The thug image cultivated by NWA and its successors was a huge source of consternation for authority figures. But I was a bit too young and, as a white kid in rural Nebraska, too disconnected from the gangsta rap scene blowing up around the country to fully appreciate it at the time. More importantly, however, Straight Outta Compton contains one of the most powerful defenses of free speech that I have ever seen in cinema.Īs I grew up with a love of music and entertainment in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I remember a lot of people talking about the events depicted in the film. The film makes it abundantly clear that this wasn't what any of them wanted and they weren’t proud of it. The culture of violence from the streets of Los Angeles spilled over into every other part of these guys' lives, even while they were all working to leave the dangers of that life behind. One of the most powerful moments for me was seeing the direct parallel that the film draws between police brutality against Rodney King and the LA Riots in 1992, and the brutality and coercion with which business "deals" were conducted as relationships fell apart among Ice Cube, Eazy E, Dr. In fact, a major theme is the drive to escape violence, even though it swirls around every character in the movie. But contrary to what a lot of people might assume given NWA's music, there is no glorification of gangs or gang culture in the film. Nearly all of the business dealings that occur throughout the film are built on threats and violence, and certainly not what libertarians would endorse. Against this backdrop, three teenagers looking for a way out created one of the biggest entertainment acts of the last three decades, and irrevocably changed the face of the record industry.Īt its heart, Straight Outta Compton is a great entrepreneur story, but more in the tradition of The Godfather than Tucker: The Man and His Dream. It depicts a life experience steeped in drugs, gang violence, and police brutality in one of the poorest, most dangerous parts of Los Angeles in the 1980s. This is not, as you might imagine, a film for children or even most teens. Dre (Corey Hawkins) and chronicles their rise out of violence and poverty to fame and fortune as the groundbreaking gangsta rap group, NWA ("Niggaz Wit Attitude"). The film interweaves the stories of legendary hip hop artists Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.), and Dr.
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