Straight Outta Compton Analysis

Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film depicts the career of gangsta rap group N.W.A as well as being titled after N.W.A's 1988 debut studio album, the film focuses on Eazy-E,Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre. Several members of N.W.A were involved in making the film: Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were among its producers as well as Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, while MC Ren and DJ Yella served as creative consultants. The film has was nominated for a total of 40 awards winning 25 of them, one of which was Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. The budget for the film was $50 million, grossing over $200 million at the box office. The films production companies include Universal Pictures, Legendary Entertainment, New Line Cinema and Ice Cube's own production company Cube Vision.

Director Felix Gary Gray is an American born FIlm director, Film producer, Music video producer and actor. He began his career in 1989 when he appeared uncredited in the satire comedy film Major League. Three years later, he directed the music video for Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day". He would go on to direct subsequent videos for Ice Cube, as well as artists such as TLC, Cypress Hill, Outkast, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder and Queen Latifah. At age 24, Gray directed his first film, the urban comedy Friday with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Over the next few years he would go on to direct Set It Off, with Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah, The Negotiator, which starred Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey and Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson, and earned Gray both Best Film and Best Director awards at the 1998 Acapulco Film Festival, The Italian Job with Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg, Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. 

The film has several themes some of which include conflict, friendship, revenge, death and also has racial undertones. The use of the racial undertones shows to the audience what the rap group had to deal with and go through on their rise to the top. In the movie we see the racism when the group are standing outside the recording studio and the police pull up thinking that they are causing trouble and try to arrest them even though they aren't causing any trouble and are just outside eating and talking. The policeman say that it is because of the way that they are dressed that causes them to think that they are causing trouble and that's why they arrested them, this also has strong links to stereotyping as the police were making assumptions about the black men based on their appearance. We see the theme of friendship throughout the entire movie, from the start of their musical careers before they sign a record deal to the last scene. Despite the feud that goes on between Ice-Cube and the rest of NWA part way through the film, they still come back together as brothers towards the end because they grew up together and see themselves as brothers who are always there for each other. The hospitalisation of one of the members brings the entire group back together despite the fact that they gone through a rough patch and had decided to go separate ways. This connotes to the audience that despite having arguments with close friends over things, nothing can keep you separated if the friendship is strong enough and that they will still always be there when you need them most.

The use of lighting in the movie also helps to emphasise the themes that run throughout the movie. The use of the dark lighting in the scene when Jerry Heller (Played by Paul Giamatti) offers Ice-Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) the contract he has been waiting for and asking about for several months. The use of having O'Shea in a dimly lit room mostly amongst the shadows has connotations of him being in the dark with the contract and not knowing what it involves which is why he declines to sign it. The dark lighting also suggests that there could be a dodgy element to the contract deal and Heller himself. 

Lighting is also used in the film to signify hope and perseverance. We see this in the last part of the movie when Eazy-E is in hospital. He finds out he has an STD and that he doesn't have long left. In one shot we see him in bed with lamp on behind him. The use of the light from the lamp shows that despite being given a short amount of time to live, there is a small chance he could overcome the disease or at least live for longer than the doctor said.