Straight Outta Compton
Straight Outta Compton is a biographical film directed by F. Gary Gray depicting the rap group N.W.As rise and fall in the troubled and dangerous society. The trailer was produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was both a commercial and critical success. It made over $200 million. It became the highest grossing music biopic of all time and was nominated for an Oscar for Best original Screenplay. The film made use of digital marketing opportunities. in August 2015 Beats by Dre launched a campaign to promote the film. People were encouraged to promote their own town as 'everyone is straight outta somewhere', by creating custom memes. The company also created a special edition of the wireless headphones. The #straightouttacompton campaign was the biggest social media campaign of 2015 across all platforms with 11 million website visits, 300 thousand Twitter posts, seven million unique visits and eight million downloads.
Interestingly, the names of the stars themselves, not the actors who played them, are billed. This would appeal to the older fans of N.W.A. However, younger iconic cultural significance of Ice Cube and Dr Dre within the Hip-hop story. The characters in the trailer are constructed in such a way as to encourage a young audience to identify with the way in which they are misunderstood by society, as is shown in the film. The selection of visual codes of clothing and expression in the trailer place the film within the sub-genre of music biopic. The selection of dramatic shots of action within the trailer, to highlight the narrative, appeal to the audience and suggest the production values of the film. Audio codes including a voice-over establishing aspects of the narrative. The voice-over also establishes continuity between the scenes chosen for the trailer and gives promises of pleasure to the audience. There are also sound effects, including police sirens, suggesting tensions with authority and the recognisable sound of hip-hop music.
The films potential target audience consists of fans of the gangster/rap genre, including the American and global audience. This music genre has a well-established fan base, which can be maintained through the well-managed marketing of the film. In addition to the fans of the music, the film aims to appeal to a broader audience. Some of the trailers have been constructed to include discussion of the band and the music, reinforcing the iconic nature of the artists and their star persona. Fans of N.W.A, these may be an older audience who relate to the period of time when the band were at their height. An audience who may be attracted by the hype surrounding the film and and want to see it out of curiosity. Fans or those interested in the star appeal of Ice cube and Dr Dre and how they have been represented in this film. And finally young people who may relate to the 'real characters' and situations in the film, including the misrepresentation or urban youth.
Historical context: as film is set in the 1980s it gives a view of life at the time and links to historical important events related to racial tension
Social and cultural context: the film deals with how a specific social group is represented and how this is indicative of the cultural mood of the time in this part of America. The N.W.A were significant in terms of cultural change in that they became successful artists who broke out of the social restrictions or their communities, offering a positive representation of ethnicity. However, thry have also been criticized for the misogynistic context of their lyrics and the controversial themes dealt with in the music
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