“Charlene: So what is it that you do? Marcus: I'm a gangsta.”[1]
‘Are young black males excessively stereotyped as gangsters, with a reference to ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’[2] 2005?
In recent years, the film industry has been excessively portraying black males as gangsters due to the changes that are occurring within the society. It is a convention that has been commonly used in movies but powerfully illustrated in the movie 50Cent ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
Marcus (starred by a globally successful rapper 50Cent), who is associating himself as a gangster as well as many other black youths represented in this way. This convention has also been popular in other countries than the USA such as: in the UK’s ‘Bullet Boy’[3] where Ricky (Ashley Walters who also stars in Get Rich or Die Tryin) is portrayed as a gangster in both movies. This therefore seems to support the view that black males are being commonly represented as gangsters.
This particular movie can be seen as a typical ‘Gangster’ genre as it follows the conventions which are ‘According to Hollywood, the gangster film could combine realism and popular culture because it has been very popular throughout the years and more films has been made following this type of genre’[4]. In addition to the Gangster genre, this movie also has a ‘hybrid’ genre as it contains different genres which will therefore appeal to a wider audience. It also follows realism in the way that it includes the ‘Biopic’[5] genre as one of its main genre as it focuses on the real life of 50Cent and showing the audiences how much he suffered in his life so he could at the end become rich and mainly showing how in this society being a black male is really hard to succeed and as he didn’t have any other choice to help him succeed he became a gangster which at the end helped him, but after a lot of suffering. 50Cent suffering is mainly emphasised by the scene where he gets shot nine times and this is considered as one of the main genre’s conventions ‘law, order, crime, but unlike other crime and police genre, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster’[6]. So by showing 50 Cent getting shot will therefore appeal a lot to audiences mainly black youths which will make them become aware of what might happen to them if they become gangsters as it has happened to 50Cent.
There are various reasons that are making these black males turn into gangsters such as poverty and racism. Poverty which is considered as the main problem for these youngsters, this poverty that they are facing is therefore leading them to get involved into drugs, crimes and robbery in order to get rich, but at the end they face problems. These things can be seen as a revenge on the society by these males as they are not treated as ‘Those groups with most power’[7]. This convention has been used in this movie where 50Cent and his crew have been involved in a robbery of a bank in order to get money and when they are seen taking drugs. These things that they are involved in are causing them to get into trouble and face prison; this has been caused to many black gangsters before and this can be seen as one of the conventions of the gangster genre, as they actually face these things in real lives. This is supported by 50Cent that has faced prison because of committing a crime or a robbery and Ricky in ‘Bullet Boy’ for carrying a gun.
This subject of black males facing prison therefore leads to the issue that most rappers are from a black ethnic background and have faced prison before such as 50Cent, 2Pac, but after that trouble they seem to get punished when 50Cent gets shot and 2Pac gets killed.
‘Rap music from the start was designed to stop the violence and to keep peace among youthful gang members’[8], by getting into the Rap industry, their voices would be heard in the society and will make them become successful in their lives as they all tend to become globally successful rappers, nevertheless after facing a lot of problems in their lives. This global representation is shown by most black Rappers, and through TV programmes such as the ‘X.factor’ Leona Lewis as well as famous footballers such as: Thiery Henry and Ronaldinho.
Poverty is problem which is considered as one of the main causes of this gangster generation. This is shown by many scenes in the movie which are used to create a great emphasise on the issue of poverty and how it seen as a big problem. It is shown in 50Cent when he was a teenager and wanted to buy trainers but wasn’t able to get it as he didn’t have enough money, neither could his mum as she was only working to be able to feed her family. However later on, 50Cent produced a video clip called ‘Window Shopper’[9], which includes shots from the movie and flashbacks from his childhood where he was just starring at the shop’s window unable to get what he wanted, later on it is reflected by the scene where he is shown as rich with a posh car next to the window shop and showing that now he is able to afford it.
These shots of him being poor and him being able to afford the pair of trainers are used to show how much he suffered to be able to become successful and popular, this convention that he used in the video has a message to convey which is reinforcing the ‘Black Identity’ and that black people should be more respected in the society as they are able to succeed.
These struggles that black males have been facing for many years, has thus led them to revenge and stand up against the society which is rejecting them, by creating the so called ‘Black Power’[10] and ‘Civil Right Movements’ which have ‘transformed the economic value of racial identity for African Americans and other Black people around the world, also helped other nascent identity movements among other ethnic minorities.’[11] So this seems to show again how black people are successful and how they have been successful in creating this ‘Black Power’ which has also helped other ethnic minorities to succeed and to have their voices passed on to the society which were also facing similar problems that the Black community was facing, but more over to be able to show that black people have also the right to dominate the society.
These movements were also established in order to stop Colonialism that these ethnic minorities were facing. Colonialism which can be seen as one of the main problems that has caused these Black people to become denied or under represented in the society, as those in power used these Black people as slaves which made them look unreliable or uncivilised to the society. Hence this is related to Homi Bhaba’s theory of ‘the Other’ which can be seen as an excuse that the white people used to colonise the non-civilised countries, which will make them become reliable and civilised. ‘These movements joined, in an informal way, to generate a common political mood of victimization, moral indignation, and a self-righteous hostility against a common enemy- the White male.’[12] .
This particular gangster genre has been first laid out during the 30’s; earlier films made under this genre such as ‘Little Caesar’[13] (1931), ‘Public Enemy’ [14](1931) and ‘Scarface’[15](1932) are still used as one of the common examples of this particular genre as they include characters of ‘particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life’[16] which are seen as the main conventions of this genre and most movies that follow this genre include those typical conventions.
These earlier gangster movies had white actors starring as gangsters, however in the recent films such as ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and ‘Bullet Boy’ which only include black characters starring as gangsters. These earlier years might therefore show that gangsters weren’t created by black people; however they were created by white people which were called the ‘Mafia’ which might have created this genre.
‘The God Father’ [17] (1972) known as the ‘Number One Gangster movie ever made’ shows how this movie mainly focused on the white Italian ‘Mafia’ and which therefore shows that this Gangster genre was created by white people. Michael who just came back from the Second World War finds his father involved in drugs and crimes. Michael’s father is the boss or the ‘DON’ of this Italian mafia who is enforcing him to do it ‘for the sake of his family’[18]. This is hence is showing that there is always a reason for becoming a gangster and even though Michael didn’t face problems as 50Cent or Ricky (starring Ashley Walters) faced.
‘Each era has it own system of genre’[19] ‘they are named and placed within hierarchies or systems of genres’[20], ‘each is defined by reference to the system and its members’[21] this could have happened due to the Zeitgeist. This Zeitgeist has occurred due to the changes in the society which has therefore led to the creation of problems in the society for black males, such as: racism, poverty, gun crimes. For that reason, this typical genre is mainly associated with black people.
This therefore makes these black males find that becoming gangsters would be the appropriate solution for them as they would be able to revolt against these problems, which would therefore help them become dominant people in this society. This again relates to the fact that most rappers are from a black ethnic background as it will help them to fight and have their voices passed on the society and emphasizing on the fact of how hard it is to be a black person in the society, and that if you are not successful and meet the level of the ‘white people’, you will hardly be able to survive which is supported by the title ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
The aim of most movies is to entertain their audience, but in addition to that this movie tends to inform its audiences which are mainly young black male audiences over the age of 15 which is the age certificate for most gangster movies. These movies tend to warn their target audience about what problems they could be facing in the society as they are from a black background on daily basis situations like ‘who’s going to discriminate against me today? What job am I not going to get?’[22] As well as what problems will occur if they get into gangs such as: facing prison, getting punished, etc. On the other hand this movie might also be telling its audiences to fight against the white ruling class by getting involved into these gangs, which again emphasizes on the ‘Black Power’ in order to create equality between the white and black social classes ‘because life isn’t like that for people’[23].
Unlike other movies produced in different genres, this particular genre ‘is one governed by the morality of the wider society. This means the film shows the gangster’s fate to condemn him and warn others away from a life of crime’[24]. So this shows that this particular genre is there to try to improve the lives of the newer black generation and protect them from the entire dilemma they could be facing. The use of 50Cent and Ashley Walters who are representing these issues in their movies, they would have a greater influence on their target audiences. 50 Cent is shown doing this when he is holding his baby son tightly which indicates that he is protecting him and doesn’t want him to face the similar problem that his father faced. As well as Ricky in ‘Bullet Boy’ where he tries and even risks his life, in order to protect his brother and prevent him from getting into trouble.
