Speaker: 00:00:00

Starting from my immediate left here.

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Over here

we have Vernard James and Vernard is a

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young local filmmaker

who graduated from DeSales University.

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He had a couple works

that won the prestigious Duffy

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: 00:00:13

Award for best overall overall film

two years in a row at DeSales.

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And he loves to write, direct and edit

films and volunteer at his church.

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So welcome, Vernard.

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To his left we have Andrew McIntosh.

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If you got here early

and you heard him spinning records.

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He goes by DJ ARM 18 as well.

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But, besides his skills on the turntable,

he is a professor of sociology

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at Northampton Community College,

the Monroe campus.

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His philosophy is “each one teach one”.

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And, and he's also taught at Lehigh and,

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he has done so much for the culture

around the Lehigh Valley.

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Recently, earlier this year, he brought

Chuck D to the campus of Northampton

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Community College, gave an amazing speech,

he brought the Cold Crush Brothers here.

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And we did a showing Wild Style,

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and I can go on and on, but,

welcome, Andrew McIntosh.

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Thank you.

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And to his left, we have Ali Akarcesme.

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He is a professor at Kutztown University.

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He has produced and directed socially

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conscious TV documentaries, short

narrative films.

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His film “Departures” led him to win

Best drama and Best director

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in New York at the prestigious film

festival in New York,

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and, we are thrilled to have him.

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He's a professor of film

studies at Kutztown so

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welcome, Ali.

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And then,

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we had met BooGie earlier,

but he was also a sociology

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major back at Rider university,

which is where me Boogie and

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and DynoWright had met

and we stayed great friends all this time.

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So BooGie will be moderating the panel.

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Thank you. JB.

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So, we've heard the introductions

of our panelists.

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We want to just kind of jump

right into it,

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and we want to kind of

have a bit of a conversation.

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So similar to a question out there,

one of the topics

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that this film talks about

is systemic inequality.

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So posed this how does the film portrays

systemic inequalities

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affecting Black communities

in South Central Los Angeles?

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What specific institutions,

including education,

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policing, healthcare or higher education,

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that has contributed

to these inequalities?

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And I'm just kind of going to go from,

you know, from our right to left,

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so we’ll start off with you, Vernard.

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(I think it's on.) Okay,

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for thanks for having me, but, yeah.

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I mean,

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LA is a character in this movie,

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you know, like, it's

it's living and breathing and

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and so every character's, like,

interacting with it.

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This thing, you know, as a character

in of itself and everyone you see,

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for better or worse, is a product of,

just, kind of the urban decay.

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But, there's a lot to go on,

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in South Central and, I mean,

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systemic, you just see,

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I think one of the really cool things

this show is,

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okay, not cool, but like

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one of the details is like, how

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when they're taking the city, like,

all the characters

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or all the people taking the test,

or like, minorities

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or the administrators or white ones

in the room, that that was interesting.

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And then obviously you

have a more like obvious,

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example like the the

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cop who hates his own kind so much.

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It's just coming out of him

how much he was,

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where he is

and what he does and everything about it.

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And he's decided

to take all this power trip

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job. So.

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I really like what

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you're saying about LA as a character.

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I was thinking as we're watching it.

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So the old school films, we've,

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we've shown you guys and put on,

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“Wild Style”, “Krush Groove”,

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“Juice” , they were all in New York City

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and they were in,

you know, Gotham, a metropolis.

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And then we watched House Party,

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you know,

which begins to have this suburban vibe.

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And the striking thing about South Central

is that in a lot of ways, it's laid out

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like the suburbs, but all the things

that you're speaking about

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and I spoke about,

there's these elements of, systemic

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racism present most clearly in

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that moment where, Furious

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talks

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about gentrification and, and,

you know, why?

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Why is it that, you know,

our hood is being depleted,

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purposely, like, ruined

and then blown out and flipped,

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you know, really striking

that that's talked about in: 1991

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So we know that that's

that's very much plagued our,

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our of many of our, our cities.

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And in the last 20 years.

