Straight Outta Compton

Product Context
1. Straight Outta Compton is a biopic, produced by Legendary Pictures, distributed by Universal Pictures and directed by F. Gary Gray.
2. The film follows the story of hip hop band N.W.A. in 1980s America. Members of the band (Ice Cube and Dr. Dre) were co-producers.
3. The film was a huge commercial and critical success, became the highest grossing music biopic of all time, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Historical Context
1. The film portrays events set predominantly in mid-1980’s California, USA.
2. The depiction of this period in a contemporary film may have been impacted by the social upheaval caused by the racial tension and the LA Riots in 1992
  1. The portrayal of 1980’s California, and the possible glorification of N.W.A. as agents of social change, may have been revised or influenced by subsequent events.
Cultural Context
1. N.W.A. were significant in terms of social change as advocates for free speech, producers of protest songs and as highly successful black men from disenfranchised American urban communities.
2. N.W.A. were also heavily criticised for their misogynistic lyrics and their promotion of a lifestyle that objectified and marginalised women.
Economic and Political Context
1. Two members of the original band N.W.A. co-produced the film, so consider the possible significance of this in relation to funding and to the portrayal of historical
  1. Could this be considered a sanitised attempt to “cash in” by band members?
Regulatory framework of contemporary media in the UK
1. The BBFC (an independent, non-governmental body) age rates film and video releases in the UK.
2. The theatrical release of Straight Outta Compton gained a 15 certificate, although the Director’s Cut DVD was an 18.
3. The MPAA rates films in America where Straight Outta Compton gained an ‘R’ rating (‘restricted’ - under 17s cannot attend without a parent).
  1. Consider global distribution - the film was rated differently in different countries (it was banned in Malaysia for example but gained an 11 rating in Sweden)
4. Age ratings are important to producers and distributors in guaranteeing an audience – for example, a 15 rating in the UK opens the film to a much wider audience than an 18 certificate.
Consider processes of Production, Distribution and Circulation
1. Things to consider
  1. Where and how is film/film marketing most likely to be consumed by audiences?
  2. How has this consumption changed/been impacted by the ubiquity of the internet, including YouTube and smartphones?
  3. Are audiences now more likely to seek out, for example, new trailers online as active consumers?
  4. How does this impact the relationship between audience and product?
2. The film was scheduled for release in August 2015. The first trailer was released by Universal on 8 February 2015, with a ‘red band’ card to reflect the ‘restricted’ nature of the content
3. A second, global trailer was released on 1 April 2015, before the screening of Universal’s Furious 7.
  1. Consider the significance of ownership (vertical integration) here and how Straight Outta Compton might have benefited from being trailed before an arguably more mainstream film with wider audience appeal.
4. Viral marketing
  1. On 7 August 2015 Beats by Dre launched an app that allowed users to upload their own photograph to the StraightOuttaSomewhere.com website, completing the ‘Straight Outta’ logo with a location of their choice.
    1. Over 6 million downloads of ‘Straight Outta’ images were generated on social media before the film’s opening day.
5. The film was a major commercial success, making over $200 million – it had a $50 million total budget ($28 million production budget).
Theoretical Perspectives
1. David Hesmondhalgh Cultural industries
  1. Further explore the concept of profit in relation to the film industry and in this case specifically to the genre of biopic. N.W.A. offer considerable cultural significance but their story might arguably have been reduced to a profit making exercise by industries.
  2. Explore Hesmondhalgh’s idea that media conglomerates operate across a range of cultural industries by considering the way the film was released in conjunction with very successful (at least in the USA) music albums
  3. Consider the idea that this film has a very low risk for the producers. The musicians from N.W.A. are successful in their own right and offer a pre-sold audience for the product and the genre of musical biopic is familiar to audiences.

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Straight Outta Compton

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