Stereotyping social groups is categorising them with few characteristics, these stereotypes are not always true, but we tend to believe them even if "There is something radically wrong with the way black immigrants - West Indians, Asians, and Africans are handled by and presented on the mass media"[25]. These stereotypes that we believe have been reinforced by the media which represents these black ethnic minorities as trouble makers and gangsters which is supported by the news mainly when a murder occurs it is most of the times blamed on black youngsters and this therefore makes us think that black people are dangerous and that we should be aware of them. This is therefore promoting its ‘hegemonic’ ideology on us, as the theorist Herbert Marcuse mentioned that the media tries to ‘indoctrinate and manipulate us’[26].
This ‘hegemony refers to create to the winning of popular consent through everyday cultural life, including media representations of the world’[27]. These so called false representations are used by the media to try and win our ideas and our beliefs by making us think the way it wanted. This has been shown is ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’, ‘Bullet Boy’, ‘Boyz n the Hood’ [28] (1991) and ‘Kidulthood’[29] (2006) where there is only a use of gangsters which are from a black background. This representation is happening due to the problems that these black males are facing in the society and they are being under-represented and being ruled by the white ruling classes and the ghetto that they are living in. So by making these gangs, they could be able to prevent these problems, which will therefore make them become more powerful and dominant in order to have their voices passed in the society.
These stereotypes are making us have a negative image of these black males, so this is making us think as passive audiences as we tend to forget about the problems that these youths are facing which is therefore leading to get involved in crimes, drugs, robbing etc. This might be occurring because of the lack of the father which is shown in most of Gangster movies, which most black children lack. This lack of parents is therefore affecting these kids as they are not having a nuclear family and no one to support them or aid them with their problems. This is shown in 50 cent when he doesn’t know his father and his mother is working away in order to feed her family, however he is much more affected and starts getting into this Gangster business when his mother gets killed which makes him wanting to get revenge. In parallel this is also shown in ‘Bullet Boy’ where there is a lack of father, even though there is a presence of the mother she is not able to understand clearly her son’s problems. However if there was the existence of the father in both movies, they would be able to understand their children more and give them advice about preventing the consequences they might face.
If the father existed these problems wouldn’t have existed which is therefore promoting a ‘Patriarchal’ ideology. The question to ask is ‘Where have all the Black men gone?’[30] This is seen as ‘a vivid snapshot of a very troubling reality in black America’[31] as black women have outnumbered black males by 30%, because males are working abroad or doing their military service, in cities like Chicago and New Orleans.
These problems that are happening to these black youths are therefore creating the so called ‘Youth Culture’ which has therefore led to the creation of these Gangsters, however us the audiences should act as ‘Active audiences’ and we shouldn’t believe what the media is injecting us, hence this is also known as the ‘Hypodermic Needle’ theory, We should firstly recognise the problems that are causing these boys to get involved in these things such as becoming gangsters.
‘The gangster film as we know it was a product of the growth of the Hollywood system’[32], this genre is now considered as one of the main genres of the Hollywood film industry. As this genre mainly focuses on the problems that are happening to these gangsters and how they could be solved, as well as having their voices being heard and therefore the Hollywood studio doesn’t create any restrictions on what is being produced, which is therefore emphasizing on the importance of this gangster genre on the Hollywood system even if ‘the ways in which the studios were organised to produce films can be seen as a determining factor on the final pattern or form of the individual’[33]. So these gangsters by getting involved into gangs they will get their voices passed on to the society.
‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ uses the typical gangster genre conventions which are therefore making it become a gangster movie, such as: the use of drugs, crimes and robbery. These things are committed by these Gangsters in order to get rich and have a superior role within the community. This might be therefore promoting the ‘Capitalist’ ideology, as poverty is being the main problem that these youths are facing and this is the reason that is leading to get involved in such things. This ‘Capitalism’ is only owned by the ‘White’ classes and this is making the black people to feel humiliated so in order to gain this capitalism they start robbing banks as they are not able to gain that money in a legal way because of the problems they are facing, where as white people are able to get jobs they want and things they desire. This is supported by the scene shown in the movie robbing a bank, when 50Cent said ‘Crack meant money, money meant power and power meant war’[34]. Overall this is saying that if you lack money in this society, you are less likely to be successful, which means that money is everything.
To conclude, ‘besieged by poverty, disease, violence and mass incarceration’[35] they are still represented as gangsters and as lower working classes and don’t really have a voice in the society. So by becoming gangsters and rappers they could revolt against the society and represent themselves as strong. This movie is treating and showing the issues of these black males and therefore is trying to show how black males are living and suffering. They are showing how they are ruled by ‘White Americans’ that they can unite and fight for their rights and become treated as normal people. This is the main reason that is causing them to become gangsters in order to have a more respectable place in the society and have their equal rights. As 50Cent said ‘Show no love. Love will get you killed’[36]. This is supported by the fact when his mother dies, he always wanted to get revenge and even when he got shot he still fought and wanted to get further in life and do well as 50Cent said ‘I don’t necessarily want to be seen as a Wall Street person but definitely as a businessperson’[37]. These are therefore the reasons causing them to be represented as gangsters and negatively in the media as ‘capitalist ownership of the media determines the role that the media plays in society’[38].
Word count: 3,208
Bibliography
Books:
Hall, Stuart (1977): Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, 1997. London, New Delhi. Sage Publications
Joan Ferrante and Prince Brown (2000): Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, (2nd Edition). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Micheal Banton (1987): Racial Theories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Neale Steve (1990): Genre and Hollywood. UK. Routledge
Oscar H. Gandy, Jr (1998): Communication and Race. New York: Arnold Publications.
Probert, David (2005): AS/A-Level Media Studies: Essential Word Dictionary (Philip Allan Updates).Leicester: Raithby, Lawrence & Co Ltd.
Sarita Malik (2002): Representing Black Britain, Black and Asian Images on Television. Sage Publications
Strinati, Dominic (2000): An Introduction to Studying Popular Culture. USA and Canada: Routledge
O’Sullivan Tim, Dutton Brian, Rayner Philip (2003): Studying the Media (Third Edition). London: Arnold Publications.
Films:
‘Boys n the Hood’ 1991, John Singleton, (USA)
‘Bullet Boy’ 2005, Saul Dibb, UK
‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ 2006, Jim Sheridan, (USA)
‘Kidulthood’ 2006, Menhaj Huda, (UK)
‘The God Father’ 1972, Francis Ford Coppola, (USA)
‘Window Shopper’ 2005, 50 Cent video clip (Get rich or Die Tryin’ Album), USA
Internet:
www.imdb.com
- I got information about the different films such as: directors, dates of release.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
- I used some quotes from the actual movie.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2162/
-I used some information about Black males and some statistics.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary
-I used Quotes from the movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/get_rich_or_die_tryin’_(film)
- General information about the movie.
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
- I got some information about youth culture.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/youth-crime/
-Some information about ‘Youth Culture’
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4111/nogangs.html.
- Definitions and research about gangsters
http://www.hossli.com/articles/2007/09/02/50-cent-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-going-to-get-what-i-can-get%e2%80%9d/
-An interview with 50Cent- September 2007
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/182.html
-Some information about the rap industry and black males.
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[2] ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2006), Jim Sheridan, (USA)
[3] Bullet Boy (2006): directed by: Saul Dibb. UK
[4] Dominic Strinati, An Introduction To Studying Popular Culture, 2000, P.55
[5] PROBERT, DAVID (2005): AS/A-Level Media Studies: Essential Word Dictionary (Philip Allan Updates).
[6] Ibid
[7] Tim O'Sullivan, Brian Dutton, Philip Rayner (2003):Studying The Media, 3rd Edition, p.69
[8] http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/182.html
[9] Window Shopper, 50 Cent, release date: 2005
[10] Winokur 1991, p. 10-11
[11] Joan Ferrante and Prince Brown (2000): Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, (2nd Edition)
[12] Spencer, 1994, p.559
[13] Little Caesar 1931, Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy
[14] Public Enemy 1931, Directed by: William A. Wellman
[15] Scarface 1932, Directed by: Howard Hawks
[16] http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
[17] The God Father 1972, Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
[18] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary
[19] Neale, Steve 1990. Genre and Hollywood
[20] Ibid
[21] Ibid
[22] Ryall 1979: p.32
[23] Phillips in pine 1922: p.147-8
[24] Dominic Strinati 2000, An Introduction to Studying Popular Culture: p.55
[25] Hall, Stuart. (1977). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, 1997.
[26] Marcuse, Hebert.
