When I was a child, It seemed to me as though football and rap were always connected to one another. It was as though this bred into me as on the television this is what was always shown. This connection was not always so. In the documentary Straight Outta L.A. how this link was formed is thoroughly explained.
Ice Cube was born and raised in Compton, California. He grew up listening to rap, eventually realizing he wanted to be a rapper. He formed the group N.W.A. along with other local rappers. They grew popular underground. The football team the Oakland Raiders in the early 1980's had just moved into town. They were a rough and tumble team that never gave up. They fought and were completely ruthless. Some of the athletes on the team could even be considered outlaws for some of the behavior they displayed.
Being in downtown L.A. and with an attitude like that immediately drew the hardened people from Compton, they came in flocks- this was their team. Ice Cube wanted to emulate this feeling and his group started wearing gear related to this sports team. N.W.A. was therefore associated with the Raiders and this associated the team with gang violence. The stadium where the Raiders played would have large amounts of violence.
The documentary does good job of showing this relationship trend between the two subjects. Ice Cube takes an interesting stance when it comes to being in the documentary. In this particular show it is mostly effective because his personality is not necessarily dislikable and he fits in well with the intended mood of the documentary. What this documentary is showing is not necessarily about just football and rap. It's about black culture. In this current era black culture is everywhere. If you look on the radio, eight of the ten top songs will be hip hop or rap related. It is the popular trend of music right now. This was not always the case and by immersing black culture with a popular Hollywood football team, it became more mainstream. When this first happened in the 1980's it was not a pretty scene with the loss of many lives, many people being beaten by police and many others being shot. It brought to light many difficulties and problems with African Americans living in lower cost living areas.
The most important thing about this documentary is how it brings up the past. The past can never be forgotten in order to move forward. I believe the youth of today is unaware of the difficulties faced by previous generations and it needs to be shown to them.
When comparing to other documentaries in the series that I have reviewed. I believe Straight Outta L.A. holds its own. It has a strong editing presence which is especially effective in the cartoon sections and a nice flow of material. However, in this comparison I believe it does not have as strong of a emotional connection to the average reader like myself. If you know the topic well or you were associated to this scene this could have a great impact on you. For someone like myself who knows nothing of football or living a gangster lifestyle, it had less of an impact. I do enjoy rap and for me this was purely interesting for the background knowledge of the development of gangster rap. This documentary only contains appeal to a select audience as the topic limits itself to a select demographic.
The personal feeling that Ice Cube gives us by being in the documentary is interesting, but I believe it destroys the image of god that the documentary director gives. When compared to the brilliance of WWII in HD there is a much more effective job of editing and flow. Perhaps it is the topic of the documentary being a very emotional piece that Straight Outta L.A. does not have, but maybe a different flow would have changed it a bit. If I had to choose between the two methods of displayed by both of the documentaries (narration-related) I would choose WWII in HD. It allows for one to become immersed in the topic fully. When you are consistently taken out of the mood by a narrator it is hard to return to the same mindset.
Overall, Straight Outta L.A. is a good documentary. It explains its topic well, but the only aspect that is lacking is the development of emotion .If it built up a little better and the organization was changed. I believe this documentary could be appealing to a larger audience.
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