I mean, seriously. The first scene involves a man shooting two people just because he was insulted. Then there is no dis
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EmilylnWonderland — 14 years ago(October 07, 2011 03:43 PM)
I appreciate your reply, but they were not "kids." They were legal adults purchasing beer at a liquor store.
I know there are situations where you become desperate and do what you must to survive, but that doesn't mean you should lose all compassion for human beings. Besides, Cain wasn't completely helpless. He had that woman friend and his grandparents helping him out. He could have easily changed his life around by going to community college or finding a job, or even joining the army.
Just sayin'. -
EmilylnWonderland — 14 years ago(October 07, 2011 05:08 PM)
They weren't being racist, they were being prejudiced, and there's a big difference between the two.
The clerk didn't deserve to die for stating an opinion. He should have just kept his mouth shut.
Anyway, that is beside the point. My point is that Cain could have turned his life around if he wanted to. He certainly had the opportunity, but instead chose to hang out with low-lifes. This movie would have been a LOT more interesting if he decided to go the other route.
That's why I'm confused as to what point this movie was trying to make. Was Cain helpless, a victim of his circumstances and surroundings? His future pre-determined? Or did he have opportunities to do something else with his life? Sure, toward the end he was going to move to Atlanta with the woman, but right before he's killed he beats up a guy for nothing. The movie didn't address the internal conflict well at all.
Bottom line: Menace II Society earns a big fat
D-
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fell-ashlyn — 14 years ago(October 14, 2011 07:17 AM)
No one Deserve's to die! They were being racist, but that doesn't mean you kill someone because of that. the bigger person address it then walks away. And, I adore this movie because it shows the ending affect of this lifestyle people live. Caine had done so much and had so many opportunities and people who were trying to guide him to do something better with his life, but he in turn decided to do the wrong things, and in he ended up getting killed himself.
"Anyway, that is beside the point. My point is that Cain could have turned his life around if he wanted to. He certainly had the opportunity, but instead chose to hang out with low-lifes. This movie would have been a LOT more interesting if he decided to go the other route."
I'm glad they went the route they went, because it's realistic! There are so many people who don't turn the other cheek and ended up just like Cain. So, there is is an underlying message in the movie and it would have been a cop out if they decided to give Cain a happy ending to me! -
MrAlxT — 14 years ago(December 02, 2011 04:24 AM)
You can't know what exactly is, when you are not raised in environment like this in the movie. Everything is subjective and it depends on the perspective you see the thing. In this environment it is difficult to change yourself, especially for those guys, Cain at least try, but it was too late. The point of the movie is just to show us this reality, it's a matter of perception how you will understand the things.
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fiatlux-1 — 14 years ago(December 08, 2011 11:09 PM)
The clerk didn't deserve to die for stating an opinion. He should have just kept his mouth shut.
I agree. He shouldn't have made the comment, but to snuff out 2 lives for that?! And he enjoyed killing too, that scene made me sick.
I actually agree with most of your post. What WAS the message this film was trying to send? That you should care if you live or die? That the choices we make affect us? That we're NOT products of our environment? OK, I agree with all of those but
Cain never seemed to resist any temptation! In fact, he was almost the opposite!
The film was rather dull because of this; I agree it would have been much more interesting if he was shown struggling with the conflict.
I didn't think anything much would change in Atlanta for Cain either, in fact. I thought he'd end up acting the same way after a while.
The final voiceover statement by Cain felt tacked on, and didn't have the visual impact it could have had Cain been more a character like Ricky or Tre from "Boyz in the Hood."
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush." -
Mandingo609 — 12 years ago(February 07, 2014 06:10 PM)
Technically, they were kids. I mean, With all the bullcrap that Beiber is doing, the media and people commenting on Message Boards calls him a kid. What is he? 20? Or, does that title only applies to certain people when they commit criminal acts?
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JohnHitch — 14 years ago(October 14, 2011 09:04 PM)
You're not supposed to care, or empathize with the characters. You're supposed to understand what life is like for one who grows up in a gang culture. The main guy, was trying to find himself, uncertain of his life. His grandparents raised him, in a seemingly okay home yet he found himself playing around with thugs. It took near death experiences, getting arrested to show him that it wasn't worth it. That's another theme, that people can change; not all people mind you. This is evident for the kid who shot the Korean Couple and showed the tape around. He's a sociopath, who is so ingrained into the culture, he's lost his way out. Thug Life, is his existence.
Why would you possibly think a film like this would make you feel for the characters? -
EmilylnWonderland — 14 years ago(October 15, 2011 04:36 PM)
If you're not supposed to care about the characters, or empathize with them in some way, or even relate to them, then what's the point in watching a movie about them? That's the writer's job, to get you to care about them in some way.
If you can watch a movie about characters you don't care about, then more power to you. -
JohnHitch — 14 years ago(October 15, 2011 04:46 PM)
What's the point in watching? To understand, what gang culture is like. it's an non romanticized portrait of what life is like in the ghetto. The write's job, is to tell a story, and tell it well. It has to speak to you, but you don't have to relate to the characters for it to be great. Besides them being human and flawed. You really don't need to care, don't take this the wrong way but it's seemingly juvenile to expect to care about every character who's the protagonist of a movie. The bigger picture and underlying message or idea is what drives me to watch a movie.
But then of course, this is all opinion. The world would be pretty bland if we all thought the same. -
fell-ashlyn — 14 years ago(October 20, 2011 11:02 AM)
I think the OP is missing the message in the movie. As I stated in a previous post and others have also said, it's not about caring for them. It's about there life in this lifestyle and how Caine actions cause a re-action.
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phumanchu — 14 years ago(October 23, 2011 06:05 AM)
John, you hit this bang on. I hope to never see the day all plots, protagonists and antagonists are molded into a complete generic copy-cat of each other. Menace II Society was an eye opening brutal account of someones experiences growing up down near Compton Ave. and shame on any one of you who does not appreciate the message of this filmJohnHitch hit the nail right on the head, if you hate on him you're a troll.
That's just meSup? -
sharebear42019 — 14 years ago(December 12, 2011 12:38 PM)
It's funny no ones mentioning how he was corrupted at a very young age you can't really blame him! I mean come on did your parents friends put mault liquor in your mouth at like 8 years old? Or have you seen your father shoot an kill someone in front of you? Doubtful. Caine did. It was obvious the way he was gonna turn out. At least he TRIED to get out of the life
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JackDnCoke — 12 years ago(August 30, 2013 02:36 AM)
Or maybe you're both just retarded. "He had to be gangsta cause he lived near gangsta's" you ficking kidding me? Ignorant twats like you 2, and pretty much everyone else posting in here besides OP, are the reason things are so messed up these days. No accountability and make up bs excuses to blame everyone BUT the criminals.
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roachbusters — 14 years ago(January 07, 2012 07:52 PM)
I think the point the movie was trying to make was that Caine was neither a hero nor a villain; he was merely the product of a situation and circumstances beyond his control. He was a fundamentally decent person (or at least had the potential to be one) who made one bad decision after another, and that was why he ended up as he did. Who is to say that you or I, living in an environment like that, would not end up the same way? Moreover, I think Caine more than redeemed himself in the end. His actions in the end of the movie prove that, given the chance, he could have turned his life around and become a better person.
As for O-Dog, he was a disgusting, amoral sociopath, and I spent the whole movie hoping his character would be killed off.