Sunday Synopsis: Why Straight Outta Compton is the Movie that Saved My Summer

I rarely ever go see a mainstream movie in theaters on opening weekend. Yet Straight Outta Compton, the biopic about the rise and fall of rap group N.W.A (comprised of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, DJ Yella and MC Ren) somehow managed to get me out to the cinema.

Of all the reasons to see this film, I was mainly hoping that it would afford me a two-hour vacation from a challenging summer. In a few different ways, the summer of 2015 has been harsh on several members of my family, as well as that of one of my childhood friends. Then in late July I had a bit of an accident that put me out of commission at an inconvenient time. Suddenly, there were injuries to tend to and I was not able to work as often and as well as I planned. Since then I’ve done what I could where able but updating this blog was among the things that fell by the wayside during these last few weeks despite my attempts to finish writing drafts of a blog post for the Popcorn & Paninis series, here and there.

As you can imagine, not being able to operate at 100% in even the most basic of activities is no fun. If you take one thing away from today’s post, remember to always take good care of your body, never take it for granted, protect it in every way you can and pay attention to the things you’re doing, everyday, when you are doing them. The human body is such a magical machine; its amazing the kind of things it can do and I’m grateful that it has all sorts of superpowers to repair itself like other things in nature such as crops in a garden, forests, land, etc. Still its also worth keeping in mind that just because something can be reborn anew doesn’t always mean it will return in the same way.

Often I’ve gone to bed these last few months thinking this year sucks. The thing about life, however, is that if you keep moving, you will also have experiences that remind you it’s not so bad after all. I can think of maybe 7-9 days I’ve had this summer so far where things seem to be looking up and one of them is when I went to see Straight Outta Compton over the weekend. Ever since watching the movie trailer months ago, I’ve anticipated its release because I’ve been an Eazy-E fan for a long time. Funny enough, I was not introduced to his music by N.W.A but rather from the work he did with my favorite rap group of all time….Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

My familiarity with N.W.A came from vinyl record covers my mom had in the house, urban radio stations, MTV -- back when they were actually a music television channel -- and rap magazines sold at pharmacies like CVS, but I didn’t pay much attention to their songs.

Growing up, I knew more about the music of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre from their solo careers than any of the content chronicled in the movie about their early, and rocky, journey to putting the West Coast on the map, as far as the music industry is concerned. The fast paced Straight Outta Compton plays like a visual timeline of events that shaped music history while bringing our country’s political and social matters to center stage....

One day, a group of friends are uniting to make music and earn money through legitimate means during a time when the LAPD’s war on gangs made the future very uncertain for minorities regardless of their innocence. The next day, these same friends incite a nation of activists fighting to exercise (and maintain) their freedoms against censorship, violation of civil liberties, racial profiling and police brutality.

The biggest takeaway I gleaned from this movie is how important it is for disadvantaged youth around the world to have access to quality education and opportunities. There is a scene in Straight Outta Compton where Eazy-E (played by Jason Mitchell) bails Dr. Dre (played by Corey Hawkins) out of jail after Dre, who was working as a local nightclub DJ, was arrested without cause. In this scene, Dre convinces Eazy-E to leave his days of selling drugs behind to build a record label. Both of these young men are motivated by money and believe in their dreams enough to recognize an opportunity in the combined skills of their friends -- namely the writing abilities of Ice Cube (played by O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) and record spinning talent of DJ Yella (played by Neil Brown, Jr.).

All five members of N.W.A may not have looked like your average college graduate but they were still smart where it counted....channeling their own individual knowledge and talent into a more promising future for themselves; one that stretches beyond the most dangerous streets of Los Angeles. Straight Outta Compton depicts the lives of young men who speak up for the voiceless, marginalized members of society; people like them who are struggling to rise against a culture – be that in law enforcement, government, media and/or communities outside of their own -- that is intent on stereotyping everyone as criminals and people undeserving of respect, based on zip codes or appearances.

