Menace II Society (1993) Case Study

Menace II Society’ is a film of the Social Realism genre, directed by Allen & Albert Hughes in 1993. Menace II Society illustrates the life of a few typical black teenagers growing up in the projects of LA, not knowing what path of life to take due to his upbringing. Menace II Society had quite high production values ($3.5million) considering it is a Social Realism film. This could be due to the fact that it’s an American movie involving high profile actors such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Samuel Lloyd Jackson etc. Another noticeable factor was the amount made a box office ($27.9 million). It may also be fair to assume that Menace II Society reaped so much at box office as American is known for having an greater audience who enjoy Social Realism films because it relates to such a large majority of them. I believe that this film was targeted mainly to those of the 'E' socio-economic bracket however may also appeal to those for 'C2' and 'D' brackets.

Synopsis

Menace II Society is set in the Watts neighbourhood of Los Angeles, and narrated by 18-year-old Caine played by Tyrin Turner, a protagonist character within the film who is a drug dealer and car thief living with his religious grandparents. After graduating from high school, Caine shows no ambition beyond hanging out with his friends, so his grandparents kick him out. Among his other troubles are his best friend O-Dog played by Larenz Tate, who is presented to the audience as a vicious thug hunted by the police, and the friends and family of the girl Caine got pregnant and then turned his back on. Perhaps the lone positive influence in his sphere is Ronnie, played by Jada Pinkett-Smith, a single parent struggling to raise her young son without the boy falling prey to the 'hood mentality. When their friendship becomes a love affair, Ronnie tries desperately to convince Caine to move with her to Atlanta. He accepts Ronnie's offer, but tragedy strikes as they pack their van in preparation to leave. The theme of escapism is prominent throughout the film which makes it an identifiable Social Realist film.

Visible Representations
‘Menace II Society’ is set in South Central Los Angles to replicate the Watts projects which were a very deprived area mainly of the black ethic minority with high drug and crime rates. Some of the screen shots of the film show loads of graffiti on walls which has negative connotations the ‘hood’ or rebellion.

 Camera Shots

In the film there are numerous camera shots such as wide shots, establishing shots and group shots etc. The wide shots were used to show the audience the environmental state in which the characters were living in..

Two shots were effective in the film as they often showed the way in which O-dog had a huge influence on Caine. The shot below shows Caine taking a back seat approach when O-dog is being loud and offensive when in a store. This can be identified by the similar body gestures however O-dog appears more angry, facially.



Completed by Solomon Ssenyonga
Edited by Abena Amoako