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I think for me, it's,

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the establishment

and the contrast of three main characters

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from the writing perspective as Tre, Ricky

and the Doughboy,

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in terms of the fate

of what really happened to them,

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what they really pursuing, like,

you know, Ricky's situation

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with the education, SAT, versus,

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the only one that seems to be is

having the survival as the Tre character.

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And there are different reasons

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in terms of his family

atmosphere, having a single father,

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I mean, having the father present

with them at all times, versus Doughboy.

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So there's a lot going on in terms of

that, aside from what everybody else said

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was especially

the African-American cop over there

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and the internalized racism

that was part of it.

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And the rest.

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I think the first thing that really,

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strike me, I guess, was,

these three different characters

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and their establishment

in terms of the writing structure

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and what they really

what really happened to them

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and how they responded to these,

to these tragic events or incidents.

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Thank you.

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So in your responses,

we actually touched on a few

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of the other topics that I have here.

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So you're

just going to go right into those as well.

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So we mentioned, family and masculinity.

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So what roles do fathers play in

shaping the characters, especially Tre?

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We have a touched on that a little bit

and how these Tre’s relationship

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with his father, Furious Styles compares

with other young men’s

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experiences in the community.

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Okay.

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I guess, it really Tre's interactions

with his father,

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as was really interesting for me as a

parent myself, I guess the presence of him

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being in there, despite the fact that,

you know, mother and father was divorced

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and you actually compare that

with Doughboy and what's really happening

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with Ricky, where, you know,

the single mother is in the picture, but,

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you know, the father figure is not there.

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So I guess that really plays a major role

in terms of helping Tre to say,

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let me out.

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Let me out in that car.

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So, you know, like,

that's a really big moment in the film

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that helps him,

I guess, be more fortunate in terms of,

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having him better opportunities

to navigate compared to the other two

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in that regard, although they also focus

on the idea of education in that film.

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So the presence of Father

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Figure is, as a, as a male role model,

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helps him, you know,

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go through, navigate through this,

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struggle, and survival. I,

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I have read that Singleton wrote

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that Furious Styles character of like,

based on his relationship with his father

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was very, influential in his life.

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And I have to admit that,

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it was, you know, this is the first time

I've seen it since it came out in ‘91.

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And he was driving me crazy when I was,

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whenever I was at that time, 17, 16, 17.

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I didn't notice it at all,

but it was driving me

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crazy that the mothers were portrayed

so negatively.

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Right.

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Doughboy, Chris's mother,

you know, is picking favorites.

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The other mother we see is a crackhead

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until the moment at the at the cafe.

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And Angela Bassett’s

character gets to sort of set

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Furious straight and say, you know,

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you're not doing anything

that you shouldn’t be doing

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and that mothers

have always been doing it.

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And so I was, I was I was almost like

relieved that Singleton remembered.

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Like, okay, we we get some sort of pushing

back and forth, but no doubt,

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it seemed like a really burning

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important piece of this movie was to place

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fathers, in a role of responsibility.

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How important that is.

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Yeah,

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I think it's interesting the

I could be wrong,

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but I believe the only other father

you see is Ricky.

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Obviously with his infant.

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And there's obviously

just something about the contrast

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between time periods and, his son,

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his relationship

with his young father, who, you know, is

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really just trying to pick up the pieces

and figure out what he's going to do.

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He knows that he's going to do something,

but he just doesn't know exactly what.

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And then, of course, he's on

who is caught in the crossfire.

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So there really is nothing to do with, so

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yeah, I think yeah, it I

this is the first time

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I've seen this in a while,

as I was being more. But,

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sorry, but, Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I mean, the intentionality of John

Singleton

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just with the characterizations is, is.

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So it's right there.

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It's beautiful.

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Yeah. One thing that I noticed was the,

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how Ricky's

character was taken out in the film.

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It left his son without a father.

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So it's like the continuation of a cycle.

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You kind of.

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I think that was intentional

as well, for him to put that in there.

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So, you know, it was the father's race.

