Article: Heist, Heist, Baby - Set it Off

Heist films are a subgenre dominated by men. Often suited and booted a la Ocean’s 11 (2001) and Reservoir Dogs. Frequently involving professional guys “doing the work”. Films such as those of Micheal Mann for instance. So often, women feel like they’re on the genre’s periphery. It’s not like they’re not involved. Quentin Tarantino’s most mature movie is Jackie Brown (1997). Harmony Korine happily dabbled with female-led heists in the hyper-saturated Spring Breakers (2013). Meanwhile, Steve McQueen’s muscular Widows (2018) is a film that feels somewhat overlooked. However, when you think of heist movies the genre is prominently male. 

One of the most notable female-driven heist movies is perhaps one of the best examples of the genre in the 90s.  F Gary Grey’s Set It Off was rejected by New Line Cinema 3 times before it was greenlit. Executives believed black males would baulk at the idea of a film which had a group of Black, gun-toting females in the forefront. Soon after people came to their senses, Set it Off was made on a budget of $9 million and grossed $41 Million at the box office. This was back in the days when movie budgets were far more reasonable. The film became New Line’s biggest hit of 1996. Opening the doors for much of the movie’s cast and director. To quote the late, great William Goldman: “Nobody knows anything”.  

With America fully masking off it is safe to reuse the old cliché: You couldn’t make anything like this now. Set it Off scores off the Republican bingo card in terms of its representation and politics. Ben Shapiro would quite simply lose his mind. While a possibly amusing sight to consider it would also be a shame. The dynamics that would make the gish galloping broadcaster plotz, are the same things which make Set it Off worth watching.

 After losing her job as a Bank Teller after a violent robbery, Frankie (Vivica A Fox) lands a menial job at a janitorial service with her three longstanding friends: Single mother Tisean (Kimberley Elise), rowdy and belligerent lesbian Cleo (Queen Latifah); and Stony (Jada Pinkett Smith), who is grieving from the recent loss of her younger brother. The foursome’s financial situations are in a crisis, with desperation leading Frankie to persuade the group that performing armed robberies is the perfect way for them to get enough money to push on with their lives and possibly escape the grim realities of their southern L.A. neighbourhood. 

One of the greatest strengths of Tarantino’s early work also became an albatross for much of film in general. Reservoir Dogs (1992) revels in its post-modernism. So much so that other genre movies of the nineties seemed to only trade in their sense of irony. When Tarantino's Jackie Brown hit theatres, a sense of frustration could be felt that Quentin had moved on from his familiar bag of tricks. Jackie Brown was *about* something. And it never seemed to be winking. The same goes for Set it Off, a mainstream heist movie, laced with sociopolitical themes built organically within the narrative. The film drops messages throughout the film. But nothing said feels like shouting. It's a subtle unsubtly that has four struggling black women, a minority group that Hollywood rarely has time for. Dealing with living on the breadline, single parenting, homosexuality and female companionship, while wrapped in golden Sunkissed visuals, and blockbuster action sequences. Set it Off is constructed as well as any piece of 90s genre work. Often better than many. But the unironic, and plausible realities that the women face within the narrative, give it an edge.

F Gary Grey has had a solid mainstream career as a director. With a filmography ranging from still amusing, black slacker comedy Friday (1995), to the brawny musical biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015). His filmmaking allows characters to have actual character. Grey knows how to breathe life into the people and world on screen.  The opening bank heist sequence scores high in its energy and violence. But Grey peppers memorable notes from minor aspects. With elements such as extras who say little but have their story etched on their faces. The focus of the scene is on Fox’s Frankie whose actions propel the narrative, yet Grey ensures that the ill-fated victims of the robbery have their place. At one point a customer catches the eye early on with the slightly haughty way they hold themselves. Making their departure more shocking. The small inhalation of breath from a security guard, not only highlights his anxiety but also foreshadows his fate. These tiny moments build a scene in a way lesser film could easily dismiss. To rag on how modern movies operate is low-hanging fruit. However, a fair few movies now tend to ignore the surrounding world the protagonists inhabit. Set it Off negates this by having a plausible world where people have their moments.