[27] Studying the Media, 3rd Edition, P.69
[28] Boys n the Hood, 1991, directed by: John Singleton, USA
[29] Kidulthood, 2006, Directed by: Menhaj Huda, UK
[30] http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2162/
[31] Ibid
[32] Dominic, Strinati (2000): An Introduction to Studying Popular Culture, p.57
[33] Ibid, P.57
[34] www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[35] http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2162/
[36] www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[37] http://www.hossli.com/articles/2007/09/02/50-cent-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-going-to-get-what-i-can-get%e2%80%9d/
[38] Graham Murdock and Peter Golding (1970’s)
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Monday 18 February 2008
SELF EVALUATION:
Attainment: C
During the course of this last term, i think i have imrpoved a lot, i have improved my writting style and my contribution to the class, i have also done a lot of research for my independent study which i found really helpful when writing my independent study.
Effort: 2
I think i have been trying hard during the last term, i have put a huge effort on my research for the independent study which really helped me when writing my independent study, but i am willing to do more research and try harder to improve my first draft, i have also been trying to improve on my writting skills and style and have been trying hard in class.
Punctuality: 1
My attendance has been quiet good, i have attended all media lessons and to all debate clubs after school, i have been on time most of the times.
Submission and quality of Homework: 3
Most of the times, i have been submitting my home works on time, mainly the blog tasks concerning the independent study which were really helpful and also worth doing and which gave us less pressure and gave us a clear idea when writing the study.
i have improved my quality of h/w such as including more research into the work, but i still have to improve my quality of writing mainly for module 6.
Ability to work independently: 2
I am able to work independently and get my work done under a set period of time, and i also try to do my own research to help me write my study, and tried to do some practice essays which i found really helpful mainly for my med1 retake.
Quality of writing:3
my quality of writing still needs to be improved mainly by doing more practice and more research which both will help me improve my study even though i think i have improved a lot on my quality of writing which i really was able to improve when writing my study, and these writing skills will also help me with the other writing exams.
Organisation of the media folder:2
my media folder is well organised in different sections for each module, which will really help with revision.
Oral contribution to class: 3
i have been contributing more in class and trying my best to contribute even if i am not really sure about the answer most of the times.
Contribution to the debate team: 2
i think i have done a reasonable amount of research about the topic, and i have also contributed to the speaking which i found as a really good experience which will help me in other future experiences.
Extra-curricular work (film projects etc.):2
i have been attending clubs after school such as revision classes and debate meeting and i will also try attend all the film clubs after school which are useful.
Standard of Module 5 blog: 3
my module5 blog has some quiet good research which has helped me to write my first draft of independent study and i have also completed most of the work, but i need to include some more research about the topic in details, as i have some vague research on the topic and not really detailed.
Standard of Module 6 blog:1
my module6 blog includes quiet a good of research on the debates and the home works set.
WWW:
- the h/w tasks set have been really helpful when writing the study
- improved my writing skills
- have always been punctual to classes
EBI:
- improve my writing skills by doing more practice essays
- do more research
- improve my next draft of the independent study
Sunday 3 February 2008
FIRST DRAFT OF MY INDEPENDENT STUDY:
"Charlene: So what is it that you do? Marcus: I'm a gangsta."'Are young black males excessively stereotyped as gangsters, with reference to "Get Rich or Die Tryin" 2005’
Recently in movies, black males are being represented as gangsters, this is happening due to the changes in society and that black males are being stereotyped as gangsters, this convention has been shown in many movies before and has also been shown in 50Cent ‘Get rich or die tryin’, mainly when 50Cent (Marcus) associates himself as a gangster and there are many black boys in the movie being represented as gangsters, this therefore seems to support the question that nowadays there are many black males represented in that way. This convention has not only be shown in this movie, but it has also being shown in other movies such as ‘Bullet Boy’ where Ricky (Ashley Walters) who also stars in 50Cent’s movie, is being represented as a gangster in both movies, this therefore seems to support the argument that black males are being commonly represented as gangsters.
“According to Hollywood, the gangster film could combine realism and popular culture because it has been very popular throughout the years and more films have been made following this type of genre”[1], so as main genres of the movie is the gangster and the biopic genre, so therefore this movie can be seen as a typical gangster movie as it follows those conventions, as it is showing the real life of 50Cent and many gangsters. So this movie is also trying to warn other black males what would happen to them if they became gangsters and what problems will they be facing, and might be able to get shot as it happened to 50Cent, but this is considered as one of the gangster genre conventions, as gangster movie are about law and order "law, order, crime, but unlike other crime, but unlike other crime and police genre, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster”[2], this movie focuses on the gangster genre and mainly of the life of 50Cent, which will really appeal to audiences as they would want to know more about his life and what had happened to him, this therefore is related to the Auteur’s theory, because of him being the protagonist of the movie.
These black males are turning into gangsters because of many problems that they are facing in society such as racism and poverty ‘we were always going on about discrimination, always talking about racism. There’s nothing wrong with doing those things as such…[3]’ poverty which is considered as a big problem for these males, so this is causing them to get involved in things like crimes, drugs, robbery etc, in order to get rich, and also there has been an association with rappers that they are mostly from a black background, this might be because they want to get out of poverty, and these rappers might have been in the same situations as 50Cent such as being gangsters and rap music is thought to make them rich and become popular, but even though they are rich they are still facing problems and still having enemies and they are still being punished many times such as 50Cent being shot 9times and 2Pac being killed and facing prison which happened to many black gangsters and that most of the times that they are being shown in either movies or in the media, they are shown as being in prison because of a crime or a robbery that they have committed as Ricky in ‘Bullet Boy’ have faced prison because of carrying a gun, so this is therefore showing the binary opposition, that they still have people opposing them even thought they try to prevent it.
This problem of poverty which is seen as being a big problem for these black males, is shown in the movie in many scenes mainly when 50Cent when he is teenager, he wants to buy a trainer but unable to afford it, neither his mum because she tries to work and get the money to feed her family, and there is also a scene where he is being called names and being tortured by other friend ‘Rivalry with other criminals in gangster warfare is often a significant plot characteristic[4]’, so this is therefore creating the Propp theory, where he is seen as a hero and being able to survive it, in order to make the audiences sympathise with him and make them see the other boys as villain because they are torturing him, this is now showing that his personality is being constructed, because the director is trying to make him look innocent and the others as guilty, this construction is used to make the audience feel sorry for him and to make the audiences become more interested in his life and how he was able to become a famous rich rapper from being in a poor society, this is another convention that the director have used to sell the movie, constructing 50Cent in some way by the use of close up shots when that situation happens to him and by the use of emotional music, in order to appeal to audiences.
Stereotyping people is categorising them with few characteristics, and in this case black males are being stereotyped in the same way in the media, such as being trouble makers and gangsters which is therefore making us the audiences stereotype them in that way and make us think that all black males are supposed to be like that, and this is therefore showing that the media is manipulating our ideas and make us think the way it wanted, even if some of the times representation are wrong, such as the fear of the youth culture mainly that black males are always associated with hoods and crimes, so this is therefore trying to create ‘the hegemonic ideology’, ‘hegemony refers to create to the winning of popular consent through everyday cultural life, including media representation of the world’[5], so this is now showing that the media is winning our minds and making us stereotype all black males as being gangsters and make us fear them, as the theorist Marcus has mentioned that the media tries to ‘indoctrinate and manipulate us’. So in 50Cent ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ this stereotyping is used because it is only showing the black youths as being represented as gangsters and it is not showing white people or other races being represented in that way, and this is also shown In ‘Bullet Boy’ 2005, and ‘Boyz n the Hood’ 1991, where they also include gangsters but from a black background, but again these things are happening because of poverty and racism that these young males are facing in society, and that they are living in the ghetto and in order to try prevent this problem and to stop being ruled by ‘Those groups with most power’[6], but also wanting to have their voice in the society and become popular and that what is making them become gangsters, which will make them look more powerful and dominant.
However there are other reasons that are causing these black males mainly teenagers to form gangs and try and do something for their social group and have their voices passed on and as mainly this gangster cultures is associated with gangsters and which therefore seems to create the ‘Youth Culture’, because these youngsters are facing many problems and as they are young they don’t have a voice, and this creation of the youth culture is due to problems, such as poverty where this problem is used in a lot of gangster movies, which is the need of money. The other reason that are resulting them to create this culture is the lack of offering them things to do, as well as the failure in schools, and having family problems which could be also seen as the other reason that is causing these youngsters to form their own gangs, in order to solve their problems by themselves and they are able to understand each other, so these family problems could be seen as being one of the main problems, when in the movie 50Cent’s mother is killed because she was also getting involved into drugs in order to feed her family, and this makes 50Cent more furious and gets much more involved in the gang and wanting to revenge, but this also seems to create him enemies, and which therefore shows the binary opposition because from then he started to get more enemies and mainly when he became the ‘BOSS’ of the gang, this is also promoting the ‘Patriarchal’ ideology because he is being the leader of the gang and this again is creating him enemies from the gang because they couldn’t stop being managed by him and therefore they start to revolt against him, and which is clearly shown at the beginning of the movie when the gang goes on and robs the bank, 50Cent shouts at one of the members and takes all the money robbed, which at the end we see him shot being shot and that is because of that member being his enemy and couldn’t be ruled by him.