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You know, the son is going to probably

go down the same path, unfortunately.

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Which kind of brings us to our

our next topic.

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How does Singleton portray,

explore of the roots and impacts

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of gang violence on both individuals

and the community as a whole?

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Yeah, I mean that for the movie.

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It just speaks for itself.

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It was so

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iconic in its portrayals of gang violence,

and obviously led to a string of films

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throughout the 90s

by Singleton and other, directors that,

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highlighted a lot of that senseless,

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senseless, almost systemic violence that,

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just place the streets and it's brutal.

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It's random.

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And I think that's the scariest part,

is that it's a random,

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you know, those dudes really had.

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No, I think they're supposed to be Bloods,

and it's kind of,

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like they're against, Ice Cube

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who's,

you know, but like, maybe Crip affiliated.

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But regardless, there is nothing that said

anything at all.

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Like, it was just random.

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And yet it applied

to everything that happened.

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And yeah, Ricky was wearing a blue jacket

when he got bumped into.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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So so I think you're right like they have

that the red car, the Bulls Also, yeah.

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And the cop did say like you look like

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Crenshaw Mafia.

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Yeah. Yeah. So also more questionable.

Yeah.

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So that checks out.

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So I mean, clothing.

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Yeah.

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It's it's bothersome

how matter of fact it is.

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And a testament to,

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you know, I think sometimes good

art makes you very uncomfortable.

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How you know, I found myself, you know,

Ice Cube in particular, but just all these

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friends, like, as matter of fact, is there

violence is the,

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you know, it's

the outright misogyny, etc., so casual.

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And yet there's something

kind of endearing between all of them.

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Like, you know,

you get this sense that they, they're,

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they're brotherhood,

bound by that violence.

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And as you say,

this becomes very influential

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in a lot of films

that roll out in the 90s.

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But I think

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that's the first time you've seen,

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you know, the last, like last time

in my memory, my, my, my understanding

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that, you see, kind of like

Black characters involved in this kind of,

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gangster ism, whatever.

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For lack of a better word

is in blaxploitation flicks in the 70s.

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And those can be very cartoonish.

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I mean, they serve a certain purpose,

but this was just

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these were kids, like.

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I mean, they're in high school,

and I think that that is that's the part

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that, I was really a very unsettled,

unsettling for me.

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Really. Where should I start?

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Is it's the I think the scene

with the billboard, right, where,

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Laurence Fishburne’s character is talking

about the gentrified Asian

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also deals with this

in terms of what's happening in the corner

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of the neighborhoods with liquor stores

and, having access to guns.

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And all of those things

are definitely there.

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That's a very, very important scene,

I think. d d.

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And we could color different things by analyzing that particular scene over there.

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It's interesting that the film starts

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with the stop sign, and you guys notice

that it's starts with the stop sign.

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There's like a big focus,

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like it's almost like the filmmaker John

Singleton is showing that in our eyes.

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: 00:14:16

And I noticed that

when I was watching this time.

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There are other moments in the film

where they focus on the stop sign.

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I don't know,

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: 00:14:23

you could read it in different ways, but

it's like about the lack of opportunities.

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What is it?

You gotta be an athlete or a rapper.

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You're really successful.

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And think about what Ricky was going

through with safety and education,

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looking at the

the ads of the army, the military.

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: 00:14:38

There a lot of things.

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: 00:14:39

This this film is really

deep, guys. It's really deep.

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: 00:14:45

Yeah. So

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: 00:14:47

once again, we're kind of touching on

some of the other topics that I have.

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: 00:14:51

So let's just kind of,

let's talk about gentrification

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: 00:14:55

since that's the one that keeps coming up.

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: 00:14:58

This,

this for many was probably the first time

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that the term was used in a film,

and it was introduced by Laurence.

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Fishburne's character Furious Styles.

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: 00:15:07

How how does that resonate with you?

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: 00:15:09

And how do you see this

around your communities?

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: 00:15:11

And do you have some examples?

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I mean, for my for myself,

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: 00:15:15

my my cell phone is always going off

with someone trying to buy my house.