Grey is drawn to strong ensemble casts. Set it Off is no exception. The main cast is one of the things that brings the film together. Screenwriter Takashi Bufford told Blackfilm in 2011 that he had written the screenplay for Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah. Smith was known for her role as Lena James in the sitcom A Different World. Latifah, a known quantity from her rap career, leapt into acting with small roles in sitcoms and movies such as House Party 2 (1991). Interestingly, Jada Pinkett Smith had sights on Queen Latifah’s boisterous role of Celo before Grey turned her on to the role of Stony, the heart and soul of the film. Vivica A Fox performed in a range of primetime fare and had just come off a supporting role as Will Smith’s stripper girlfriend in Independence Day (1994). Though an element of luck, Fox got the role after Rosie Perez dropped out. Kimberly Elise made her screen debut in the film as the impressionable T.T. Even mixed reviews of Set it Off didn’t deny the chemistry and camaraderie of the four women on screen. These four girls feel like they’ve been a lifelong group of friends, it brings a different energy and dynamic to the typical heist movie. There are less troublesome concerns about misplaced loyalties. The interaction among the four is one of the film’s biggest strengths, particularly when it gets caught in some of the trappings of the genre.

The performances from the main cast have me questioning the ridiculous notion placed forth by the studio executives. Did they honestly believe that Black Men wouldn’t dig this? While the cast broke through and moved on to various projects after Set it Off. Arguably larger projects. They rarely produce turns as enjoyable as they do here.  Vivica A. Fox shows a ruthlessness that she never brings again until her turn Kill Bill (2003). Kimberly Elise does well with the “naïve” role that appears in many heist films of its type. For an on-screen debut, she shows very little inexperience. Larger plaudits go out to Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith who play the id and superego of the group respectively. Latifah’s performance as a black lesbian is incredibly eye-catching due to being so well-rounded. Jada Pinkett Smith, who highlighted her flexibility in many roles in the 90s and early 00s comes through with a performance that perhaps shows her versatility best in Stony. At first, Smith comes across like the girl next door before growing into something different entirely. Films like Set it Off have me asking why Jada wasn’t showcased in more projects. It had me wanting to dive into more movies of hers I haven't seen, instead of just rewatching Woo (1998) and Bamboozled (2000).  

The vibrant cast bonds well with Grey’s assured filmmaking. The director, only 26 at the time, throws everything he can into the film. Often for the better. One can argue that the film is overstuffed. Grey packs everything he can into the film to give it relevance and weight. The bittersweet backstories of Stony and TT alone could make full plots for other features. There’s a feeling that the cast and crew are getting away with something here. Something that won’t be attempted too soon after. Therefore, Set it Off is filled with scenes illustrating gender, class, and racial struggle. Credit should be given to Grey’s use of form to establish this. The scene of the four women, smoking weed and bringing the world to rights is often highlighted, with the girls lamenting the now defunct factory that would have supplied all of them a living wage. However, the film never rests on its laurels with these themes. When Stony visits the home of Keith, her new boyfriend who just so happens to work high up in a bank the group have been casing, a chill of isolation can be felt. Grey forms this with simple wide framing to contrast Stony’s estrangement with Keith’s material world. “It’s not much” he claims dismissively but it’s more than Stony has ever had. 

Grey balances this with well-staged, punchy action sequences that are rich in their use of form. There’s a notable difference between the women’s haphazard first heist. The scene is full of jerky, frantic handheld camerawork. In comparison, once the girls know what they’re doing the heists become smoother, more orchestrated affairs. It’s easy to romanticise the filmmaking of yesteryear, but there’s something to be said about Set it Off’s love of push-ins and slow motion to punctuate moments of expression. Or how the film’s angles get more canted as the story intensifies later. It’s a movie in which the filmmaking feels motivated, making it hard not to feed off the energy. 

