Race, Class, And Gender In Menace II Society

Menace II Society is 1993 hood drama film directed by Allen and Albert Hughes. The film takes places in South Central Los Angeles, California. The film is about a boy growing up in the hood named Kaydee “Caine” Lawson. In the beginning of the film Caine and his best friend O-Dog Anderson went to a local store to buy liquor and as they are walking around in the store one of the store clerks keeps following Caine and friends around suspiciously and pressuring them to hurry up and leave the store. Caine’s father was a drug dealer and was killed in a drug deal when Caine was only 10 years old. His mother was also addicted to heroin so he had to go live with his grandparents instead. In my paper I am going to explore how this movie pertains to race, class, and gender.
The filmmakers of this film are Allen and Albert Hughes, who are also twin brothers. They are also the makers of the films “Dead Presidents,” “From Hell,” “The Book of Eli,” and “American Pimp.” I am only aware of their work on “Dead Presidents” and “Menace II Society.” I am aware of how their works focused on the life and struggles of African Americans who were under class. Their work is not new to me. …show more content…
“Films such as Menace II Society detail the hardships of coming if age for their young protagonists, and all place their narratives within the specific geographic boundaries of the hood. (Mapping the Hood 1)” This film depicts struggles that African American face living in the lower class. In this film you can see how people who are economically disadvantage do not how much resources to support themselves and end up selling dope, and robbing people to get what they want. In the film the main character Caine sells dope, and cocaine to support himself and his friend