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I live in Newark, New Jersey

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in the middle of the hood

for those of you who want to know,

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but my phone is always going off

with someone trying to buy my house so

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: 00:15:25

I know exactly what he was talking about

with that.

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: 00:15:27

You know, we we buy houses for cash.

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: 00:15:31

Yeah.

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: 00:15:32

I mean, I'm from Allentown,

born and raised.

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: 00:15:34

And it's funny,

like, the first time I saw this,

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: 00:15:38

I must have been a high school,

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: 00:15:39

and I didn't really know

what gentrification was like.

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: 00:15:43

I'd heard the word,

but I didn't really have an understanding.

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: 00:15:46

And now, as soon as I even hear that word,

I think it's Seventh Street,

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: 00:15:49

you know, to, in the way that they've

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: 00:15:54

entirely gentrified,

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: 00:15:55

you know, that area with the PPL Center

and the new apartments and everything.

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: 00:16:00

And I like I remember

my friends were joking about it like,

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: 00:16:04

you know, there was a time not

too long ago where you could not walk down

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: 00:16:07

the streets like past a certain hour,

and now it's like,

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live and hopping and everything's going on

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: 00:16:14

and it's right in front of us,

you know, it's not just downtown, but

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all over the valley is, aspects of it.

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: 00:16:24

It's it's accessible

to only those who have the means.

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: 00:16:27

Right.

300

: 00:16:28

We didn't solve any of those problems

that made Seventh Street dangerous.

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: 00:16:33

Right.

302

: 00:16:34

But it sure looks nice.

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: 00:16:40

My issue, like,

304

: 00:16:41

the thing about gentrification

and redlining,

305

: 00:16:44

as someone who teaches Intro to sociology

and a class on American history and race,

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: 00:16:49

my humble opinion

307

: 00:16:51

is the the great gains

that were made by the civil

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: 00:16:55

rights movement and the passage

in the: 1964

309

: 00:16:59

Very much has made,

the America that we, we have experienced

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: 00:17:04

over the last 50 plus years

that the gains that we've had,

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: 00:17:07

the, the way in which, you know,

312

: 00:17:10

I look at the panel, right, like there's

just a variety of, of different people

313

: 00:17:13

coming together was in large part

because of those efforts.

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: 00:17:18

It also can be true that redlining and,

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: 00:17:21

gentrification practices,

systematically and purposely,

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: 00:17:27

if you will, invested

in particular Black communities.

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: 00:17:30

So the gains that we may have made

318

: 00:17:32

socially

and culturally were not made materially.

319

: 00:17:35

And, that is generational.

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: 00:17:38

And I think that's a big part

of this movie that he's tackling that

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: 00:17:42

certainly went over my head when I was 16.

322

: 00:17:44

And I was like,

just fascinated with Cube and, you know,

323

: 00:17:47

the hip hop soundtrack, was

Singleton is is really explaining how

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: 00:17:54

this, this, you know, South Central,

Compton,

325

: 00:17:56

these communities

may look like suburban America,

326

: 00:17:59

but they have been purposely

left out of the, the,

327

: 00:18:03

the sort of underwriting, underwriting

and the support,

328

: 00:18:06

with resources from a federal state,

329

: 00:18:09

you know,

authorities and, and, and civic planners

330

: 00:18:13

and it perpetuates itself,

331

: 00:18:16

in, in a variety of, of pathologies

that you see where you end

332

: 00:18:20

up, that Ali was saying just a moment ago,

like the kids growing up

333

: 00:18:25

feel like they have so few options, right,

that,

334

: 00:18:29

that, that are available to them.

335

: 00:18:32

I think one of the things

336

: 00:18:34

that really resonates even today,

many years has it been since: 1991

337

: 00:18:40

More than 30 years, right?

338

: 00:18:43

That still makes this film resonant and

universal is the topic of gentrification.

339

: 00:18:47

I think that's like one of the,

340

: 00:18:51

you know, top ones that are out there.