There’s something to be said about the levity of Set it Off compared to more male-orientated crime features. Set it Off still manages to deal with weighty “hood” subjects. Yet by shifting the dynamics to four black women who love each other, the film struts with a different energy. Its story isn’t out of the ordinary, yet Set it Off has these women share the screen in a way that sets it apart from other crime films. No longer is there a scene in a dark strip club with men gazing vacuously at female eye candy. Set it Off is more than happy to highlight female desires and sexuality. It is worth noting the film’s lesbian representation and how easily it’s normalised. Again, Ben Shapiro would lose his mind. In addition, many crime films have men with loyalties as the pinnacle of fragility. Set it Off views the women’s relationship with each other as a core strength. Granted this is a movie with a particular finish. Yet it is worth seeing that the strong bonds of the women don't bring them down. The film positions itself as opposed to the frantic paranoia loaded in other films of this nature. 

Recently a sequel to Set it Off has been considered. One of my favourite L.A. crushes, Issa Rae, has been attached to the production. However, this idea looks based that feels based on fuzzy-headed nostalgia and needless mining of intellectual properties. Such laziness once again neglects how many view movies. Set it off doesn’t reside in a vacuum. Nor does it hold the connective tissue to create a second story worth engaging in. Much like the girls in the movie, Set it Off had one shot to move fast and make it big and it took it with aplomb.  Leaving Hollywood to learn the wrong lessons that such a movie brings. But isn’t that often the way?

Set it Off can be found on Amazon Video

Dug what you read? Buy me a Ko-fi.

Review: All Eyez on Me

Review: All Eyes on Me
Year: 2017
Director: Benny Boom
Screenplay: Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez, Steven Bagatourian
Starring: Demetrius Shipp Jr, Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper, Danai Gurira

Synopsis is here:

It's been over 20 years since the shooting of Tupac Shakur left a gaping hole in hip-hop. Of all the artists that have graced the genre, it still seems that his star shines brightest. This appears to be down to his ability to be a walking contradiction. He was both saint and sinner. A brash and aggressive artist behind the mic, his vicious well-known beefs with other musical artists are juxtaposed with his sensitivity and politics. Consider his crass dismissal of the late rapper Prodigy's sickle cell anaemia on the end of Hit em Up. Then compare it to well-known song hit Changes. 2Pac had the both the ability to be the epitome of white Americas worst enemy and the modern-day poet of black Americas struggle. If he had not passed away, it is this writers opinion, that it would be Shakur that many would be looking to in the wake of the continuous police shootings of young black men.

I never truly gelled with 2Pac. I spent a few days going over his back catalogue before heading to a screening of this film, and still, I find myself leaning towards Biggie Smalls musically (as the kids say, don’t @ me). After watching All Eyez on Me, I discovered that I even enjoyed Biggie Smalls on the silver screen, over 2Pac. Notorious (2009) may be cliched and somewhat biased to its producer (one Sean “Puffy” Combs), but it was at least enjoyable where it mattered. All Eyez on Me struggles on so many levels, it’s truly disheartening. Even for a person who is not a 2Pac fan, it's hard not to admire his charisma. An animated and forthright character, his tragic story is one fit for Shakespeare. I do not say this as hyperbole. What this man did to alter the scope and range of his music is far-reaching. All Eyez on Me film doesn't even touch the lower peaks of what this man did. There was word previously that two 2Pac biopics wherein the works. If this is true, that I hope that this is not the best one.

Where can we start? Shall we talk about the rushed, glossed over details of Shakur’s life that the film places as mere footnotes as opposed to defining moments? We could perhaps mention the lacklustre concert set pieces, which capture none of the energy and vibrancy of an artist at their peak? Coachella had a far livelier hologram 5 years ago. Could we mention that a lot of this stems from a rather dead-eyed performance from Demetrius Shipp Jr, an actor who looks the part more than inhabits the role? Maybe we should start with a rather minimal amount of music used from an artist who was well-known for holding a vast back catalogue despite his young age.

The fact is, these issues combine to create a film which leans more towards a made for T.V movie than a powerful cinematic portrait. All Eyez on Me is the type of film which takes happily uses a famous relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith as an awkward narrative crutch than a serious friendship held by the characters. Nearly every key moment is observed from a distance, devoid of any real emotion. The film constantly suggests that Shakur has money woes, but does so without any key insight. The film never really gets under the hood of a performer who was both conflicting externally as an artist and internally as a man. Straight Outta Compton (2015) may have been incredibly slick, but it’s a film which frames the plight of the group against the social climate as well and the internal conflicts of the group. All Eyez on Me is so limp wristed with 2pacs strengths, it’s hard to believe in its lead character as a social leader or a flagrant womaniser. Merely draping attractive, half-naked women around hotel rooms do little to convince.

