Teen film is a film genre targeted at teenagers , preteens and/or young adults by the plot being based on their special interests, such as coming of age , attempting to fit in, bullying , peer pressure , first love, teen rebellion, conflict with parents, and teen angst or alienation. Often these normally serious subject matters are presented in a glossy, stereotyped or trivialized way. Many teenage characters are portrayed by young adult actors in their 20s . Some teen films appeal to young males, while others appeal to young females.
45-603: Menace II Society (pronounced Menace to Society ) is a 1993 American teen crime drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut . Set in the Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles , the film follows the life of Caine Lawson ( Tyrin Turner ) and his close friends. It gained notoriety for its scenes of violence, profanity, and drug-related content, and also received critical acclaim for
90-550: A Cadillac painted in Chicago police colors (police lights included) with armored rear windshield and a small hatch to fire machine guns with the car moving. During the Second Philadelphia Mafia War , two warring factions fought for control of the family; one led by former alleged boss, John Stanfa ; and the " Young Turks " led by up-and-coming gangster Joey Merlino . On 5 August 1993, Merlino survived
135-478: A drive-by shooting assassination attempt by two Stanfa gunmen, taking four bullets in the leg and buttocks, while his friend and associate Michael Ciancaglini was shot in the chest and killed. On 31 August 1993, a drive by shooting was performed on Stanfa and his son while they were driving on the Schuylkill Expressway . Stanfa escaped uninjured and his son survived being shot in the jaw. In 1992,
180-464: A gang-involved drive-by include intimidation, terrorisation, and assassination of rival street gang members. Such shootings are associated with gang violence in urban areas of the United States but also occur in other contexts. The tactic is also called simply a "drive-by". Motorcycle ride-by killings were a common form of murder used by drug lord Griselda Blanco during her years controlling
225-483: A hustler. He meets a local girl named Ilena and has sex with her. One night, he and Sharif are stopped and assaulted by cops, who then dump them in a Hispanic neighborhood to be further assaulted by Hispanic gang members. Instead, the gang members take them to a hospital . During his hospitalization, Ronnie invites Caine to accompany her to her new secretarial job in Atlanta . Initially hesitant, he ultimately agrees. At
270-596: A more positive influence for Anthony and relocate to Atlanta. Afterwards, Caine returns home when Ilena's cousin approaches him outside his house. An argument about Ilena and her pregnancy ensues, causing Caine to brutally stomp on Ilena's cousin in front of his onlooking neighbors. Caine's grandfather promptly comes outside, stops Caine and brings him inside. Finally having enough of Caine's violent, trouble-prone ways, Caine's grandparents kick Caine out of their house and dismiss Caine's plea to stay until he leaves for Atlanta. Learning from their friend Doc of Chauncey's betrayal,
315-399: A now-wanted Caine and O-Dog seek refuge at Ronnie's and other friends' houses. O-Dog vows revenge on Chauncey while Ilena's cousin gathers his friends to seek revenge on Caine. As Caine and Ronnie prepare to leave for Atlanta, Ilena's cousin and his friends drive by Ronnie's house and engage a drive-by shootout, instantly killing Sharif and fatally wounding Caine as he shields Anthony. After
360-471: A part of its first 4K Ultra HD releases. Criterion indicated each title will be available in a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack including a 4K UHD disc of the feature film as well as the film and special features on the companion Blu-ray. The titles were released in November 2021. In 2013, rapper and record producer Kanye West cited Menace II Society as one of his "most-watched" favorite films on an episode of
405-413: A party, Caine witnesses a drunk Chauncey making sexual advances towards Ronnie. Angered, Caine pistol whips Chauncey, and is soon restrained by Stacy and Sharif. Chauncey retaliates by sending his copy of the surveillance tape to the police. Ilena calls Caine about her pregnancy, but he denies paternity and rejects her. Ronnie and Caine visit Pernell in prison. Pernell encourages an emotional Caine to be
450-477: A positive review, stating, " Menace II Society is bleak, brilliant, and unsparing." Emanuel Levy gave the film an A, saying it is "The most stunning feature debut in the new African American cinema, even more so than Boyz n the Hood to which the coming of age feature bears thematic resemblance." The film was placed on both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert 's 10 best films of 1993 lists, with Ebert praising "the way
495-582: A worldwide total of $ 29.5 million. 1993 Independent Spirit Awards 1994 MTV Movie Award A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on May 26, 1993, by Jive Records . It peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&;B/Hip-Hop Albums . The director's cut of Menace II Society was released on LaserDisc in January 1994 via The Criterion Collection . Menace II Society