341

: 00:18:53

The idea of this,

342

: 00:18:56

outsider, wealthier force

coming in and preying upon,

343

: 00:19:02

Black communities

or other minorities, right?

344

: 00:19:05

They actually do

show the Latino community.

345

: 00:19:07

And then mention a little bit about the

Asian community here as well in the film.

346

: 00:19:12

The interesting thing for me about

this is about it's it's foreshadowing.

347

: 00:19:17

You know, how sometimes they say

this movie predicts the future?

348

: 00:19:21

Oh, it tells what really happens. Okay.

349

: 00:19:23

This earthquake happened

three years before.

350

: 00:19:25

It happened in this exact same place

after that, whatever that is.

351

: 00:19:29

Right.

352

: 00:19:29

So it's really amazing

353

: 00:19:31

to actually have this film foreshadowed,

especially with that scene with, Furious

354

: 00:19:36

Styles telling,

which is about, you know, gentrification.

355

: 00:19:40

The billboard scene is what I call it

is, still resonates with me today.

356

: 00:19:45

It's really interesting.

357

: 00:19:48

And I think

358

: 00:19:51

the typical thing with this, it's

just reminded me of Harlem,

359

: 00:19:54

reminded me of, I don't know, Brooklyn

or even Oakland in the West Coast.

360

: 00:20:00

Absolutely. You go to Brooklyn.

361

: 00:20:02

And I remember riding through Brooklyn.

362

: 00:20:04

It was some neighborhoods

I used to call a neighborhood Duck Down,

363

: 00:20:07

because it really felt like

you had to duck down right now.

364

: 00:20:10

Yeah, East New York now.

365

: 00:20:12

It's looks completely different.

366

: 00:20:16

But yeah, we

367

: 00:20:17

we definitely touched on this,

this last topic,

368

: 00:20:21

which was education.

369

: 00:20:22

And we saw some of that

with the SAT and etc..

370

: 00:20:26

So how is education depicted

371

: 00:20:29

as a means

for escaping the community struggles?

372

: 00:20:32

How realistic is this portrayal given

373

: 00:20:35

the characters’ situations?

374

: 00:20:38

I personally

375

: 00:20:39

believe that the characters

who really survive from this had something

376

: 00:20:43

to do with education, like Tre's

character, Ricky was so close to it.

377

: 00:20:48

He took a SAT

378

: 00:20:49

and we see the score he just got

and what really unfortunately happened.

379

: 00:20:53

And Furious Styles,

I'm not sure about his education

380

: 00:20:57

level in the film that was portrayed, but

they kept saying how much he's reading.

381

: 00:21:02

So that's part of. Yeah.

382

: 00:21:04

They kept saying like,

he reads a lot. He reads a lot.

383

: 00:21:06

Your dad is deep, your dad, is he,

is he a preacher or something?

384

: 00:21:10

Right. They were talking about

all of those things.

385

: 00:21:13

I kind of see that again.

386

: 00:21:15

Back to the idea.

387

: 00:21:16

I just I look at it from a filmmaker

perspective as well.

388

: 00:21:19

I guess the character establishment,

the character

389

: 00:21:22

traits of these,

you know, iconic ones in this film.

390

: 00:21:26

And those two have a lot

to do with education.

391

: 00:21:30

That's that's

the first thing that comes to my mind.

392

: 00:21:34

So, yeah, this is a tough one for me.

393

: 00:21:40

I hope

I don’t sound like I have some sort of,

394

: 00:21:41

like, problem with self-loathing

as a professor myself.

395

: 00:21:45

But, you know,

I tell my students, don't ever let

396

: 00:21:48

their schooling

get in the way of their education.

397

: 00:21:52

I am at this,

398

: 00:21:54

and I'm, I'm by myself

and particularly at a moment where,

399

: 00:21:58

and I try to keep focus on the movie,

you watch this movie and,

400

: 00:22:03

education becomes this,

like magic wand in which only.

401

: 00:22:08

Tre is the only character

that is able to access it.