This probably won’t deter faithful 2Pac fans, who have been waiting for years to see the man’s story appear on the big screen. One thing All Eyez on Me’s flat screenplay does is highlight just how rich Shakur’s story really could be. The film’s climactic credits remind us just how much the man achieved in his short life. It’s a pity that, save for a powerfully determined performance from Danai Gurira as Tupac’s ex Blak Panther mother, that All Eyez on Me has very little to say.

Article: The Year That Was: 2015

When we were hurtling towards the end of another year, I was politely asked by two online outlets, if I would be so kind to deliver a top ten list. After a brief rumination, I decided why not? I may not invest too much into lists any more, but the internet still wolfs them down like the sweet clickbait candy that they are. Remember who you're writing for, I guess.

Apologies for the slight snark. I mean no harm. However, since last year, I’m finding myself more interested in things I found in the year overall, rather than a scything down the favourites in order to separate the crop.

Subjects like sex and erotica had a torrid time in the few films I saw, which focused on them.  The over hyped, unevenly baked 50 Shades tried to sell vanilla sex scenes as more than they actually were (or could ever be), because whips and chains. Shades may not have been the total turkey man had thought (and secretly hoped). Its box office gross clearly showed that, be it hype, curiosity, friskiness or a mix of all three, there was an adult (mostly female) market to be exploited. It’s a pity that despite a rise in sex accessories, the film’s vanilla sex scenes do little to take it’s ideals of sensual escapism further.

The Arthouse scene, which has far less qualms in explicit material gave us Gasper Noe’s self-indulgent Love. A plodding, underwritten sex fest with a narrative of angsty Sundance aspirations. Noe’s shoe gazing feature not only pales in comparison when observing the trillions of gigabytes of internet porn (which deliver their cumshots with far more earnestness), but feels vastly inferior to mumblecore features of a decade ago. Lest we forget Lars Von Trier’s flawed saga Nymphomaniac (2013), which despite being also indulgent and overlong, at least attempts to say something greater about how our emotions conflict and contrast with our physical intimacy. Love’s narrative, give or take a few elements, wouldn’t feel too out of place in a line-up of overegged young adult features. 50 Shades may have been born from young adult fan fiction (Twilight), but Love’s self-conscious anxieties make E. L James’ opus feel like a heady brew of maturity.

Documentary Chemsex did its best to spread moral panic, while feeling light on facts. Important insights of isolation and community almost get lost between a vast mass of talking heads and stories, which never give us enough time to breathe. It’s main conceit; that sectors of homosexual males are mixing a deadly cocktail of drugs and unprotected sex, is so focused on one sector of Britain, it feels inconclusive and incomplete.

The winner for me when it came to any discussion of sex or sensuality within cinema, was Peter Strictland’s dreamily shot The Duke of Burgundy. The film comments on sex, kink and love with the type delicacy and emotion we should expect from erotica. The film’s Crown Jewel? It’s all woman cast, which help provide a fresh take on dominance, submission and obsession. Losing the need of the all-seeing, all-encompassing male gaze.

This brings me on to 2015 bringing forth some engaging features which give a positive engagement of the dreaded word of diversity. The films that lingered in my head, were often great with their commentaries and ideas of gender and race. Dear White People updated Spike Lee’s School Daze with a grander scope and little Do the Right Thing structuring. Straight Outta Compton was a blockbuster biopic, which did quite well in depicting N.W.A as a glossy, urban version of The Sex Pistols. The aforementioned The Duke of Burgundy and it’s all female cast, Carol, were all well put together. The 7th Fast and Furious once again revelled in its multi-racial cast and multi-million box office haul.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens illustrated organic progressive qualities, while Fury Road gave us a new, well rounded female hero wrapped within a Mad Max film. It’s important to remember that Fury Road’s white male director made the most of its female editor. Rebecca Ferguson’s covert agent in the fifth MI entry also helped the aims and intentions of the Internet film culture, if not the wider culture, in terms of gender.

