Film Studies Evaluation

For my creative investigation I explored the representation of black

males in two films from 1990s America Boyz n Hood and Menace II
Society focusing on the environment in which the male characters
are brought up into and the impact it has on the characters whether
it becomes a positive representation of black males or a negative
one. Through my investigation I discovered that in the two films the
directors drew focus on contrasting different type of characters, the
first been a character trying to escape from their crippling
environment whilst the other was a character thats become a
product of that same environment influencing the character in a
negative way.
I will be using this idea within my key frame to show the
representation of black males and the challenges they face within
because of their environment. I will do this by having my protagonist
be a countertype instead of a stereotype shown the two films for
example violent and aggressive. I was able to create the
countertype in CJs character by his need to want to leave his
criminal life behind putting him in a scenario in which his resolve his
tested has he is forced to decide between two paths. I used the
dialogue within the script to subject CJs decision as Tyrones
character called upon their past friendship in order to get CJ back
into the life he wasnt leave behind. This links back to Menace II
Society as Tyrone becomes a similar character to O-Dog who
influences Caine into staying within their violent environment. It also
links back to my theme of escapism, as CJ becomes the
embodiment of that idea and we are able to follow him through his
journey as he decides on what life he wants to live.
In my 20 Key Frame my protagonist is represented as intuitive this
shown through the close-up shots of his face as he rationalizes the
decisions he as to make trying to think of the best possible outcome
for all the parties involved. This goes against the stereotype that
black males make rash decisions without thinking about the
consequences evident in Menace II Society for when O-Dog kills the
shop owner or in Boyz n The Hood when Tr decides to go out
looking for revenge for the death of his friend. This representation
also counters Stuart Hall second base image the native their
primitive nature means they are cheating, cunning, savage and
barbarian. While CJ does not exhibit the traits of the second base
image I was able to create a comparison in Jeromes character that
is represented to be quick to anger and violent as seen in his
dialogue creating both a countertype in CJ and a stereotype in
Jerome. This helps create a positive representation of black males
combatting against the stereotype.
Within my 20 key frames I felt I was unable to properly represent the
use of violence to show the dangers of CJs character. The two films

were successful in giving a realistic portrayal of why the protagonist

would want to leave their homes and families in order to escape
their environment. The films used violent crimes like drug dealing,
drive-by, robberies and murders to paint the violent lives of South
Central citizen evident by the rise of black and Hispanic gang during
the 80s and 90s while also becoming known as a byword for urban
decay while its bad reputation spread through media. I could not
recreate such an intense environment visually with only the use of a
prop gun to punctuate this and the selling of Class-A drug cocaine to
show that CJ did not create the intensity needed. This could have
been improved with the use of visual representations of urban
decay, poverty, criminal activity and murder.
I also thought I was successful in portraying the fashion of black
males in my final product, through his costume by having CJ wear an
Adidas Tracksuit and a pair of popular trainers popular currently. This
is because hip-hop fashion of the early 1980s and late 1990s was
used in both films as a part of black culture. The characters from the
two films in my textual analysis wore clothes from Nike, Adidas and
Converse as part of their individualism. The way in which CJs
characters dresses helps creates is own individuality whilst also in
keeping within the hip-hop fashion style this is evident with Tre,
Doughboy and Rickys characters although they all dress differently
they are within the Hip-Hop fashion of there era.
In conclusion I thought I was able to achieve my aims but had areas
in which it could have been improved in other areas. I felt what
worked strongly was playing the countertype and stereotype against
each other conveyed in the script whilst also creating a positive
representation for black males. However I was unable to fully covey
the intensity and grit that the two films within my textual analysis
had to create a dramatic piece because of this I think the message
and themes of my final product was lost.