402

: 00:22:12

And ideally, he lives happily ever after.

403

: 00:22:15

And I think that kind of,

404

: 00:22:18

that kind of, sort of societal norm

born from this, like neoliberalism, like,

405

: 00:22:23

if everybody could just educate, then

we can just let the market do its thing.

406

: 00:22:26

And you work hard and and you succeed.

407

: 00:22:29

And I don't know about the rest of you,

but it's just

408

: 00:22:31

I'm at a particular moment

where I'm like, yes, Tre

409

: 00:22:36

succeeds.

410

: 00:22:37

And that's the

411

: 00:22:38

story that my college is going to slap up

on the front of their catalog.

412

: 00:22:42

What about Doughboy?

413

: 00:22:43

What about Chris?

414

: 00:22:44

Like, I feel that we have left

415

: 00:22:47

whole swaths of our population behind,

416

: 00:22:50

by this, overemphasis on higher

417

: 00:22:53

ed in our society over the last, five,

418

: 00:22:57

you know,

three to 3 or 4 decades in particular

419

: 00:23:00

that leaves so many people alienated

420

: 00:23:04

and creates this level of stratification

between

421

: 00:23:07

the educated and the uneducated.

422

: 00:23:09

That is, that drives

a lot of the polarity,

423

: 00:23:13

polarity that I think,

we're seeing in our society.

424

: 00:23:16

So that's not to say

I don't believe in what the work we,

425

: 00:23:21

I do as a professor is, is important,

but I think we need

426

: 00:23:25

more dynamic approaches

to addressing social inequality.

427

: 00:23:29

Other than I didn't go to college,

go to college.

428

: 00:23:32

And so I was kind of struck

by that, watching a movie,

429

: 00:23:37

Yeah.

430

: 00:23:38

Yeah, that's a word.

431

: 00:23:41

I wanted to find a way to work this

in somehow.

432

: 00:23:44

And, but, John Singleton,

433

: 00:23:47

wrote wrote the screenplay for, Boyz n

the Hood

434

: 00:23:51

as his senior thesis, project

when he was going to USC.

435

: 00:23:56

Of course, he got an A-plus on it And

436

: 00:24:01

and then got funding, you know, like, it's

437

: 00:24:04

so I mean, you can even see

438

: 00:24:07

this is John, you know, an educated

439

: 00:24:10

Black man who was straight out of Compton.

440

: 00:24:14

That was,

441

: 00:24:17

not intentional but,

442

: 00:24:20

he was in the streets and,

and I think this was

443

: 00:24:24

that was his way of saying,

you know, like education where he has you.

444

: 00:24:29

But I think you're absolutely right.

445

: 00:24:31

I mean, there's there's a side of it

where it's like,

446

: 00:24:33

what about those who, you know,

447

: 00:24:36

like like me?

448

: 00:24:37

I was never a great student.

449

: 00:24:39

I'm blessed.

450

: 00:24:40

I made it, you know, through college

and everything like that.

451

: 00:24:43

But, like, I can certainly see

that's not what, you know, defines me.

452

: 00:24:49

So art was kind of where I had my college.

453

: 00:24:52

You can always teach art.

454

: 00:24:54

And, I mean, you look at this movie,

I would say this stand out.

455

: 00:24:58

Well,

I mean, there's multiple standouts but

456

: 00:25:01

it's artists,

you know, it's Cuba Gooding Jr,

457

: 00:25:04

a young, even a great Ice Cube

who had never acted a day

458

: 00:25:08

in his life, who is now doing

all kinds of crazy things.

459

: 00:25:11

And so,

you see, even within this project, words

460

: 00:25:16

pushing forward

this message, you can see how art,

461

: 00:25:19

being used within it, artists,

462

: 00:25:22

you know, just doing their thing,

how it is become this creative thing.

463

: 00:25:27

So I think it was interesting.

464

: 00:25:29

I just would like to add one thing,

but I think times are different.

465

: 00:25:33

Things are really different in terms of

I just the film resonates with them.

