Film

Menace II Society Directed by Allen and Albert Hughes

A morality, or should I say mortality tale

with a predictable conclusion, Menace IT Society combines violence galore, cliche-ridden writing and so-so acting with an overused theme and comes up with a film that still manages to make the audience leave the theatre with a lump in its collective throat. First, the acting; Tyrin Turner plays ‘Caine, a confused young black man, bred to the tough stréet. lifes. of Compton, but with an inner voice that narrates throughout the movie and fills him with doubt. Turner plays the role straight to the point of discomfort. Per- haps he is new to the nuances of film act- ing, not a bad pre- sumption consider- ing that the creators of this film are all in their early twenties. Larenz Tate plays Turner’s ruthless sidekick, Dog. Nothing happens

ment from either his strictly religious grandpar- ents or his friends; however, he is presumably so overcome with disgust from his week-long stay in jail that he must spew up into the toilet, though he can still fire off a one-liner for his friends outside the door, satirizing the now- stale Black Power movement without a trace of intended irony on the part of the film. Cliched black respectability slogans like “‘You’re man enough to take a life but you ain’t man enough to take care of one’’ delivered by a pregnant teen to the child’s gangster father, and ‘‘I brought you into this life, I’m the only one whose gonna take you out of it,’’ delivered by the school teacher/male black authority figure dotted the film. At times it reminded me of the serious part ofan episode of ‘‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’’, set in Compton.

The black ‘‘gangsta’’’ movie style has been used at least a dozen times, and brings with it a host of problems that

are usually left un- treated. Two of the most obvious are violence and mi- sogyny. Women in this movie, with the exception of the above mentioned single mother, are treated with the same glibness as a Play- boy centrefold stuck on a garage wall. They seem to be will+ ing participants in a game in which their role is to service the men with sex and otherwise re-

” with this character at all, although the main mute and pretty in the back- heisnotas uncomfortable to watch violence in ground. Also, the violence in as ‘Caine. Jada Pinkett plays a Menace II Society is truly gra- young black single mother strug- Menace IT tuitous and palpably numbing. gling to get out of the cruel cycle Society is truly Perhaps this is the director’s of Compton life. Ofthe three main i intention considering the reali- characters, she alone combines gratuitousand ties of a community like natural grace and a seemingly real palp a bly Compton. I doubt most native

emotional conflict, which allows the audience to be moved and to enjoy themselves at the same time; however, it would have been even easier for Pinkett to move us had the writers not provided her with a chic little bungalow to raise her child in. Nobody can convince me that housing prices are so low in L.A. that her convict lover can set her up on the outside in such style- or else the film leaves something to be explained.

The writing threw me for a loop a few other times as well. For example, we are shown ‘Caine being interrogated with deadly intensity in a dungeon-like room presumably in the po- lice station. Presumably they have caught him for car theft and are about to pin a murder on him. But before you know it, he’s out buying a, flashy car which he drives with barely a com-

numbing."

Islanders like myself can truly - relate to a society where murder

isascommonas aparking ticket.

As a whole, Menace II Society remains a stirring account of the black experi- ence in the ‘‘Comptons’’ of North America. With all its flaws, there is an appealing earnesty in the opening footage of the infamous Watt’s riots, which remind us of the more recent L.A. riots. Perhaps the key to our understanding of this movie is that the only character to end the movie no worse off than he was when it began is the ruthless Dog, a young black man with no warmth, no faith and no conscience, but who nevertheless knows how to survive.

(Menace II Society, playing at City Cinema, will be seen Thurs. Nov. 4 at 9pm, Fri. Nov. 5 at 7pm, Sat. Nov. 6 at 9pm and Sun. Nov. 7 at 7pm.) ED FOBES

Books

The Puppeteer by Robert Kroetch

The Puppeteer, anovel by Robert Kroetch,is the most bizarre mix of characters you will ever come across. The plot focuses on Maggie- a confused newcomer to Vancouver- anda monk/ pizza man/ murderer. Add in a cursed wedding dress, and a handful of murderers-to-be. Jump back and forth between Canada and Greece and toss in some art theft for good measure. Are you confused yet? I certainly was when I read ‘‘The Puppeteer’’ by Canadian author Robert Kroetch. But for some odd reason the story and charac- ters pull you in and make this a truly funny and . insightful read.

ALDERA CHISHOLM

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November 4, 1993/X-Press/21