It was, however, the Martian that I found to be the most warming and heartening in a world that's feeling increasingly isolating and dangerous. Now an Oscar nominated feature, it’s we are the world commentary may feel a little trite, but god damn it made the idealist in me smile.

Ryan Coogler’s (Fruitvale Station) Creed has made waves recently, revamping the Rocky franchise with an African American lead. I have yet to see it at the time of writing this, yet its solid word of mouth is showing us that both Coogler and Michael B Jordan may certainly have something to say in the realms of representation. The fact these aforementioned films with their successful attempts at bringing across diversity show that the passive white male hero can be joined by others quite easily. Just make the material compelling. It's important to realise that roughly around 500 Hollywood movies get released each year. The fact that The Huffington Post can only find 11 films with black cast members (not even leads) of that average, worth watching that's not even of the same percentage equivalent. You can see the frustrations. It's more troubling when we place into consideration that we're seeing artists break down the speaking parts of the POC cast by the minute. We don't a complete reversal of the casts. But we do need at least try and achieve the percentage representation.

I say this as social media and ignorance has seemingly helped warp the ideal of progressiveness on both sides. American cinemas felt it necessary to bulk up security for Straight Outta Compton for reasons that are quite transparent to people like myself. That said, things such as the push for Idris Elba to play everybody, or the internet outrage which sparks the moment a z-lister feels hard done by, are well intentioned but often feel short sighted. For me the push for more BAME filmmakers in a stronger position to create their own stories is far more important to me than forcibly seeing a POC become James Bond or fighting to get Ava DuVernay to do a Marvel film. Particularly when we see just how clear these franchise films run on a track. Coolger’s positioning into the Rocky franchise may hold a certain amount of transparency (all about the franchise Benjamins), but its success for both director and star may help open up new pathways for POC artists. The same certainly goes for Straight Outta Compton.

I have missed a load of films for the simple reason that either they've been smaller release that don't enter cinemas. Or mainstream fare that looks like tripe. Annoyingly, with the likes of Disney owning Star Wars, Marvel and of course, their own product. There's a bleakness that sometimes hovers over me like a dark cloud. Films that will look and sound the same, now dictate openings with such velocity, it can feel depressing. Avengers Age of Ultron did little to remain in my thoughts. Only really adding more characters to a larger film that doesn’t wish to end. Other franchise entries such as Spectre felt exactly like the name suggests; a ghostly re-tread of Bonds of the past with what little deviation gained from the earlier Craig movies being rubbed out. Franchise films are beginning to feel rushed and neglectful of their scripts. When Marvel and Disney release their timelines and release dates for their ongoing franchises. May mind was instantly cast back to When Alien 3 (1993) had a release date before a finished screenplay. There’s been many examples of this, although none stick out as egregiously as that one.

Yet now fan demand and the demands of commerce outstrip artistic creativity in mainstream cinema so perversely, it’s sometimes hard to see the forest for the trees. The Mamo Podcast gave the perfect description of the 2nd biggest film of the year: The good enough blockbuster.  Jurassic World is dumb, weakly scripted and spiteful, yet has enough branding and call backs in it for fans to be happy and the book with its palatable themes can be forgotten once more. A shame.

Also worrying was while Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a fun re-entry to a much loved cinematic world, it also felt like a re-polished Episode 4. A film with no real surprises (despite the cries of no spoilers), and an insurance that nothing will be really tampered with. Lest we upset fans by offering something new.

That both titles made a ton of cash with the audiences trading in the more solid storytelling of the previous films for the chance to hear the music, see the characters and feel like a child again is quite perturbing. Escapism is fine, but I wish these films would be scrutinised as much as other films which are just as fictional but don't have the nostalgia to lean on.