466

: 00:25:37

But the situation with Doughboy

or even Ricky or the others,

467

: 00:25:43

I think has also a lot to do,

in my opinion, with the masculinity

468

: 00:25:46

and then the absence of,

I guess, role models

469

: 00:25:51

like male role

models around these subjects, which would,

470

: 00:25:55

give them less avenues to go for whatever

you want to call that success.

471

: 00:26:01

And for those times,

I guess going to college

472

: 00:26:05

or reading or being out

there would be one of those avenues where

473

: 00:26:09

these other characters didn't

have that chance to actually go through.

474

: 00:26:14

So I personally think that it has a lot

to do with their surroundings,

475

: 00:26:19

their family structures,

and the idea of masculinity.

476

: 00:26:24

Okay.

477

: 00:26:24

Yeah.

478

: 00:26:24

So I mean, for Ricky's character

who almost made it out, I mean,

479

: 00:26:30

his option is sports, that was his outlet,

you know, that happens a lot.

480

: 00:26:35

And in these situations,

even in the inner cities as well.

481

: 00:26:39

So I don't necessarily

have any more questions.

482

: 00:26:41

I just want to see if anyone has

any final thoughts on the film

483

: 00:26:44

that you'd like to share,

with the audience.

484

: 00:26:49

I'll, I'll throw in a bit

485

: 00:26:53

that I find a great contrast between early

hip hop films from New York.

486

: 00:26:58

Like “Wild Style”, “Krush Groove”

and even “Juice” to a degree

487

: 00:27:03

is that in those movies, hip hop is this,

488

: 00:27:07

like, alternative to violence?

489

: 00:27:10

It's alternative to poverty.

490

: 00:27:12

It's a it's a it's like this, you know,

491

: 00:27:15

build your skills, become - Juice -

you know, you become this great deejay.

492

: 00:27:19

There's this opportunity for you.

493

: 00:27:21

And and in some ways, you know,

I don't want to paint

494

: 00:27:24

too rosy of a picture of it,

but in some ways, a lot of like,

495

: 00:27:27

the Bronx movement around the hip

hop picks up gangbanging

496

: 00:27:30

and put it into this culture,

create opportunity for us.

497

: 00:27:36

The West Coast is awesome.

498

: 00:27:37

You know, like it's very

it has a very different,

499

: 00:27:41

way to orient itself to hip hop

500

: 00:27:44

and you can see some of that

in “Breakin’”

501

: 00:27:47

I think

when, when you guys show that in February,

502

: 00:27:50

it tends to always have seen,

this is a way to make money.

503

: 00:27:56

And blow up.

504

: 00:27:59

And then what you see in this movie

for the first time that I, that I know,

505

: 00:28:03

I think it's a much better

representation of colors is that hip

506

: 00:28:06

hop and sort of gangbanging are like,

inseparable.

507

: 00:28:10

It's the soundtrack. Like, you know what?

508

: 00:28:13

What struck me was the hip hop was like

hip hop beats and like, classic songs.

509

: 00:28:19

“Jam on It” or “More Bounce to the Ounce”.

510

: 00:28:21

Cube’s records, Too Short’s records,

they're all playing in the background

511

: 00:28:25

when this is going on.

512

: 00:28:26

So it's like it's a part of this larger

sort of meditation

513

: 00:28:30

that Singleton's having on, on, on,

the mindset and that it seems.

514

: 00:28:35

So it's, it's just a different take.

515

: 00:28:38

And I think it's very

516

: 00:28:39

it's striking

that regard as a hip hop movie.

517

: 00:28:44

I mean, for me, I'm

going to go a little technical with this,

518

: 00:28:47

but if there's one thing that makes this

film really different than the others,

519

: 00:28:51

in my opinion, with hip hop movement,

it's the use of sound in the film.

520

: 00:28:55

It's almost like two

characters are talking.

521

: 00:28:57

There's always the hip

hop music in the background.

522

: 00:28:59

What did you say?

523

: 00:29:00

Something about it?

What's going on? Right.