This family problem is also shown in ‘Bullet Boy’ because there is a lack of the father, which could help him solve his problems and understand him more and give him more advice and which will therefore prevent him into getting in these types of things, this lack of father is used in both movies and it is again promoting the ‘Patriarchal’ ideology because it somehow showing that the man still has the dominant role and the main role in society, and if he was included there wouldn’t be that much problems, and those boys won’t be involved in gangs.
So those are the problems that are causing the ‘Youth Culture’ to happen in the society and therefore lead to creating gangsters, and this is the reason that is making the directors represent the black males as gangsters, because they are trying to inform the audiences about what is happening in the society and that black males shouldn’t be blamed if they get into gangsters, because we should firstly consider the problems and the reasons that are causing them to become gangsters, but also this use of black males as gangsters mainly when they get punished at the end, such as 50Cent being shot and Ricky in ‘Bullet Boy’ being killed, so it is trying to warn the other black gangsters what might happen to them if they get involved into gangs, and also the reason that black males are associated a lot with gangsters is because what we see everyday In the news, if a murder happens by teenager, it is mot of the time blaming black teenagers, the blame is there but at the same time we seem to forget and just stereotype all black males as being trouble makers and murderers and we don’t seem to consider what are the reasons that are causing these black males commit these things, and again in this case the media brainwashes us and make us think the way it wanted us to.
Racism which is still a big problem in our society, mainly amongst black people which are still facing this issue, even though the changes in our society and that there should be more equality amongst people from all races, but it still exists, this therefore leads to the issue of ‘Blaxploitation’ cycle which was discovered mainly in the 1970s, which is about black Americans and Africans, which is shown in Scarface 1932 and in boyz in the Hoods 1991, where black males are being discriminated, and that America tries to denies that it is being racist and denies that these black males have become successful throughout the years and this ‘masks the continuing racism of US society behind the convenient half-truth immigrant groups have made it’[7] and that ‘those groups that would show how America still discriminates are not represented’[8], so this again shows how the US is still racist against those black people which try or have become successful, which is therefore following the Propp theory, because America is trying to show itself as being the hero and unable to support the fact that black people are capable to become successful and still represents them as being the villain and as a problem for the black society. So this denial and under representation of black people is what might be causing those black males to form gangs, in order to fight back and have their place and their voice to become heard in the society, and that what is also making people such as 50Cent and other black gangsters fighting back and becoming successful by getting involved in those crimes etc, so this fight back by forming organizations and hence creating the ‘Black Power’ [9]can identify them as being gangsters and that is the other reason why most of the times of black males are represented as gangsters in the media.
As a result, that is another motive why most rappers are from a black background, such as 50Cent, 2Pac and many others, on one hand they are thereto entertain their audiences and fans, but on the other they are trying to pass on their voices and messages through their music, this is shown in the movie ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ where in that scene where 50Cent wanted to buy that trainer but wasn’t able to afford it, then later in the movie when he became a rapper, he made that song ‘Window Shopper’ and this now seems to show more sense why he made that song as it also included some shots of him starring at the window in the shop, this is again used to show how from being really poor, he became really rich and popular which is shown also by the posh car that he was driving, and to emphasise more on the ‘Black identity’ and black people should be more respectable in society.
This revenge and standing up of the black people, has also happened in the past years by the creation of ‘black power’ and ‘civil rights movements’, were used in order to stop the colonialism and stop the slavery of black people, and the denial of the existence of black people in the society, and this reaction of the black people has ‘helped to stimulate other nascent identity movements among other ethnic minorities’[10], so this shows that the reaction of the black people has opened doors and gave voices to other ethnic minorities. This was therefore used to emphasize more on the ‘Black Power’ that they can dominate the society.
However apart from the fact that only black males are regularly portrayed as gangsters, the movie ‘The God Father’ 1972, is showing that not only black males are represented in that mode, but also white males are represented as being gangsters or as called the ‘Mafia’ which is associated with the Italian white mafia, Michael who has just came back from the second world war, has found his father being the boss of the mafia but he doesn’t want to get involved into drugs and crimes, but he is forced to do so because of his father being the ‘DON’ and also ‘for the sake of his family’[11], so this therefore seems to show that the gangster genre might have started way before black males have been represented as gangsters, but it has started with the ‘white Mafia’ and this therefore seems to show the changes of the genre and the changes of society as nowadays most gangsters are being related to black males, and as this movie is named as the ‘Number 1 gangster movie ever made’.
So this issues particularly ‘particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life’[12], have therefore created the Gangster genre, and are seen as the main conventions of this genre, this genre was first laid out during the 1930s and was used earlier in movies, such as ‘Little Caesar’ 1930, ‘Public Enemy’ 1931 and ‘Scarface’ 1932, these movies have been popular in the past and still used as common examples of this particular genre and because most movie made nowadays under that particular genre follow those conventions made in the early years, these gangster films made at that time only included white gangsters which were called the ‘Mafia’ and which might mean that the gangster genre has been created under ‘white people’, but then with all the changes in society and all the thing that black males are facing such as poverty, racism, which is leading them to go and revolt against the people, have therefore made the gangster genre associated with black American people. Movies categorised under this type of genre ‘is one governed by the morality of the wider society. This means the film shows the gangster’s fate to condemn him and warn others away from a life of crime’[13], and this might be the reason why 50Cent and Ashley Walters are used, in order to warn its wider audiences mainly black youngsters who have the same problems as those actors, and as they are celebrities and famous, the audience will be more likely to identify with them and will have a big influence on them, and makes the audience think, if those problems have happened to people like 50Cent, it might also happen to us, so we can start thinking how try and prevent it in someway.
‘The gangster film as we know it was a product of the growth of the Hollywood system’[14], it is now considered as one of the main genres of the Hollywood film industry, ‘the ways in which the studios were organised to produce films can be seen as a determining factor on the final pattern or form of the individual’[15], however the system doesn’t have limits over the gangster genre and what is being produced, as it does have over other genres, because gangsters films are seen as being original and because they are trying to have their voice being heard as 50Cent has been showing in his movie, the problems that he has faced and that the only way to make their voices heard is to become involved as gangs.
‘Get Rich or die tryin’ uses a lot of these gangster conventions such as drug dealing, and crimes and clearly to get rich, these are seen as the main conventions of the gangster genre, and therefore it is promoting the ‘Capitalist’ ideology, as poverty which is the main problem that those youths are facing and the way to get money is to start selling drugs and get into gangs and get involved into crimes and robbing banks as it happened in the beginning of the movie, ‘Crack meant money, money meant power and power meant war’[16], so this therefore shows that money means everything in this life and that if you have money, you are more likely to be more successful.
To sum up, black males are represented as gangsters because of the problems that they are facing, ‘the gangster… genre developed during the late 1920s and early 1930s at that time that its subject matter, matter manufacturing and distributing illegal liquor, gang warfare was actually occurring’[17], those early gangster movies included white gangsters, but after the development of the countries which was mainly done by colonialism, has made those black people being seen as a lower class and a problem mainly for the American society, this has therefore made them revolt and fight back by creating gangs and movement to pass on their voices, and these black males decided not to stop revolting and get involved within the American society, until when their voices are passed and so they become accepted in the society, Marcus: ‘Show no love. Love will get you killed.’[18], and this shows if they accepted being ruled by the ‘White Americans’, they could be killed and demolished from the society, this is shown when 50Cent In the movie didn’t stop revolting and getting revenge mainly from his mother’s death, and even at the end when he got shot, he didn’t want to stop, or otherwise he wouldn’t get further in life.
As well as entertainment, this movie is trying to inform mainly its Black Audiences which are young adults over 15 which is the age certificate of most gangster movies, and that is the age when those teenagers start to understand what is happening around them and in their society and what problems they could be facing, so these movies are made to warn them about what things might happen to them if they get into gangs, but at the same time it is trying to tell them to fight and not to let the ruling class have power over them, in order to create equality between the social groups and to stop this discrimination against black people, which they are facing in every situation ‘who’s going to discriminate against me today? What job am I not going to get?’[19] On the other hand this movie is passing on these messages also for parents, to try and protect their children, so they don’t get involved into gangs and crimes, as 50Cent is shown holding his baby son tightly, which shows that he is protecting him and doesn’t want him to get into problems that he already faced.
