Movies that make you think...

I don't watch a lot of movies. That being said, I think I've seen more movies in the past 2 months than I've watched in the past 2 years. Now don't get me wrong, I like watching movies but I sometimes have a difficult time justifying 2 hours in front of the tv. Going to the theatre is a little different but at home, I'll often find something else to do or make the excuse that it'll be too late by the time the show is done. So, when I do watch a movie at home, I want it to be worth my time and I really want to enjoy it.

This weekend, I watched 2 movies....I know, crazy! Well, actually, one of them was a documentary that was only 36 minutes long, but for the sake of this entry, I'm calling it a movie. On Friday night, I finally popped this one into the dvd player after it had been sitting on my coffee table for the past 2'ish months.

The Fence...quite an interesting watch. This one is about the fence that the US government built along the US/Mexico border. Obviously, being a documentary, this speaks to one side of the argument on La Barda. Let's just say that this is not a pro-government documentary on the success (or supposed success) of this very expensive fence that stretches over a fraction of the US/Mexico border. I'm not going to share my opinion on this topic but I would recommend anyone to watch this documentary if you are at all interested in US/Mexican relations, immigration, and smuggling (people and drugs). An interesting topic considering some US politicians have recently brought up the topic of building a fence on the Canadian/US border to the forefront in their election platforms!

The second movie I watched took me back a few years. See, back in high school, when my buddies and I got together and all piled into someones car, we often had rap music blaring so that we couldn't even hear one another speak. One of the most common groups pumping out of the tape deck was NWA. I'd been wanting to see "Straight Outta Compton" since it came out this summer and I finally decided to rent it last night on pay per view.

And, WOW!

You see, unless you have a little history on rap and what NWA did for gangster rap on the west coast, you probably would simply see NWA and this movie as just a movie about a rap group with their explicit lyrics and controversial content that would offend the majority of the population. But it's much more than that. Eazy-E was a pioneer of rap on the west coast of the US and their explicit lyrics are reflective of the world they came from and lived in, racial tension, discrimination, drugs, violence, communities in turmoil and much more. Their music reflects a world that most of us will never know and certainly do not want to be thrown into. It's a story of hope, resilience, overcoming the odds, triumph and failure. Many of us can relate to these words in our own world and this is the story of how NWA rose to the top of the music industry in America.

Now, if you don't like a movie with sex, drugs and a lot of profanities, this one isn't for you. But, if you want a movie that will give you a glimpse into the world of the music industry, more specifically, the arguably, most famous rap group of all time that included Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella, Arabian Prince and The D.O.C., definitely check this one out. As a result of NWA and its founding members, other iconic rap stars emerged such as Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy, and many more. An interesting, gripping story about NWA and the world of rap.

Gangsta D
Peace out!
Word.