524

: 00:29:02

And what this 4K experience is,

it was a little different experience

525

: 00:29:06

for me here as well,

especially with the sound like gunshots.

526

: 00:29:10

And a couple of things really shook me up.

527

: 00:29:12

Helicopter ride helicopters sound.

528

: 00:29:15

That's a really wise use of filmmaking

from that perspective, of that

529

: 00:29:19

dark clouds that are being all over

these neighborhoods at all times.

530

: 00:29:22

Right.

531

: 00:29:22

It's really interesting.

532

: 00:29:24

So, so I think

it's a really influential film.

533

: 00:29:27

I think what you said about the hip

hop influence is really there,

534

: 00:29:30

but not only because of that,

but all the other topics that,

535

: 00:29:34

you know, the questions were centered

around today with the idea of gang

536

: 00:29:37

violence, gentrification, education.

537

: 00:29:40

I think this film is really influential,

even still today.

538

: 00:29:43

It resonates.

539

: 00:29:44

It resonates with with me,

and I'm hoping with everybody

540

: 00:29:49

Yeah, another

541

: 00:29:50

thing I noticed was right

as Ricky is about to be shot,

542

: 00:29:54

you hear a child

laughing in the background.

543

: 00:29:57

Yeah, it's just a crazy contrast. But,

544

: 00:30:01

yeah,

I mean, I just echo what you're saying.

545

: 00:30:03

I mean, I think about, just myself

and the impact, you know,

546

: 00:30:09

some like this had when I was young

and just trying to figure out,

547

: 00:30:13

like,

you know, who I was and was going to be.

548

: 00:30:17

And I had all these different things

surrounding me, you know, like,

549

: 00:30:21

Allentown isn’t Compton,

550

: 00:30:22

but like, there's there's still crime,

there's still things that happen.

551

: 00:30:26

And, you know, I had another front row

seat to some of that, you know, a film

552

: 00:30:31

like this, that really obviously,

553

: 00:30:35

you know, has become a cultural landmark.

554

: 00:30:38

And I think it's really cool

555

: 00:30:41

just to zero in on, like,

Compton and South Central L.A.

556

: 00:30:45

and everything. Like

557

: 00:30:47

the influential artists who

558

: 00:30:49

have come out of there

who are doing such amazing work today.

559

: 00:30:53

I'm a huge Kendrick Lamar fan, I’m

a Kendrick Lamar stan, you could say.

560

: 00:30:57

And thinking

that he came from those streets

561

: 00:31:01

thinking that he came from like Bloods

and all that kind of stuff.

562

: 00:31:06

He's about to do the Super Bowl and,

563

: 00:31:08

and he's and he's using his resources

and everything to give back.

564

: 00:31:12

Like, it's

not just like fame and everything,

565

: 00:31:14

but like conscious and talking about like,

566

: 00:31:18

just like taking care of your mental

health and all these different things.

567

: 00:31:22

It's like, you know, John Singleton,

like his, his work.

568

: 00:31:28

I really believe just like paved the way

for young Black men, even in that time and

569

: 00:31:33

space, were surrounded by this stuff to,

you know, still be able to cut through it.

570

: 00:31:38

And they use music, but, you know, there's

so much other stuff, that they had.

571

: 00:31:43

So, I mean,

572

: 00:31:45

it's a

573

: 00:31:46

shame that he died so young, but truly,

truly, truly, you know,

574

: 00:31:49

just one of the great pieces of cinema

that I think was

575

: 00:31:56

He actually really had

he had more in the tank,

576

: 00:31:58

unfortunately,

we never get to see what he had in store.

577

: 00:32:03

But, on behalf of the Hip Hop

578

: 00:32:05

Movie Club, I'd like to thank you

three gentlemen for sharing your time

579

: 00:32:08

with us and talking about our film

and being a part of this event.

580

: 00:32:12

And to the audience, if you can have a

round of applause for our three panelists.

581

: 00:32:16

Thank you all.

582

: 00:32:19

So much for coming out.

583

: 00:32:21

Have a good night.