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#1732786585190540-617: Is Carabiniere general Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa , who was killed with an AK-47 in a drive by shooting in September 1982 in Palermo . One of the most striking episodes of a drive-by shooting in Italy was the Macerata shooting , conducted against six Africans by a far-right extremist, Luca Traini, using an Alfa Romeo 147 . However, the attack caused no deaths. In the first decade of
585-413: Is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrators to quickly strike their targets and flee the scene before law enforcement is able to respond. A drive-by shooting's prerequisites include access to a vehicle and a gun. The protection, anonymity, sense of power, and ease of escape provided by
630-708: Is detained as his fingerprints match those on a dropped beer bottle during the liquor store murders. During an interrogation, a detective tries tricking Caine by changing the questions multiple times, but Caine is eventually released. Caine's religious grandfather and Mr. Butler (Sharif's father and a school teacher) give Caine advice to change his ways and warn him about being jailed or killed. Caine's other friends Stacy and Sharif try to convince Caine to accompany them to Kansas , but fail. Caine, nonetheless, ignores all advice. Influenced by his late parents’ and Pernell's lifestyle of drugs and crime, Caine begins purchasing and cooking large amounts of crack cocaine , soon becoming
675-528: Is jailed and serving life in prison. This led to Caine's maternal grandparents raising him in the crime-ridden Jordan Downs housing projects. Years later, Caine graduates high school. To celebrate, Caine and his cousin Harold attend a party, where O-Dog flaunts the surveillance tape to a group of their closest friends, much to Caine's dismay. Later, when the cousins leave the party, they are carjacked . The carjackers kill Harold and wound Caine. After learning
720-603: Is just this yeah you know, "preach my brother", fuck that! Six months after the firing, Shakur assaulted Hughes, resulting in Shakur being found guilty of assault and battery. Nonetheless, after Tupac's death, Allen Hughes praised the actor, stating "If 'Pac had been in the movie he would've outshined everyone." Menace II Society received generally positive reviews from critics. The film has an 85% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The consensus reads, "Told with grit and verve by
765-571: Is no national data on the volume of drive-by shootings. National statistical databases such as the Uniform Crime Reports record the shooting outcome rather than the method. Non-gang-related drive-by shootings are not well researched, but journalistic accounts and police reports suggest that these constitute a significant proportion of the drive-by shootings to which police respond. Drive-by shootings that occur as an extreme form of road rage appear to be rather unpredictable in terms of
810-584: The 1994 MTV Movie Awards , the film was awarded Best Movie, beating out the likes of Philadelphia , Jurassic Park and Schindler's List . At the Independent Spirit Award , The film had nominated an for Best First Feature , but lost to El Mariachi (the first installment in the Robert Rodriguez 's Mexico Trilogy ). The film grossed $ 27.9 million in the United States and Canada but only $ 1.6 million internationally for
855-797: The Brat Pack in the 1980s and early 1990s; and Sarah Michelle Gellar , Jonathan Brandis , Tatyana Ali , Neve Campbell , Chris Evans , Rose McGowan , Jennifer Love Hewitt , Heath Ledger , Britney Spears , Brandy Norwood , Kirsten Dunst , Shannon Elizabeth , Breckin Meyer , Seth Green , Tobey Maguire , Alicia Silverstone , Gina Ravera , Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen , Frankie Muniz , Hilary Duff , Lindsay Lohan , Rachael Leigh Cook , Drew Barrymore , Freddie Prinze Jr. , Drake Bell , Josh Peck , Amanda Bynes , Leonardo DiCaprio , Matthew Lillard , Gabrielle Union , David Arquette , Jamie Kennedy , Paul Rudd , Blake Lively and Hayden Panettiere in
900-495: The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. Teen film Films in this genre are often set in high schools and colleges , or contain characters who are of high school or college age. Teen film genres include Additional types of teen films can be divided again into sub-categories. These can be found at list of teen films . Early examples of the genre in the United States include the " beach party films " of
945-476: The Grape Street Watts Crips working as security. However, Tupac and Spice 1 were fired shortly into filming, with director Allen Hughes stating that Shakur was causing trouble on the set. Shakur was angry for not being told why Sharif would turn Muslim. When Shakur was cast in the role of Sharif, described in the film as "an ex-knucklehead turned Muslim", he did not agree with how the character
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#1732786585190990-859: The Mexican Mafia prison gang announced an edict prohibiting Sureno gangs from committing drive-by shootings, in order to avoid police crackdowns throughout neighborhoods in southern California . Those who broke the edict were to be greenlighted for assault or even death in the California prison system. Numerous hip hop artists have been targeted in drive-bys; prominent rappers who were killed in such incidents include Tupac Shakur , The Notorious B.I.G. , Big L , and Mac Dre . Other rappers, such as Obie Trice and 50 Cent have survived being assaulted in drive-by shootings. In 2015, Jorja Leap, an UCLA anthropologist studying gang culture, pointed out how drive-by shooting tactics are being replaced by