For all the issues the Sony hack delivered, isn't it funny that The Interview, the film that was called to be banned, still pooped out a cinema release, before cropping up on Sky a few months later? It is now widely available and not much happened about the hack since. Although a fair damage certainly hit Sony at the point of impact, like so much of our view of such events, everything was quickly forgotten. Meanwhile the revealing talk about race that came from some of the executives’ emails, including the dubious riff what Obama’s film tastes, help highlight why I’m not surprised at yet another Oscar whitewash year. I wonder if such attacks, along with the PS4 hack may become more familiar. Though how it will affect our entertainment is another story.

So we’re three weeks into the New Year with more franchise features and sequels to look forward to. In the past four weeks, we’ve lost four artists (Haskell Wexler, Alan Rickman, Vilmos Zsigmond and David Bowie) whose contributions to cinema will certainly inspire many for years to come. In light of my aforementioned ramblings, I certainly do hope so.  Film critics will of course lament where the medium of criticism is going. Soon after expect the same critics to attack audiences/other critics/filmmakers with cheap snark and not see the connection. Twitter will get angrier. Brands will amass more cash. But as long as the films get made and entertain, things will be interesting.

Review: Sicario

Year: 2015

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan

Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro

Synopsis is here:

Higgins: “No. Absolutely not. We have games. That's all. We play games. What if? How many men? What would it take? Is there a cheaper way to destabilize a regime? That's what we're paid to do.”

-          Three Days of Condor (1975)

Ice Cube: “You get AK’s from Russia and Cocaine from Columbia.”

Eazy E: “And ain’t none of us got a passport! So you might wanna check the source…”

-          Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Sicario plays a behind the scenes of the source Eazy E mentions, by the rules similar to what Higgins implies. Beginning with a tense and explosive siege, the grim revelation that’s found becomes an ominous analogy. Although less Skeleton’s in the closest, more corpses in the plaster wall.

Underground Rapper Immortal Technique could have conceived an album based on the narrative curveballs that Denis Villeneuve’s crime drama spins towards its viewer. It’s a film which not only firmly cements Villeneuve’s recurring theme of personal, insular prisons, but once again highlights that such prisons tickle down from the larger containment. In Villeneuve’s twisted doppelganger humdinger; Enemy (2013), this involved the sticky webbed influence of Spiders. Here in Sicario, we’re asked to pry apart the tenacious strands of the drug trade, which have been weaved between North and South America. 

This tightly wound production falls into a similar camp as A Most Violent Year (2014). The moral structures that our lead character; Kate (A passive, but seething Emily Blunt) begin to deteriorate and crumble to show how much of a fallacy the lines of the law really are.  No one is to be trusted and the long arm of the law is cracked and fractured in several places. We keenly observe this in the opening shots, were swat teams operate a high risk manoeuvres while neighbours take dogs on their afternoon walks. In the lead up to one of Sicario’s more tense sequences, mutilated bodies hang freely under intersection freeways, while locals nonchalantly play squash in the next street. Good? Bad? In the world of Sicario, it just is.

Much is owed to Roger Deakins cinematography. His control of light and shadow is effortless, as is his ability to clarify the imagery to augment the message. Sicario holds wide shots which isolate Blunt’s Kate both outside and inside government structures which she suddenly feels alien to. The Star Spangled Banner gloatingly hovers over or behind her while she argues her case. So much for what she considers as the American way. By the time we get to the third act, which involves locating border tunnels, we’re viewing images in inferred camera Inverting colour into blurred monochrome shades of gray. We are literally in the dark with little awareness of who the villains are, even though the team have gone in as friends.

It’s easy to argue that Sicario comes at a time where the competition doesn’t feel as stiff as previous eras. It’s not a typical period piece or biopic that fares so well during the Oscars. But that doesn’t matter in the slightest. Sicario not only throbs and pulses like it’s near elemental soundtrack. Its brutally precise execution of its themes, sit in the pit of the stomach like a block of ice. Denis Villeneuve confronts the subject with the same dynamic fortitude that makes Sicario stand tall with similar features of its ilk. For this blogger, this is one of the year’s best. 

Article: Appetite for Destruction

Since my mid to late teens, I've pretty much been considered the “cynical” one of my group of friends. It’s a tag I do try hard to sometimes shrug off. Particularly when I see so many others push past my own pessimistic leanings.

But here’s the thing.