We are acting as passive audiences to the media, as it is brainwashing us and making us think that all black males are associated with gangsters and being murders as we see in every day news, nevertheless we seem to forget that there might be white males which are causing murders as well and forming gangs such as the ‘Mafia’, so this is showing the discrimination against the black people, and at the end what do black people have to say ‘because life isn’t like that for people’ [20]which means that white people are not facing the same problems such as racism and poverty, which black people are facing every day.
[1] Dominic Strinati, An introduction to studying popular culture, 2000
[2] Dominic Strinati, An introduction to studying popular culture, 2000, p.55
[3] Phillips in Pines, 1992: 147-8
[4] http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/search/label/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.filmsite.org%2Fcrimefilms.html
[5] Studying the media , 3rd edition, p.69
[6] Studying the media, 3rd edition, p.69
[7] Winokur 1991, p.10-11
[8] Ibid
[9] Micheal, Banton 1987
[10] Oscar H. Gandy, Jr (1998): communication and race
[11] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary
[12] http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/search/label/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.filmsite.org%2Fcrimefilms.html
[13] Dominic, Strinati, An introduction to studying popular culture, 2000, p.55
[14] Ibid, p.57
[15] Ryall, 1977, p.28
[16] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[17] Ryall, 1979, p.32
[18] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[19] Phillips in pines, 1992:147-8
[20] Ibid
Bibliography:
Books:
Dominic, Strinati (2000): An Introduction to Studying Popular culture. USA and Canada: Routledge
Tim O'Sullivan, Brian Dutton, Philip Rayner (2003): studying the media (third Edition). London: Arnold Publications
Oscar H. Gandy, Jr (1998): communication and race. New York: Arnold Publications.
Sarita Malik (2002): representing black Britain, black and Asian images on Television, Sage publications.
Michael Banton (1987): Racial Theories. Cambridge: Cambridge university press
Internet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin'_(film)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
Recently in movies, black males are being represented as gangsters, this is happening due to the changes in society and that black males are being stereotyped as gangsters, this convention has been shown in many movies before and has also been shown in 50Cent ‘Get rich or die tryin’, mainly when 50Cent (Marcus) associates himself as a gangster and there are many black boys in the movie being represented as gangsters, this therefore seems to support the question that nowadays there are many black males represented in that way. This convention has not only be shown in this movie, but it has also being shown in other movies such as ‘Bullet Boy’ where Ricky (Ashley Walters) who also stars in 50Cent’s movie, is being represented as a gangster in both movies, this therefore seems to support the argument that black males are being commonly represented as gangsters.
“According to Hollywood, the gangster film could combine realism and popular culture because it has been very popular throughout the years and more films have been made following this type of genre”[1], so as main genres of the movie is the gangster and the biopic genre, so therefore this movie can be seen as a typical gangster movie as it follows those conventions, as it is showing the real life of 50Cent and many gangsters. So this movie is also trying to warn other black males what would happen to them if they became gangsters and what problems will they be facing, and might be able to get shot as it happened to 50Cent, but this is considered as one of the gangster genre conventions, as gangster movie are about law and order "law, order, crime, but unlike other crime, but unlike other crime and police genre, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster”[2], this movie focuses on the gangster genre and mainly of the life of 50Cent, which will really appeal to audiences as they would want to know more about his life and what had happened to him, this therefore is related to the Auteur’s theory, because of him being the protagonist of the movie.
These black males are turning into gangsters because of many problems that they are facing in society such as racism and poverty ‘we were always going on about discrimination, always talking about racism. There’s nothing wrong with doing those things as such…[3]’ poverty which is considered as a big problem for these males, so this is causing them to get involved in things like crimes, drugs, robbery etc, in order to get rich, and also there has been an association with rappers that they are mostly from a black background, this might be because they want to get out of poverty, and these rappers might have been in the same situations as 50Cent such as being gangsters and rap music is thought to make them rich and become popular, but even though they are rich they are still facing problems and still having enemies and they are still being punished many times such as 50Cent being shot 9times and 2Pac being killed and facing prison which happened to many black gangsters and that most of the times that they are being shown in either movies or in the media, they are shown as being in prison because of a crime or a robbery that they have committed as Ricky in ‘Bullet Boy’ have faced prison because of carrying a gun, so this is therefore showing the binary opposition, that they still have people opposing them even thought they try to prevent it.
This problem of poverty which is seen as being a big problem for these black males, is shown in the movie in many scenes mainly when 50Cent when he is teenager, he wants to buy a trainer but unable to afford it, neither his mum because she tries to work and get the money to feed her family, and there is also a scene where he is being called names and being tortured by other friend ‘Rivalry with other criminals in gangster warfare is often a significant plot characteristic[4]’, so this is therefore creating the Propp theory, where he is seen as a hero and being able to survive it, in order to make the audiences sympathise with him and make them see the other boys as villain because they are torturing him, this is now showing that his personality is being constructed, because the director is trying to make him look innocent and the others as guilty, this construction is used to make the audience feel sorry for him and to make the audiences become more interested in his life and how he was able to become a famous rich rapper from being in a poor society, this is another convention that the director have used to sell the movie, constructing 50Cent in some way by the use of close up shots when that situation happens to him and by the use of emotional music, in order to appeal to audiences.
Stereotyping people is categorising them with few characteristics, and in this case black males are being stereotyped in the same way in the media, such as being trouble makers and gangsters which is therefore making us the audiences stereotype them in that way and make us think that all black males are supposed to be like that, and this is therefore showing that the media is manipulating our ideas and make us think the way it wanted, even if some of the times representation are wrong, such as the fear of the youth culture mainly that black males are always associated with hoods and crimes, so this is therefore trying to create ‘the hegemonic ideology’, ‘hegemony refers to create to the winning of popular consent through everyday cultural life, including media representation of the world’[5], so this is now showing that the media is winning our minds and making us stereotype all black males as being gangsters and make us fear them, as the theorist Marcus has mentioned that the media tries to ‘indoctrinate and manipulate us’. So in 50Cent ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ this stereotyping is used because it is only showing the black youths as being represented as gangsters and it is not showing white people or other races being represented in that way, and this is also shown In ‘Bullet Boy’ 2005, and ‘Boyz n the Hood’ 1991, where they also include gangsters but from a black background, but again these things are happening because of poverty and racism that these young males are facing in society, and that they are living in the ghetto and in order to try prevent this problem and to stop being ruled by ‘Those groups with most power’[6], but also wanting to have their voice in the society and become popular and that what is making them become gangsters, which will make them look more powerful and dominant.
However there are other reasons that are causing these black males mainly teenagers to form gangs and try and do something for their social group and have their voices passed on and as mainly this gangster cultures is associated with gangsters and which therefore seems to create the ‘Youth Culture’, because these youngsters are facing many problems and as they are young they don’t have a voice, and this creation of the youth culture is due to problems, such as poverty where this problem is used in a lot of gangster movies, which is the need of money. The other reason that are resulting them to create this culture is the lack of offering them things to do, as well as the failure in schools, and having family problems which could be also seen as the other reason that is causing these youngsters to form their own gangs, in order to solve their problems by themselves and they are able to understand each other, so these family problems could be seen as being one of the main problems, when in the movie 50Cent’s mother is killed because she was also getting involved into drugs in order to feed her family, and this makes 50Cent more furious and gets much more involved in the gang and wanting to revenge, but this also seems to create him enemies, and which therefore shows the binary opposition because from then he started to get more enemies and mainly when he became the ‘BOSS’ of the gang, this is also promoting the ‘Patriarchal’ ideology because he is being the leader of the gang and this again is creating him enemies from the gang because they couldn’t stop being managed by him and therefore they start to revolt against him, and which is clearly shown at the beginning of the movie when the gang goes on and robs the bank, 50Cent shouts at one of the members and takes all the money robbed, which at the end we see him shot being shot and that is because of that member being his enemy and couldn’t be ruled by him.
This family problem is also shown in ‘Bullet Boy’ because there is a lack of the father, which could help him solve his problems and understand him more and give him more advice and which will therefore prevent him into getting in these types of things, this lack of father is used in both movies and it is again promoting the ‘Patriarchal’ ideology because it somehow showing that the man still has the dominant role and the main role in society, and if he was included there wouldn’t be that much problems, and those boys won’t be involved in gangs.