1035-431: The "walk-up shooting" method, because murders have become more targeted and while driving, there is low accuracy in aiming. In Italy , the circulation of firearms is low compared to that in the United States, and just over a million civilians own a firearm license, so face-to-face shooting or threats with firearms are rare. Drive-by shootings, on the other hand, are common, especially in professional criminal contexts, as
1080-505: The 1950s and 1960s, such as the Gidget series. Codes and conventions of teen films vary depending on the cultural context of the film, but they can include puberty , proms , alcohol , illegal substances, high school , parties, virginity , teen pregnancy , social groups and cliques , interpersonal conflict with peers and/or the older generations, fitting in, peer pressure , and popular culture . The classic codes and conventions of
1125-632: The 1990s. His films, particularly the Teen Apocalypse Trilogy (consisting of Totally Fucked Up , The Doom Generation , and Nowhere ), are notable for capturing the disaffected attitudes of suburban teenagers of Generation X . Éric Rohmer , a pioneering director of the French New Wave , was notable for focusing on young adults or youth and their complications with love in a number of his films. Some of these works are La Collectionneuse , Claire's Knee , Pauline at
1170-459: The Beach , My Girlfriend's Boyfriend , and A Summer's Tale . Popular actors in teen films have included Annette Funicello , Hayley Mills , and Sal Mineo in the 1960s and 1970s; Molly Ringwald , Anthony Michael Hall , Brendan Fraser , Luke Perry , Johnny Depp , Christina Applegate , Winona Ryder , John Cusack , Michael J. Fox , Robert Downey Jr. , Matthew Broderick and members of
1215-534: The Hughes brothers in their feature debut, Menace II Society is a gangland epic that breathes with authenticity while steeped in style." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum stated, "This is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts ." Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave it
1260-568: The Miami cocaine trade routes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Blanco herself died by this method after having been shot twice in the head by a motorcyclist in a drive-by shooting in Medellín, Colombia . Drive-by shootings are also included in the Ku Klux Klan 's modus operandi . Chicago Prohibition -era gangster and North Side Gang boss Bugs Moran was considered a "pioneer" of
1305-418: The carjackers' whereabouts, Caine, O-Dog, and their friend A-Wax locate and execute them, avenging Harold's death. Sometime later, Caine visits Ronnie, Pernell's girlfriend, forms a bond with her son Anthony and ensures Ronnie is financially secure. One night, Chauncey (a friend of Caine and O-Dog), tasks Caine and O-Dog with stealing a car from a parking garage, but are arrested. O-Dog is released, but Caine
1350-418: The cashier tells O-Dog "I feel sorry for your mother." Enraged, O-Dog kills both the cashier and his wife. O-Dog subsequently takes the surveillance tape, robs the dead cashier's wallet and the cash register, and flees with Caine. Caine recalls losing his parents Tat and Karen when he was 10 to an unsuccessful drug deal , and a heroin overdose respectively. Pernell, Tat's business partner and Caine's mentor,
1395-403: The classic romantic comedy teen film. A good example of the use of archetypes in the teen film was displayed in the 1985 film, The Breakfast Club . These archetypes have since become a larger part of the culture. The jock, cheerleader , and social outcast , among others, become a familiar and pleasurable feature for the audience. However, genres are dynamic; they change and develop to meet
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1440-773: The drive-by shooting, with the Tommy gun being the weapon of choice. The notoriously vicious gang performed multiple shootings against their rivals, including the South Side gang led by Al Capone and the Genna brothers . Other Irish American gangs, such as the Saltis-McErlane Gang , the Sheldon Gang , and the Southside O'Donnell's , also executed drive-bys on one another in the Chicago area. Al Capone also had
1485-673: The expectations of their target audience. Herman Raucher , along with Robert Mulligan, popularized the genre with Summer of '42 (1971), and Raucher continued the trend by writing Class of '44 (1973). George Lucas has been credited for perfecting the genre by writing and directing American Graffiti (1973). The genre gained more credibility during the 1980s with the works of writer and director John Hughes . His legacy of teen films, including The Breakfast Club , Ferris Bueller's Day Off , Sixteen Candles , and many more, proved to be popular not only with audiences but also with critics. Gregg Araki filmed independent films in
1530-491: The filmmakers tell Caine's story without making him seem either the hero or victim". However, the film has also received some negative reviews. Geoff Andrew of Time Out stated, "Regrettably, the Hughes Brothers' first feature is a compendium of clichés ." Stephen Holden of The New York Times stated, "If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character." At
1575-493: The getaway vehicle lead some perpetrators to feel safe expressing their hostility toward others. The invention of the drive-by shooting is attributed to Nestor Makhno , commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century. He combined horse and carriage with a machine gun in order to quickly assault targets then flee before they could properly react. It
