meaning and response

Question 1

ethnic representations

Answer 1

• urban afro-american experience that is underpinned by gender and age
• challenges conventional stereotyping of black characters in hollywood
• ethnicity / racial conflict is at the core of this film
• representation of african americans, italians, korean people, puerto-rican kids and white police officers are all developed in contrasting ways

Question 2

setting - brooklyn, NYC

Answer 2

• ‘melting pot’ ideology - the mixing of races
• ideology of the ‘american dream’ - lots of opportunities
• gentrification - a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, new businesses and often displacing current inhabitants in the process
• gentrification example: clifton’s confrontation with buggin’ out
• gentrification can be seen in brooklyn today: rising rents and the eviction of long-standing (mainly black) residents

Question 3

gender representation

Answer 3

• representations of tina and jade have been criticised as being overtly exploited through their bodies and sexuality
• jade is often viewed through sal’s pov, and tina is both heavily sexualised and portrayed as the nagging girlfriend
• lee has been criticised by black feminist writers for his conventional masculinity and his negative portrayal of women as passive and powerless
• the ice cube scene, the positioning of jade as ‘the good girl’ and the simplistic portrayal of mother sister as the blocks symbol of matriarchy may also be problematic

Question 4

the elders - age representation

Answer 4

• da mayor and mother sister represent a surviving, generational difference from the younger characters
• their names are linked directly to concepts like extended family and community, and even though da mayor is a drunk, he has a particular, dignified power that impacts on the film
• the elders are shown as ‘still standing’ in the shot where they are surveying the block. da mayor and mother sister’s eyes are on the same level.