So those are the problems that are causing the ‘Youth Culture’ to happen in the society and therefore lead to creating gangsters, and this is the reason that is making the directors represent the black males as gangsters, because they are trying to inform the audiences about what is happening in the society and that black males shouldn’t be blamed if they get into gangsters, because we should firstly consider the problems and the reasons that are causing them to become gangsters, but also this use of black males as gangsters mainly when they get punished at the end, such as 50Cent being shot and Ricky in ‘Bullet Boy’ being killed, so it is trying to warn the other black gangsters what might happen to them if they get involved into gangs, and also the reason that black males are associated a lot with gangsters is because what we see everyday In the news, if a murder happens by teenager, it is mot of the time blaming black teenagers, the blame is there but at the same time we seem to forget and just stereotype all black males as being trouble makers and murderers and we don’t seem to consider what are the reasons that are causing these black males commit these things, and again in this case the media brainwashes us and make us think the way it wanted us to.
Racism which is still a big problem in our society, mainly amongst black people which are still facing this issue, even though the changes in our society and that there should be more equality amongst people from all races, but it still exists, this therefore leads to the issue of ‘Blaxploitation’ cycle which was discovered mainly in the 1970s, which is about black Americans and Africans, which is shown in Scarface 1932 and in boyz in the Hoods 1991, where black males are being discriminated, and that America tries to denies that it is being racist and denies that these black males have become successful throughout the years and this ‘masks the continuing racism of US society behind the convenient half-truth immigrant groups have made it’[7] and that ‘those groups that would show how America still discriminates are not represented’[8], so this again shows how the US is still racist against those black people which try or have become successful, which is therefore following the Propp theory, because America is trying to show itself as being the hero and unable to support the fact that black people are capable to become successful and still represents them as being the villain and as a problem for the black society. So this denial and under representation of black people is what might be causing those black males to form gangs, in order to fight back and have their place and their voice to become heard in the society, and that what is also making people such as 50Cent and other black gangsters fighting back and becoming successful by getting involved in those crimes etc, so this fight back by forming organizations and hence creating the ‘Black Power’ [9]can identify them as being gangsters and that is the other reason why most of the times of black males are represented as gangsters in the media.
As a result, that is another motive why most rappers are from a black background, such as 50Cent, 2Pac and many others, on one hand they are thereto entertain their audiences and fans, but on the other they are trying to pass on their voices and messages through their music, this is shown in the movie ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ where in that scene where 50Cent wanted to buy that trainer but wasn’t able to afford it, then later in the movie when he became a rapper, he made that song ‘Window Shopper’ and this now seems to show more sense why he made that song as it also included some shots of him starring at the window in the shop, this is again used to show how from being really poor, he became really rich and popular which is shown also by the posh car that he was driving, and to emphasise more on the ‘Black identity’ and black people should be more respectable in society.
This revenge and standing up of the black people, has also happened in the past years by the creation of ‘black power’ and ‘civil rights movements’, were used in order to stop the colonialism and stop the slavery of black people, and the denial of the existence of black people in the society, and this reaction of the black people has ‘helped to stimulate other nascent identity movements among other ethnic minorities’[10], so this shows that the reaction of the black people has opened doors and gave voices to other ethnic minorities. This was therefore used to emphasize more on the ‘Black Power’ that they can dominate the society.
However apart from the fact that only black males are regularly portrayed as gangsters, the movie ‘The God Father’ 1972, is showing that not only black males are represented in that mode, but also white males are represented as being gangsters or as called the ‘Mafia’ which is associated with the Italian white mafia, Michael who has just came back from the second world war, has found his father being the boss of the mafia but he doesn’t want to get involved into drugs and crimes, but he is forced to do so because of his father being the ‘DON’ and also ‘for the sake of his family’[11], so this therefore seems to show that the gangster genre might have started way before black males have been represented as gangsters, but it has started with the ‘white Mafia’ and this therefore seems to show the changes of the genre and the changes of society as nowadays most gangsters are being related to black males, and as this movie is named as the ‘Number 1 gangster movie ever made’.
So this issues particularly ‘particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life’[12], have therefore created the Gangster genre, and are seen as the main conventions of this genre, this genre was first laid out during the 1930s and was used earlier in movies, such as ‘Little Caesar’ 1930, ‘Public Enemy’ 1931 and ‘Scarface’ 1932, these movies have been popular in the past and still used as common examples of this particular genre and because most movie made nowadays under that particular genre follow those conventions made in the early years, these gangster films made at that time only included white gangsters which were called the ‘Mafia’ and which might mean that the gangster genre has been created under ‘white people’, but then with all the changes in society and all the thing that black males are facing such as poverty, racism, which is leading them to go and revolt against the people, have therefore made the gangster genre associated with black American people. Movies categorised under this type of genre ‘is one governed by the morality of the wider society. This means the film shows the gangster’s fate to condemn him and warn others away from a life of crime’[13], and this might be the reason why 50Cent and Ashley Walters are used, in order to warn its wider audiences mainly black youngsters who have the same problems as those actors, and as they are celebrities and famous, the audience will be more likely to identify with them and will have a big influence on them, and makes the audience think, if those problems have happened to people like 50Cent, it might also happen to us, so we can start thinking how try and prevent it in someway.
‘The gangster film as we know it was a product of the growth of the Hollywood system’[14], it is now considered as one of the main genres of the Hollywood film industry, ‘the ways in which the studios were organised to produce films can be seen as a determining factor on the final pattern or form of the individual’[15], however the system doesn’t have limits over the gangster genre and what is being produced, as it does have over other genres, because gangsters films are seen as being original and because they are trying to have their voice being heard as 50Cent has been showing in his movie, the problems that he has faced and that the only way to make their voices heard is to become involved as gangs.
‘Get Rich or die tryin’ uses a lot of these gangster conventions such as drug dealing, and crimes and clearly to get rich, these are seen as the main conventions of the gangster genre, and therefore it is promoting the ‘Capitalist’ ideology, as poverty which is the main problem that those youths are facing and the way to get money is to start selling drugs and get into gangs and get involved into crimes and robbing banks as it happened in the beginning of the movie, ‘Crack meant money, money meant power and power meant war’[16], so this therefore shows that money means everything in this life and that if you have money, you are more likely to be more successful.
To sum up, black males are represented as gangsters because of the problems that they are facing, ‘the gangster… genre developed during the late 1920s and early 1930s at that time that its subject matter, matter manufacturing and distributing illegal liquor, gang warfare was actually occurring’[17], those early gangster movies included white gangsters, but after the development of the countries which was mainly done by colonialism, has made those black people being seen as a lower class and a problem mainly for the American society, this has therefore made them revolt and fight back by creating gangs and movement to pass on their voices, and these black males decided not to stop revolting and get involved within the American society, until when their voices are passed and so they become accepted in the society, Marcus: ‘Show no love. Love will get you killed.’[18], and this shows if they accepted being ruled by the ‘White Americans’, they could be killed and demolished from the society, this is shown when 50Cent In the movie didn’t stop revolting and getting revenge mainly from his mother’s death, and even at the end when he got shot, he didn’t want to stop, or otherwise he wouldn’t get further in life.
As well as entertainment, this movie is trying to inform mainly its Black Audiences which are young adults over 15 which is the age certificate of most gangster movies, and that is the age when those teenagers start to understand what is happening around them and in their society and what problems they could be facing, so these movies are made to warn them about what things might happen to them if they get into gangs, but at the same time it is trying to tell them to fight and not to let the ruling class have power over them, in order to create equality between the social groups and to stop this discrimination against black people, which they are facing in every situation ‘who’s going to discriminate against me today? What job am I not going to get?’[19] On the other hand this movie is passing on these messages also for parents, to try and protect their children, so they don’t get involved into gangs and crimes, as 50Cent is shown holding his baby son tightly, which shows that he is protecting him and doesn’t want him to get into problems that he already faced.
We are acting as passive audiences to the media, as it is brainwashing us and making us think that all black males are associated with gangsters and being murders as we see in every day news, nevertheless we seem to forget that there might be white males which are causing murders as well and forming gangs such as the ‘Mafia’, so this is showing the discrimination against the black people, and at the end what do black people have to say ‘because life isn’t like that for people’ [20]which means that white people are not facing the same problems such as racism and poverty, which black people are facing every day.
