Product Context- Acceptance?
Product Context- F. Gary Gray
o Directed the film which was
released in 2015
o Born in 1969 and is an
American film director,
producer, music film director
and actor
Historical Context
o Set in the mid-1980s California and
reflects event from that time period o MPAA rated the film ‘R’ (under 17s cannot attend)
o Portrays the racial tension in
America at that time
o Possible that the LA riots during
199s may have impacted the
creation of the film
o During the riots a video was
released of Rodney King being
beaten and arrested, this casued
further uprising and commotion
Economic and Political Context
o Co-produced by two
members of NWA (Ice Cube
and Dr. Dre)
o Made over $200 million with
a $50 million budget
Theoretical perspectives
o Hesmondhalgh:
o Film’s soundtrack debuted at no, 1
on the Rap Albums chart and the
Top R&B/ Hip-Hop Albums chart
o Inspired Dr. Dre’s album
‘Comptom’ which debuted at no.2 Product Context- NWA
on the US Billboard 200 album
chart a week prior to the film’s
release
o Producers being past members of
NWA
Production, Distribution and Circulation
o Controversy with lyrics
o Second global trailer was released before the screening of ‘Furious 7’ which
o Received a letter from the FBI
turned out to be the sixth-highest grossing opening of all time
advising the rappers that ‘advocating
o First trailer was originally rated the ‘red band’ card, this was in February
violence and assault is wrong and we
o ‘Straight Outta…’ campaign- 6 million downloads before the film’s opening day
in the law enforcement community
o Britain- 28th August 2015, USA- 11th August 2015
don’t take exception to such action’,
Regulatory framework this letter only spread more
o Rated a 15 but local councils can override the BBFC and awareness
wanted it at a 15 o Banned from playing on mainstream
radios in USA but still sold over 10
o Ratings vary across countries e.g. banned in Malaysia and million units
was rated an 11 in Sweden o Focused on political music due to
STRAIGHT
their experiences with racism and
excessive policing
o Known for their deep hatred towards
the police
o Received a nomination for the
COMPTON
Academy Award for the Best Original
Screenplay
o Movie soundtrack reached number 1
in multiple charts
o Controversy during casting due to the
A-D ranking scale wanting B-D girls to
have a darker skin tone
Audience
Media ownership Cultural Context
o Fans of NWA
o Produced by Legendary Pictures who are in partnership with o Fans of o Produced songs
Universal with is a Comcast company rap/gangster rap surrounding the racism
o Have a well-known, positive reputation o Fans of biopic they experienced
o ‘Straight Outta Compton’ is atypical for their usual genre films o Were significant for
o Legendary Pictures- sci-fi and fantasy, Universal- wide range o Fans of the film social change and free
o Produced by both so film was not resting solely on one studios/producers speech
company 3 o Many songs are
disrespectful towards
o NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) is an American hip-hop group from LA
women
o Consisted of MC Ren (joined later than the others), Ice Cube, Eazy-E, DJ Yella
o Film conveys what
and Dr. Dre
experiencing racism was
o Experienced controversy due to their lyrics- glorification of drugs, crime and
like
disrespecting women