Menace II Society(1993)/Millionaire Boys Club(2008)

bMenace II Society
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CD2pjnGy8Fk
The first thing which appears in this trailer is a teacher speaking to a young black male about the harsh realities of being black in America, "Being a black man in America isn't easy. The hunt is on, and you're the prey. All I'm saying is... All I'm saying is... Survive! All right?" Due to this it becomes clear that this movie's function is to inform and educate the audience about ganglife without glorifying it.
After a few shots of the protagonist "Caine" in everday life including school, a girl is talking to him about his future, "You need to be glad that you graduated from high school, and that you're alive at eighteen, and you need to do something with yourself before you end up like he did." This enforces the positive message even more.
The general idea presented therefore, is that life on the streets has only two outcomes, death or jail. In the opening frame, whilst the teacher is speaking to Caine there are shots of armed teens with balaclavas on driving around in a typical south central neighbourhood but being voiced over by what the teacher says, also there are shorter flashes of Caine embracing what appears to be his grandparents and being questioned by a policeman thus creating the effect of everything the teacher says slowly unfolding.
New Line Cinema were the distributors for Menace II Society, having distributed films such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles" and "Drop Dead Fred" it's not expected of them to be involved with this particular genre.
The genre is a crime drama, not quite something you would watch with your family however the message is strong and aims to change people's perspective on things so possibly it could be acceptable to watch with a family.
Young black males living in urban california are represented in this trailer as criminals with no other code of life. However they are also shown to be open to change, one of Caine's friends says to him, "You know i'm down, but i also know life has better things to offer than what's on the street out there" this is voiced over parallel to various clips of Caine joking with friends, embracing his girlfriend and playing with a kid. This strenghthens the idea of change.
Towards the end of the trailer the title begins to scroll into the screen but again there are flashes of clips involving Caine embracing his grandparents, being intimate with his girlfriend, concealing a gun in his trousers and being arrested, this is to show what kind of hectic life he lives, juggling family, friends and crime.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HkwlBKni0uk
"Millionaire Boys Club" is a movie of the same genre but with different ideologies and values. "Menace II Society" was made in an attempt to open the eyes of gang members living a life of crime, however "Millionaire Boys Club" is simply a popcorn movie which seems to glorify gangsters.
The first thing in this trailer shows the main character "G" (played by rapper The Game) reading what sounds like gospel teachings, after reading it aloud he hesitates says, "f*** that" and throws the book away, this is completely different to Menace II Society in which characters are presented in a way that they are willing to change their ways.
It cuts to various clips of G in a prison environment, these clips depict his release from jail followed by him cheerfully walking around a typical south central neighbourhood surrounded by many young black males heavily dressed in red(LA Blood gang colours)
It is not revealed who is making the film but from first impressions of the trailer it seems as if it is a low budget film possibly funded by The Game himself.
The genre like Menace II Society is a crime drama, however the emphasis on drama seems to be overpowered by crime action instead, the trailer is overflowing with themes of violence and weapons. It becomes quite clear that the film is purely there to entertain and not educate.
The only people being represented in any way are young black males. They are represented as indimidating criminals with no remorse. This is apparent in a clip where G hurls a 40 oz bottle of malt liquor at a car passing by, this kind of a representation only strengthens such stereotypes rappers and young black males recieve in the US media.
There are also caucasian characters however, they appear to be italian by accent and what is said by one of them, "you got somethin' that belongs to a friend of mine" a typical dialogue expected from mafia affiliated gangsters. The interesting thing is that G is standing below the caucasian man and is looking up to him, this could be a direct link to the idea of inequality and other social/racial tensions in USA.
The audience will most definitely be teenagers, most likely listeners of gangster rap and rappers such as The Game.
There are no ideoligies and values in this trailer whatsoever, as i said before this movie is for pure entertainment purposes and doesn't want to hound the audience with messages and teachings.

Similarities:
Music(rap)
characters(young black males)
setting(South Central)
Speech(urban slang)
Prison(both movies make prison appear as a common factor in a young black males' life)

Differences:
Values and ideoligies
Decade
Character's mindset(in M2S characters are prepared to change, in MBC they show no signs of changing)
Caucasian characters
Pace(M2S is slow paced, MBC is fast and hectic)

Related Texts:
Boyz N The Hood
South Central
Blood In Blood Out
Colors

Essay

In 1993 a movie was made in order to educate the world about the dangers within a dominantly black society, themes of poverty, gang violence and survival were all used in order to get the message across, this movie was "Menace II Society" The movie was made with hopes that it would help young black males take a different path in life rather than to live a life of crime. 15 years later "Millionaire Boyz Club" was made, the movie is very similar to Menace II Society but that much different. "Millionaire Boyz Club" is a fast paced movie filled with explosions, guns, drugs, sex and scandal, it seems to glorify the life of a gangster rather than criticizing it.

Both films contain similar scenes such as when guns are drawn, intimidation is a key and prison is an expected thing, however in Menace II Society these graphic scenes help to get the message across that life on the streets will get you killed or in jail, in Millionaire Boyz Club there is no such message being put across in fact it seems as though gangsters are being glorified instead.
The tone also makes it quite easy to differentiate the two, in the trailer for M2S, slow paced music is used at first whilst a teacher is telling the protagonist about the dangers he is setting himself up for. Eventually as the trailer progresses the music picks up in pace but only just, therefore still keeping the tone set. In MBC the music throughout the trailer are two rap instrumentals, fast paced ones at that, much like something expected at a party even. This gives off the impression that the gangster lifestyle is fast paced and enjoyable, rather than the grim and slow tone set in M2S.

Due to both films being set in the gritty South Central LA, there is a big similarity automatically. The setting has a big hand in creating and moulding the characters into their final self. The way they react to their surroundings and people within their surroundings is partly based on the setting. In both films intimidation is a reoccurring factor as is gun/gang violence.
The dialogue in both films is near enough identical due to them both being set in the same area. Urban LA has a distinct style of slang which is easily recognisable when heard, however since MBC was made a decade after M2S certain words from 1993 aren’t in MBC, the same goes for M2S.

A quite shocking difference is the use of law enforcement. In M2S there is a vast amount of scenes in relation to police brutality or just police involvement in itself. In MBC however there isn’t as much focus, this could be due to the film being set in the new decade in which racism and discrimination is not as apparent as it would be back in the 90s.
However both films do feature a prison. In M2S Caine is questioned in a police station and goes to visit a friend who is serving a sentence, in MBC G is being released from prison at the beginning, in a lot of gang related movies set in an urban area of the US, police and jail are a known and expected thing for young black males.

In both films there is a love interest for both protagonists, in M2S it appears that Caine genuinely cares about his partner as does she, there relationship isn’t built on sex but instead a mutual understanding of the streets and one another, Caine’s girlfriend also wants him to change his ways. In MBC’s trailer we see a brief scene of intimacy between G and a woman who only appears once in the whole trailer, the clip involves more lust than love. This makes G come across as a man enjoying his life as a bachelor engaging in what appears to be casual sex. In M2S Caine is very fond of His girlfriend’s son showing signs of a possible happy family.

The amazing thing is that although there may be many differences, there are still near identical similarities 15 years on. This is because both movies portray the harsh realities of living in a ghetto, although they both portray the hardships with different perspectives(M2S is against gangs whilst MBC indirectly glorifies it) they both have near identical dialogue, props, setting and characters.
The main thing is the decade, in the early 90s gang warfare was at an all time high, the world needed a movie like M2S however In this day and age although gang warfare is still very much active, it is no way as active as 15 years ago this is why the function of both films is so different.