1620-935: The mid-to-late-1990s and throughout the 2000s. Many of these actors were either pre-teens or teens themselves when the movies were made. Notable teen genre actors in the 2010s and 2020s include Maya Hawke , Leah Lewis , Leighton Meester , Zendaya , Noah Centineo , Timothée Chalamet , Zac Efron , Lucy Hale , Lucas Hedges , Tom Holland , Anna Kendrick , Katherine Langford , Keiynan Lonsdale , Ezra Miller , Evan Peters , Nick Robinson , Cole Sprouse , Amandla Stenberg , Emma Stone , Ashley Tisdale , Emma Watson , Charlie Heaton , Justice Smith , Shameik Moore , Hailee Steinfeld , Odeya Rush , Madison Iseman , Dylan Minnette , Storm Reid , Asher Angel , Jack Dylan Grazer , Charlie Plummer , Vanessa Hudgens , Sophia Lillis , Angourie Rice , Olivia Rodrigo , Finn Wolfhard , Lana Condor , Ramona Young , Liza Koshy and Mckenna Grace . Drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting
1665-407: The performances of Turner, Jada Pinkett (in her film debut), and Larenz Tate , the direction, and its realistic portrayal of urban violence and powerful underlying messages. Kaydee "Caine" Lawson and his best friend Kevin "O-Dog" Anderson enter a liquor store to buy some malt liquor , but a Korean cashier and his wife closely watch and hurry them to buy their drinks and leave. As they leave,
1710-437: The shootout, Stacy and Ronnie emerge from the house, respectively tending to Caine and Anthony. As Caine's life flashes before him, he recalls his grandfather asking him if he cares whether he lives or dies, and he realizes in his dying moment that he does. New Line Cinema announced the film on July 27, 1992. Rappers Spice 1 and Tupac Shakur were initially set to play Caine and Sharif respectively. Originally, rapper MC Ren
1755-485: The statistical incidence says that almost all assaults with firearms are carried out from cars, motorcycles , or scooters . These kinds of vehicles are used since they provide better mobility in the narrow city districts. From the 1970s into the 21st century, Cosa Nostra and the Camorra have both been known to perform drive-by shootings during clan or mafia wars, or to assassinate targets. One notable example of such,
1800-491: The teen film come from American films. One of the most widely used conventions is an emphasis on stereotypes and social groups. The stereotypes most commonly used include: Apart from the characters, there are many other codes and conventions of teen film. These films are often set in or around high schools and places frequented by teens, such as shopping malls and themed restaurants. This technique allows for many different social cliques to be shown. These settings are typical for
1845-494: The times and locations, but often occur in reaction to seemingly trivial events, although the underlying motivation usually appears to be a series of unrelated stressors in the perpetrator's life. A drive-by shooting's prerequisites include access to a vehicle and a gun. Recent legislation has focused on transfer of guns rather than vehicles, so those who carry out drive-by shootings may use their own vehicle or one that has been borrowed, rented, or stolen. The primary motivations for
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1890-535: Was called a Tachanka . Motor vehicles offer similar concealment for transport of weapons to crime scenes in situations like the 2015 San Bernardino attack , and can simultaneously serve as getaway vehicles . Using a vehicle allows the shooter to approach the intended target without being noticed and then to speed away before anyone reacts. Besides gang -related attacks, drive-by shootings may result from road rage or personal disputes between neighbors, acquaintances, or strangers unrelated to gang membership. There
1935-778: Was released on DVD in 1997 by New Line Home Video. The director's cut was released on DVD in 2009. This film was also included in "double feature" and "4 Film Favorites" DVD packages in the 2010s. There is one "double feature" package in DVD Region 1 that includes Juice (released in 2013), and another that includes New Jack City (released in 2016), in addition to Menace II Society . The "4 Film Favorites" DVD package, released in 2013 in Region 1, includes ATL , New Jack City , and Set It Off , in addition to Menace II Society . In August 2021, Criterion announced that Menace II Society , alongside 5 other films, would be released as
1980-457: Was set to play A-Wax, but later turned down the role when he joined the Nation of Islam in late 1992. MC Eiht replaced MC Ren's role as A-Wax. The Hughes brothers were hired to direct the film after working with Shakur in the music video for " Brenda's Got a Baby ." Principal photography began in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, with residents of Jordan Downs appearing as extras and
2025-553: Was written. While many of his rap music contemporaries were portraying roles similar to their gangsta rap personas, Sharif would have required Shakur to portray the character as a stoic and pious Muslim. According to MC Eiht, who played A-Wax in the film: My take on it was, everytime we got ready to rehearse, he had an opinion about his character…He wanted them to write in the script WHY he turned Muslim...Show me why I turned Muslim and they wouldn't do it and that's what angered him...You're not just going to give people that ideal that Tupac
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