[1] Dominic Strinati, An introduction to studying popular culture, 2000
[2] Dominic Strinati, An introduction to studying popular culture, 2000, p.55
[3] Phillips in Pines, 1992: 147-8
[4] http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/search/label/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.filmsite.org%2Fcrimefilms.html
[5] Studying the media , 3rd edition, p.69
[6] Studying the media, 3rd edition, p.69
[7] Winokur 1991, p.10-11
[8] Ibid
[9] Micheal, Banton 1987
[10] Oscar H. Gandy, Jr (1998): communication and race
[11] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary
[12] http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/search/label/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.filmsite.org%2Fcrimefilms.html
[13] Dominic, Strinati, An introduction to studying popular culture, 2000, p.55
[14] Ibid, p.57
[15] Ryall, 1977, p.28
[16] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[17] Ryall, 1979, p.32
[18] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
[19] Phillips in pines, 1992:147-8
[20] Ibid
Bibliography:
Books:
Dominic, Strinati (2000): An Introduction to Studying Popular culture. USA and Canada: Routledge
Tim O'Sullivan, Brian Dutton, Philip Rayner (2003): studying the media (third Edition). London: Arnold Publications
Oscar H. Gandy, Jr (1998): communication and race. New York: Arnold Publications.
Sarita Malik (2002): representing black Britain, black and Asian images on Television, Sage publications.
Michael Banton (1987): Racial Theories. Cambridge: Cambridge university press
Internet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin'_(film)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430308/quotes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
Tuesday 22 January 2008
My first paragraph:
"Charlene: So what is it that you do? Marcus: I'm a gangsta."
'are young black males excessively stereotyped as gangsters, with reference to "Get Rich or Die Tryin" 20th January 2006'
In recent movies there are many black males being represented as gangsters, this is due to the changes of society, and that black males are always associated with gangsters, this convention was shown in many movies before and it was also shown in '50 Cent get rich or die tryin' mainly when 50 Cent(Marcus) himself is shown as being a gangster and there are many other black boys in the movie which are represented as gangsters such as Ashely Walters, this is another reason which shows that black males are most of the time stereotyped as gangsters. This is not only shown in 'Get rich or die tryin' but it is also shown in 'Bullet Boy' where Ricky(Ashley Walters)and the other black males in the movie being represented as gangsters, this again shows a lot of the times black males are represented as gangsters, this argument can be supported by the way Ashley Walters has been represented as a gangster in both movies. As one of the genres of this movie is biopic,"according to Hollywood, the gangster film could combine realism and popular culture because it has been very popular throughout the years and more films have been made following this type of genre" it is showing the real life of 50 Cent and therefore might show the real life of some black males as being gangsters, and it is at the same time trying to warn them and tell them if they get into crimes and situations as Ricky or 50Cent had, they might get shot or die at the end, and that is considered as one of the gangster conventions. as gangster genres are about "law , order, crime, but unlike other crime, but unlike othere crime and police genre, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster", this movie focuses on the gangster and uses the conventions of the gangster genre, but mainly focuses on the life of 50 Cent as being a gangster and that will appeal the audiences more, becasue he is a famous rapper and they will mainly want to see the movie becasue that is his real life,and taht will be realted to the auteur's theory because they will be more interested to see the movie because of him being the protagonist.
This gangsterism can be led by poverty because most of those males are looking for money, and this therefore makes them getting involved into crimes, robbery etc, which are causing them to be represented as gangsters, this can be related to the idea that most rappers are from a black background such as 50Cent, 2Pac, Lloyds Banks, these rappers might have been in the same situations as 50Cent, and the need of money might have led them to become rappers, and some of these rappers such as 2Pac being killed and 50Cent being shot nine times, this therefore shows that even though they are rich now, they still got enemies and still being tortured by other people.
'are young black males excessively stereotyped as gangsters, with reference to "Get Rich or Die Tryin" 20th January 2006'
In recent movies there are many black males being represented as gangsters, this is due to the changes of society, and that black males are always associated with gangsters, this convention was shown in many movies before and it was also shown in '50 Cent get rich or die tryin' mainly when 50 Cent(Marcus) himself is shown as being a gangster and there are many other black boys in the movie which are represented as gangsters such as Ashely Walters, this is another reason which shows that black males are most of the time stereotyped as gangsters. This is not only shown in 'Get rich or die tryin' but it is also shown in 'Bullet Boy' where Ricky(Ashley Walters)and the other black males in the movie being represented as gangsters, this again shows a lot of the times black males are represented as gangsters, this argument can be supported by the way Ashley Walters has been represented as a gangster in both movies. As one of the genres of this movie is biopic,"according to Hollywood, the gangster film could combine realism and popular culture because it has been very popular throughout the years and more films have been made following this type of genre" it is showing the real life of 50 Cent and therefore might show the real life of some black males as being gangsters, and it is at the same time trying to warn them and tell them if they get into crimes and situations as Ricky or 50Cent had, they might get shot or die at the end, and that is considered as one of the gangster conventions. as gangster genres are about "law , order, crime, but unlike other crime, but unlike othere crime and police genre, it focuses upon the figure of the gangster", this movie focuses on the gangster and uses the conventions of the gangster genre, but mainly focuses on the life of 50 Cent as being a gangster and that will appeal the audiences more, becasue he is a famous rapper and they will mainly want to see the movie becasue that is his real life,and taht will be realted to the auteur's theory because they will be more interested to see the movie because of him being the protagonist.
This gangsterism can be led by poverty because most of those males are looking for money, and this therefore makes them getting involved into crimes, robbery etc, which are causing them to be represented as gangsters, this can be related to the idea that most rappers are from a black background such as 50Cent, 2Pac, Lloyds Banks, these rappers might have been in the same situations as 50Cent, and the need of money might have led them to become rappers, and some of these rappers such as 2Pac being killed and 50Cent being shot nine times, this therefore shows that even though they are rich now, they still got enemies and still being tortured by other people.
Sunday 13 January 2008
Feedback from the tutorial
On my turorial with Mr Bush, we have looked at my plan and discussed what needed to be added and what needed to be improved, and that i need to inclued footnotes and quotes in my introduction.
firstly we started by the title of my study and that the wording needed to be changed, and that i needed a quote to include from then movie, in order to start my essay, which i have added.
in orde to get some sort of idea,Mr bush gave me a suggestion to look at other people's blogs from the past years which had some issues which are similair to my issue, such as black stereotyping and black representations.
The other thing that i needed to add is to research on other movies which use the same issues as my topic and use the same types of representations, which is black representations as my movie uses.
i also needed to include in my plan, paragraphs which focus on representations and stereotypes of black people and use of theorists and things such as whether 50 Cent is real or weather his personality is being constructed in the movie.
stereotypes of black people:
what is a stereotype?
how are they used?
how do they come about?
and how stereotypes used in a gangster movie.
Then i will need to include a paragraph on black male stereotypes, and after looking at other movies which are quiet related to my text, and see if black males are always represented violent, and also do more research on the theorist Stuart Hall which investigated more on the black male being violent.
i will also relate my study, which black people face which is Racism and how this issue has been a big problem for black people and might have caused these males to become gangsters, and issues that have been a problem for black people from the past such as Colonialism/Slavery etc... and what are the reasons for those stereotypes.
TIPS to improve my study:
include quotes and footnotes in my introduction.
research more other texts which use nearly the same issues as my topic.
improve my plan in order to start writing my study.
do more research on books.
...and finally start writting my study as soon as possible and draft it many times, in order to have a good final piece of work.
firstly we started by the title of my study and that the wording needed to be changed, and that i needed a quote to include from then movie, in order to start my essay, which i have added.
in orde to get some sort of idea,Mr bush gave me a suggestion to look at other people's blogs from the past years which had some issues which are similair to my issue, such as black stereotyping and black representations.
The other thing that i needed to add is to research on other movies which use the same issues as my topic and use the same types of representations, which is black representations as my movie uses.
i also needed to include in my plan, paragraphs which focus on representations and stereotypes of black people and use of theorists and things such as whether 50 Cent is real or weather his personality is being constructed in the movie.
stereotypes of black people:
what is a stereotype?
how are they used?
how do they come about?
and how stereotypes used in a gangster movie.
Then i will need to include a paragraph on black male stereotypes, and after looking at other movies which are quiet related to my text, and see if black males are always represented violent, and also do more research on the theorist Stuart Hall which investigated more on the black male being violent.
i will also relate my study, which black people face which is Racism and how this issue has been a big problem for black people and might have caused these males to become gangsters, and issues that have been a problem for black people from the past such as Colonialism/Slavery etc... and what are the reasons for those stereotypes.
TIPS to improve my study:
include quotes and footnotes in my introduction.
research more other texts which use nearly the same issues as my topic.
improve my plan in order to start writing my study.
do more research on books.
