This film represents West Coast hip-hop culture with a comedic tone. Although many aspects of this film mocked the increasingly popular "gangsta rap", it drew attention to the profanity, violence, and drug abuse that were popular with the subgenre. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The film is about 3 middle-class kids who become famous rappers after adopting a "gangster" image. This image includes drinking alcohol in public, carrying weapons, using foul language, and humiliating women. Despite how inappropriate and immoral this image is, the film also shows how middle- and upper-class white kids essentially worship the members of CB4. Although CB4's image is negative, the film as a whole values things like friendship and family. The family of the main characters clearly despises this “gangster” culture. Most of the reason this image is despised is that the characters grew up middle class. Hip-hop was born in the South Bronx and was born out of poverty and oppression. The culture has evolved to the point that people who come from money and education are adopting and glorifying actions and mindsets that were previously only seen in situations of poverty. Suddenly it became “cool” to come from the street. This is also seen when very young white kids from wealthy backgrounds start to admire bands like CB4. Reviews of the film by critics were overall negative, with many of them pointing out the alteration of themes and values as the scenes transitioned from CB4's public image into their private lives. It was confusing for audiences to figure out which virtues were the film's moral lessons and which were a representation of West Coast gangster rap culture. Viewers "can't decide whether they want to ridicule CB4 or hold the group up as a role model." (ew.com). The members of CB4 also show their love for their friends and family, but not on stage or in public of course. This might prove that people in gangster rap culture in general are not just hardcore and emotionless. It could, however, also be a comedic element of the film to show CB4 as softies who aren't real gangster rap artists. The film ends with the reconciliation of the group and the main characters with their families. Vulgarity, treatment of women as objects, and violence are symbols of 1990s West Coast gangster rap. For example, members of CB4 embrace the use of guns, even though they know nothing about them, and judging by their background and personality behind the gangster image, they probably can't even use them. Furthermore, one of CB4's youngest fans was a white boy from a prestigious family; his father was running for political position and clearly opposed gangster rap culture. The rebelliousness and "cool" image of gangster rap was very attractive to young teenagers like this boy, Ben, and this scenario shows how hip-hop has transitioned both towards a less friendly image and towards cultural diversity. The film focused on comedy and therefore didn't pay much attention to the political criticism that actually made up a major part of gangster rap lyrics. However, the opposition of a political figure like Ben's father may have been a symbol of this. Similar to the political issues, the film does not pay due attention to drugs, particularly crack, which were a major element of West Coast hip-hop culture...
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