When you read that Universal will look to reimburse cinemas for extra security costs over the weekend for the release of Straight over Compton, the hyped musical biopic of infamous rap group NWA, the pissed off Pitt alarm, blares loudly in my brain.

Of course people will consider the reasoning just. Racial anxieties in America are currently at their peak. The many protests that have featured in areas such as Ferguson as well as the violent disruptions have been well documented. I’m sure many could explain to me why people are nervous about a film in which the lead characters; who hail from the city with two groups of the most notable crime gangs, named one of their most famous anthems: Fuck Da Police…

But shouldn’t we consider, just for a minute, the reasoning behind these protests? Why has so much tension presented itself?  Why has so much anger flared up? One only needs to Google the words Black Lives Matter and read the many over the deaths of unarmed African Americans at the hands of armed Caucasian policemen. The protests that have occurred have yet again highlighted that Americas relationship with race is as convoluted and complex as its relationship with the same firearms being used to extinguish life. So quite strangely, the more black people killed or mistreated, the more protests occur. The more protests occur, the more conflicts flare. The more conflicts flare, the more studios worry about the (black) entertainment they release.

Annoyingly, I find this all gets a little Manson’s Helter Skelter. Was 8 Mile placed under such scrutiny when Eminem was at the height of his powers and notoriety? A film which treads lightly upon a gang culture within a multi-cultural, depressed town? Did any worry transpire when its infamous star (whom George Bush stated was “the most dangerous threat to American children since polio”) went on to pick up the best song Oscar? Nope. I doubt anyone would have believed that a woman who attack a man with pepper spray during a Mr Turner screening either. Mr Turner: a three hour period piece about a talented British Painter. Not one for frisking and metal detectors.

Can we also highlight that the shocking murders caused by Dylann Roof in an African American church, have been played down by many as not being an act of terrorism? The same goes for Anders Behring Breivik (although that is Norway). Do we know films did Elliot Rodger watch before he killed six people and then himself? This young man shot video "manifesto" raged at interracial couples, black men and girls that shunned him for not being successful. In fact, both Breivik and Roof also had angry manifestos of filled with disturbing views on how they viewed people of minority races. Were they James Bond fans? Rambo fans? Did they ever have a thing for Arnie's oeuvre?

I ask because in the years I've spent watching dashing white heroes, shoot and kill aliens either intergalactic or foreign. It's always considered for the right reasons. And no one believes that they the violence off the screens and into reality. When I read the articles and reports for the likes of American Sniper, I see no tightened security measures. Only the records they've broken at the box office. Of course, there's the political fallout, but no pre-emptive action taken. Looking at the articles that surrounded that movie, it's safe to say that a lot of fans of that movie seemed to enjoy guns.

Of course not every gun carrier in America is a troubled, unhinged person. And not every fan of of films with gun violence is going to start popping off like it's the 4th of July. That's a spiteful generalisation. Yet I can only be frustrated when looking at the likes of James Holmes, whose violent attack on a cinema in Colorado was quickly pinned upon similar nihilistic leanings of the Joker from The Dark Knight. A crime which sparked a rise in gun purchases along with security tightening afterwards. You can also look at the crime of Curtis Reeves; a retired policeman who deemed it fine to shoot and kill a man for texting in a cinema. The tragedy of the Lafayette shootings is still fresh and occurred during a screening of the romantic comedy Trainwreck. All these incidents are always considered as random as they are upsetting, yet often with them, dark, troubling reasons rise to the surface. Issues which no one seems to be truly aware of until it's too late. Yet when it comes to something like Straight Outta Compton, everyone appears to be all too sure of violence erupting.

This isn't to say that violence couldn't happen. Even looking from the outside in, tensions do appear to be running exceedingly high and I hope that no one does something to justify the already, clearly high suspicions. But here we are, looking at a carefully worded statement of heightened security over an "urban" film (sigh) which looks ready to do well at the box office. This to me speaks volumes. I do not wish to belittle the large and complex issues that a beautiful country (and it is beautiful) carries on it's shoulders.  But wouldn’t it be nice if people weren’t so automatically certain in their conformation of black violence as they are uncertain about the actions of white lone wolves?