Chris, an L.A. native who also came to see Straight Outta Compton told me this is the “best hip hop movie” he’s ever seen. Chris just happened to be in town visiting and is probably on his way back to California right now as I write this, so having never been anywhere on the West Coast myself, it was nice to be surrounded by that L.A. life both onscreen and off-screen even for a short moment.

Although I have not watched many hip-hop movies in total, this film is definitely the best summer movie I’ve seen lately thanks to F. Gary Gray’s strategic assembly of a story that is bigger than hip-hop. That is where Straight Outta Compton shines for me.

For example, I vaguely remember watching news reports about the Rodney King beating and subsequent court verdict on television. I was just a kid then and didn’t think much of it except for the remarks I overheard from conversations between my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other elders. Straight Outta Compton helped put some things in perspective in terms of the significance of that incident and what it meant for the state of affairs between citizens, government and law enforcement.

Historical factors aside, this was a very entertaining film that made me laugh, cheer inside with excitement and jam out to classic tunes more times than it made me angry, nervous or want to cry. All despite the woman and her accompanying group of theater goers whose rude and ignorant outbursts were unwelcome by the rest of us who came to actually watch (and hear) the movie. It was a joy to learn more about how some of the biggest names in music known today got their start. So although this summer brought me some unexpected setbacks and painful times, the day I saw Straight Outta Compton was indeed...a good day.

R.I.P. Eric “Eazy-E” Wright.

Straight Outta Compton is now playing.

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Comments

[Angela Brown]

I haven't seen the movie myself but I've heard a ton of positive comments about it. Hip hop was a staple of life growing up for me, like bread or water. I wasn't a huge fan of N.W.A. due to my preference for East Coast rappers back then, but they did a heckuva job putting the West Coast on the map and being a voice for many.

[Maurice Mitchell]

First, I'm sorry for the health problems you've had this year Nicole. It sounds like it's been challenging and not in a good way. Thanks for trying to keep a positive outlook. It's very inspiring.

This is the best review I've read of this movie. I haven't seen it yet, but you laid out all the reasons I'd want to watch this film. From the fact that you're not a raving NWA fan (like you I'm more familiar with the solo works of DRE and Ice Cube) and the perspective you give of this telling a larger story than just the trials of one music group. NWA came out at a time when they were needed and embraced that. That's both artistic talent and good business sense which are both always needed.

My wife said people at her job were shocked that the movie wasn't about Eminem and Snoop Dogg. LOL

The legacy of this film may be that it will teach people that you can have a well-done and artistic film about rap music. I heard the studios and theater owners were terrified of violence and got security guards to patrol the theaters. Because, just like the Lafayette shooting at the movie "Trainwreck", it's a magnet for violence. Stupid.

[Nicole]

Angela,
This is the first time I've seen Hip-hop being likened to bread or water. I like it and can understand how huge of a part it played in many of us who grew up with it on our stereo systems. East Coast definitely reigned supreme and west coast music probably wouldn't have even gotten on the radar had it not been for N.W.A. Having still not been to the West Coast myself (at least not any times that I can remember), Tupac, Snoop Dog and individual members of N.W.A are about as close as I've gotten to that "California Love" experience. Thank you for your comment :)

Maurice,
Reading your comment put a big smile on my face! I think you will love STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON when you go see it in theaters. It's a high octane thrill ride that takes viewers on an emotional journey with the characters in this film. To know that I've helped add to the positive dialogue about the movie means a lot, especially as mass media and debbie downers try to craft unecessary drama (that doesn't even exist) surrounding this movie. I agree with you that it's stupid.

Also I think it's a prime example of how people in news industries and entertainment try to paint a picture based on the narratives and lenses that they want the masses to view certain folks through. That makes the whole story within this movie even more powerful and relevant now more than ever. Thank you for commenting on this post and yes when physical health starts acting up, we can just do what we can in hopes for a better outcome. Funny thing....the people at your wife's job clearly have no idea that without N.W.A (and the opportunities that came out of that group's success), there would probably be no Snoop Dog or Eminem, LOL. Thanks again :)