an idea of robbing humanity from black women — something that artists after them (including Dre’s protégés) would mimic.”
“Not depicting the misogyny these men are responsible for is essentially saying these women, especially black women, don’t matter. If we’re a society that sadly needs massive amounts of evidence (see: Cosby) of women being beaten or sexually assaulted to believe their stories, then Compton‘s evasion of the issue again reaffirms a message that women are irrelevant. That’s its own kind of abuse.”
“In rightly demonstrating how racism, hatred and fear result in the oppression of African American men, Straight Outta Compton unwittingly illustrates another reality: the crippling cycle of victimisation, harassment and abuse that marginalises women of colour, and LGBTIQ individuals.”
Women:
“The selective, revisionist history has been widely discussed, and should come as no surprise. Dr. Dre’s multiple recorded physical assaults against women are swept off the screen and under the rug in a film that’s mostly devoid of female characters altogether. On the rare occasion that women do appear, they’re nagging mothers, suspicious girlfriends, or bikini-clad groupies who get ejected from hotel gangbangs by gun-toting millionaire MCs, with a heavy-handed “Bye Felicia!” punchline. / N.W.A. didn’t get called “the world’s most dangerous group” for nothing. But calling out police corruption, then spitting “give ‘em a Tootsie Roll and tell ‘em thanks for the pussy hole” does seem like the work of self-fulfilling prophets, preaching opposing ideals of equality and misogyny.”
“It {hip hop} also conveys to me what it might feel like to experience a world of social persecution I will never be subjected to. I’m not SandraBland, KindraChapman, Joyce Curnell, Ralkina Jones, Alexis McGovern, or Raynetta Turner. But I live in their world, where sexism exists on a continuum, and the endemic denigration of women for entertainment continues to feed both casual and ceremonial misogyny. / For every ‘Fuck Tha Police’ there’s a ‘A Bitch Iz A Bitch’ further entrenching hateful objectification. So if you see Straight Outta Compton or Dope, celebrate films that acknowledge black lives matter — but question who’s conspicuously missing from the bigger picture.”
“Using their music, these men were able to shed light on their life in Compton, arguably one of the most “dangerous places in America”, and revealed their experiences of institutionalized racism even as they were on the rise to fame. According to Universal Pictures, “their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today”.”
Racism and Stereotyping:
“In media and our culture, we often see, according to Stuart Hall in The Whites of Our Eyes, “naturalized representations of events and situations” in relation to race “wither factual or fictional, which have racist premises and propositions inscribed in them as a set of unquestioned assumptions.” What he means by this is that inferential racism is a lot like stereotyping. We have these naturalized images or representations of people, events, situations, in relation to their race and they may or may not be fact, but still have racism as a base, and are assumed or treated as fact.”
“In analyzing the movie Straight Outta Compton, we see firsthand how the members of N.W.A., Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella, and MC Ren, experience this form of racism and stereotyping. There is a point in the movie where all of them are outside their recording studio and then police officers show up, thinking that the N.W.A. group are drug dealers or gang members because 1. They were black men, and 2. They “looked suspicious and dangerous”. This is a form of racial stereotyping. When told they actually work there at the recording studio, the police officers scoff and continue to yell at the men, telling them to put their hands up and lay down on the ground so they could be searched for drugs or weapons.”
“he police didn’t believe the members of N.W.A. because they were black and “looked like thugs” until a white person, their manager, was there to vouch for them. This form of oppression by the police, is a great example of how racism is institutionalized. The police force is a social institution, and when they exercise their right to power against a race in a negative way, it is a form of institutional racism…. These things are still happening today too”
“During a year in which systemic racism and police violence against black Americans have been more public and undeniable than ever, Straight Outta Compton is a literal and figurative middle finger to the white establishment, a highly satisfying statement of rebellion in motion-picture form.”
Race and Representation:
“What’s brilliant about the representation of races in Straight Outta Compton is that it not only subverts the system by focusing almost entirely on black characters, but that it also steers clear of the tokenism that other films are often guilty of. It’s extremely notable that Paul Giamatti, who plays NWA manager Jerry Heller, is the first white person who appears in the film who is NOT a cop. There are no random white extras hanging out in the background of scenes to make Compton seem more “diverse.” The film specifically wants to point out that Compton is a black city being discriminated against by a (predominately) white police force. The next time you see a white person in Straight Outta Compton is when NWA has become a success, playing an arena show. Here, there are all sorts of white people hanging out at the front of the crowd, reaching onto stage. This, again, is extraordinarily intentional. The film is making a point in the margins: white people represent the establishment. The main characters of the film have existed in what might as well be a different world entirely. The cops keep them down, the managers can potentially break them out into the world, and it is the appreciation and acceptance from the white establishment that NWA ultimately requires for the enormous success that they obtain.”
The Success of N.W.A:
“The success of NWA, as framed by the film, is simultaneously empowering and a reminder of Compton’s place in the world. It proves that IT IS possible to break out of their environment and change the world, but the gatekeepers to such success are still part of the same system that kept them down in the first place.”
Women and Representation:
“Finally, it wouldn’t be fair to talk about the intelligent and intentional usage of white people in Straight Outta Compton without also discussing its usage of women. Compton is one of the worst recent offenders here, utilizing women almost entirely as titillating set design. Even when female characters are important to the central characters’ lives, they tend to enter and exit the story with little to no fanfare at all, uttering a line or two of exposition or complaining about raising kids by themselves. Some of this could be shrugged off as representative of the characters’ feelings towards women and an accurate version of their lifestyles. But given what the movie DOES leave out, especially in regards to Dre’s public and repeated violence against women, it begins to feel a bit insidious.”
Georgia Newman - Media Studies 