...and finally start writting my study as soon as possible and draft it many times, in order to have a good final piece of work.
Monday 7 January 2008
TASK 13: DETAILED ESSAY PLAN
"Are most black youngsters always represented as gangsters as in 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin' 20th january 2006(USA)"
Introduction:
i am going to focus on and explain further whether black youngsters are always represented as gangsters (relate to another text, particular reference to Bullet Boy) in order to support my hypothesis, and also see if they are always associated with crimes and drugs, i will also explain how these issues are related to the society, and also mention some reasons that is making those black youngsters become gangsters.
i will also be explaining in each paragraph the media language points and how the genres are used.
Paragraph1:
50 Cent "get rich or die tryin'" is a gangster/action/crime movie, so i will explain the gangster genre and how it is is used in the movie and how it developed/ changed throughout the years (refer to other historical texts), i will be using the book called An introduction to studying popular culture- Dominic Strinati, because it has a lot of information about the gangster genre and other historical texts. (talk about some shots that uses this convention)
paragraph 2: gangsters
using the SHEP concept, and mainly focusing on the social and economic concepts, and explain what are the problems, in this movie the main problems that are causing all of this gangster thing to happen is the money, poverty, racism etc... in order to support my view i will use the research that i found on gangsters in general and i will explain what are the reasons that is making these people to turn into gangsters, and i will also use the other research that i found which is about the establishment of gangster organizations and also try to see why is it that mainly black males which turn into gangsters.
http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/2007/08/history-of-black-gangsters.html
http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/2007/10/general-research-on-gangsters-and.html
paragraph 3: gangsters and rap music
http://lamiamed6.blogspot.com/2007/10/general-research-on-gangsters-and.html
paragraph 3: gangsters and rap music
in this paragraph i will be looking at 50Cent and how and why he started rap music, he started rap music at a young age, firstly by just practicing by himself for many years before releasing his first album many years later, the reason that might have caused him to start rap music is poverty or racism because of him being black and in order to have his voice being heard in the society, but mainly to escape poverty.
this reason may be the case of the other rappers such as 2pac , Lloyds bank as well which have faced poverty and racism, and also the other point that i will consider is the association of black people and gangsters with rap music, and i will also consider that most of this rappers have been punished in a way, for eg: facing prison as most of the rap black singers did and also being shot such as 50Cent being shot 9times and 2pac being murdered, so i might relate this issue to jealousy and enemy, because 50 cent was shot by one of his friends because earlier in the movie 50cent screamed at him and it can be also as being jealous, because after the robbing of the bank 50 Cent got all the money. in her i will use the binary opposition and the propp theories.
this link that i found which is about black rappers and gangsterism:
paragraph 4: black males in movies
in here, i will explain whether most black males are represented as gangsters and also show movies from people from other background being represented as gangsters, i will also see the type of issues that black males are associated with in movies.
in order to support my hypothesis i will use other texts such as bullet boy and the god father.
paragraph 5: the movie and the audience
as one of the genres that this movies includes is the biopic genre, it will have a different effect on the audiences, because 50Cent in this movie is showing his real life and what had happened to him in the past, and how he was able to become a rap singer and what difficulties he had in his life.
the audience and mainly his fans, will be so interested to see ow his life was and what made him become a famous rap singer.
in order to support how the audiences have reacted about the movie, i will be using some reviews that i found which is on my blog and i will also be using the other research that i found about the movie.
paragraph 6: ideology and the gangster film
for this i will be using the book an "introduction to studying popular culture" where i found some really useful information, Warshow (1964:84): the gangster is a product of the city and the gangster film is a the product of the imaginary city created by cinema "the real city produces only criminals but the imaginary city produces gangsters" which means that the gangster speaks out for the American people and rejects the qualities and the demand of modern life.
"the gangster is what we want to be and what we are afraid we may become." and this is expressed through the character of the gangster. i will use those quotes in the movie in order to explain the gangster personality in movies.
"the gangster is what we want to be and what we are afraid we may become." and this is expressed through the character of the gangster. i will use those quotes in the movie in order to explain the gangster personality in movies.
i will also talk about the different types of categories of the gangster genre and relate it to my movie.
Conclusion:
i will write what i came up through all my research and my essay and if black males are always represented as gangsters in movie and mention the other texts.
i will write what i came up through all my research and my essay and if black males are always represented as gangsters in movie and mention the other texts.
other texts:
bullet boy-2005
the god father-1987
Scarface-1932
shaft
Books that i am hoping to use:
Strinati, Dominic (2000) : An introduction to studying Popular culture
BLANDFORD, GRANT, HILLIER (Eds) Film Studies Dictionary
COOK AND BERNINK: Cinema Book
Sarita Malik (2002): representing black Britain, black and Asian images on Television
Pines Jim (1975): Blacks in film: a survey of racial themes and images in American film
representing men, madness and masculinity in the media
Robert Ferguson (1998): representing race
Strinati, Dominic (2000) : An introduction to studying Popular culture
BLANDFORD, GRANT, HILLIER (Eds) Film Studies Dictionary
COOK AND BERNINK: Cinema Book
Sarita Malik (2002): representing black Britain, black and Asian images on Television
Pines Jim (1975): Blacks in film: a survey of racial themes and images in American film
representing men, madness and masculinity in the media
Robert Ferguson (1998): representing race
Websites:
www.wikipedia.com
http://northallertoncoll.org.uk/media/gangstergenre.html
http://www.thesynergycentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=64
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/youth-crime/
http://www.helium.com/tm/398554/snowballs-chance-larry-semon
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/182.html
www.imbd.com
www.wikipedia.com
http://northallertoncoll.org.uk/media/gangstergenre.html
http://www.thesynergycentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=64
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/youth-crime/
http://www.helium.com/tm/398554/snowballs-chance-larry-semon
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/182.html
www.imbd.com
Sunday 6 January 2008
TASK 14: first paragraph
"Are most black youngsters always represented as gangsters as in 50 Cent 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin' 20th january 2006(USA)"
Recently in movies, there is a lot of use of black youngsters acting as gangsters, this use may be due to the changes in the society that are happening and how always gangsters are associated with black males, this was seen in many movies before and also was seen in 50Cent "get rich or die tryin'" which really showed this and might prove that this idea is true, as it is a biopic genre of movie, it is based on the real life of 50 Cent and other black youngsters that turn out to become gangsters due to poverty, racism and other issues that black males are facing in society.
This movie shows clearly what are those black males in need of which is money and that what makes them become gangsters and starts getting involved in crimes, drugs etc...
This convention and the use of black gangsters is supported also in "Bullet Boy" which shows that those black males are somehow in need of money and get involved into crimes and many other things that makes those black males become gangsters, which can be related to the society because nowadays there is a lot of racism against black people, and that might be the reason that makes them revolt and become the "bosses" of society, so they could have more power and get more attention when committing those crimes and using drugs and getting the money. so in this case for 50Cent to get the attention and become popular he became the boss and became also a rap singer, but then got shot, this now brings up the issue that most rap singers are from a black background such as 50 Cent, 2pac, Lloyds Banks etc... This therefore shows that those black males in order to get out from poverty and their problems they get into rap music , but still being chased as an issues of jealousy or racism, such as 50 cent being shot 9times and 2pac being killed.
Recently in movies, there is a lot of use of black youngsters acting as gangsters, this use may be due to the changes in the society that are happening and how always gangsters are associated with black males, this was seen in many movies before and also was seen in 50Cent "get rich or die tryin'" which really showed this and might prove that this idea is true, as it is a biopic genre of movie, it is based on the real life of 50 Cent and other black youngsters that turn out to become gangsters due to poverty, racism and other issues that black males are facing in society.
This movie shows clearly what are those black males in need of which is money and that what makes them become gangsters and starts getting involved in crimes, drugs etc...
This convention and the use of black gangsters is supported also in "Bullet Boy" which shows that those black males are somehow in need of money and get involved into crimes and many other things that makes those black males become gangsters, which can be related to the society because nowadays there is a lot of racism against black people, and that might be the reason that makes them revolt and become the "bosses" of society, so they could have more power and get more attention when committing those crimes and using drugs and getting the money. so in this case for 50Cent to get the attention and become popular he became the boss and became also a rap singer, but then got shot, this now brings up the issue that most rap singers are from a black background such as 50 Cent, 2pac, Lloyds Banks etc... This therefore shows that those black males in order to get out from poverty and their problems they get into rap music , but still being chased as an issues of jealousy or racism, such as 50 cent being shot 9times and 2pac being killed.
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