Intro

How and why does the representation of black youths differ to the representation of the older black generation in contemporary historical dramas such as ‘The Butler’ and ‘Straight Outta Compton’?

“Race that generates terror in all of us…”
African Americans have had a long and somewhat complex history in the film industry. The migration of African Americans from rural areas in the south to more urban regions between the 1910s and 1940s shifted the racial landscape, and mainstream Hollywood began to reflect this demographic change in its films. However the representation of African Americans in the media has been a major concern.  It can be argued that black youths are presented more violent and reckless whereas the older generations are presented as wise, which is particularly evident in the contemporary historical dramas ‘The Butler’ (2013) and ‘Straight Outta Compton’(2015). The Butler is a historical drama inspired by true events between 1940 to 2008 on real events and people during the 34-38th presidential reign. The main iconography present in this film is the impact that all those social conflicts had on American culture at that time. Whereas ‘Straight Outta Compton’ is a historical drama based on 5 youths in 1988 about the rise of a California hip hop group N.W.A. The film borrows its title from the name of their debut album and title track. There are some positive representation of the youths in this film being successful and independent, but the extent to which the negatives outweigh the positives is questioned.