As such, Menace II Society comes off like a 90-minute editorial, but one with its mind focused on uncomfortable education. The chosen news clips expose the inherent bias as broadcasts read from the same script that only points out injuries to police, placing erroneous blame on the rioters, not the conditions that led to the outbreaks. Two real world, racially divisive riots precede this otherwise fictional story. Important to Menace II Society is the history.
Gruesomely bloody violence isn’t treated as spectacle, only tragedy, even if the co-directing Hughes Brothers’ style relies on music video-esque slow motion that robs those scenes of power. Menace II Society’s isn’t glamorizing Caine so much as using him as a beacon to expose a broken system. His decisions, often wrong-headed, turn insurmountable. This isn’t a film asking for sympathy, just an honest discussion and potential solutions. He’s surrounded by similar personalities, some more quiet, others doubly brazen, causing a cruel tug-of-war as the counter-influences vie for attention. Through him comes a cycle of crime, murder, racist policing, teen pregnancy, and frustration while trying to find an out.
Caine (Tyrin Turner) is less a protagonist than an amalgamation of truthful, raw urbanity. If there’s a fault, Menace II Society begs for an open dialog more than it exists to tell a story. Menace II Society begs for an open dialog more than it exists to tell a story
0 kommentar(er)
