Bad Boys (1995)
I
scored Bad Boys (1995), a hyperactive action cop film laced with comedy
directed by Michael Bay. In the film, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus
Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are two Miami cops who are in charge of recovering
$100 million worth of stolen heroin from the headquarters. I selected this film
because the protagonists are both African-American male actors. In addition, Bad
Boys does not portray the women within the film objectively to supplement the
men’s roles, but instead as more active
characters in helping the cops in the case of burglary. These two aspects of
the characters’ race and the improving
representation of female characters will help increase the score on the
Representation Test. However, the score for Bad Boys stopped at an A with just
6 out of 27 points for its lack of LGBT and disabled persons.
In
the first section of the test, “Women,” Bad Boys scored a 3 out 7, which is an
adequate score considering the violent nature of this action film. The case
assignment goes to Lowrey and Burnett, and Lowrey asks Theresa Randle, a prostitute,
to keep an eye open for the high rollers who are associated with the criminal
mastermind. The thieves then kill the woman while she was trying to retrieve
the information for Lowrey. The scene takes up a third of entire film. Although
Theresa is not a main character and there are some scenes hinting at female
exploitation, Theresa’s bravery proves her values.
Additionally, Theresa and her friend, Julie, who also cooperates in helping Lowrey,
are both of color; yet maintain a role that has depth beyond the stereotypes of
both women and African-Americans in society. Many scenes support this, such as
where Lowrey asks Theresa to help him to approach the high rollers and she
courageously accepts. Julie, the sole witness of Theresa’s
death, is extremely scared of revenge but offers to help the officers solve the
crime. Therefore, the film scored perfectly in the Bechdel Test for the inclusion
of women of different race in speaking roles rather than compressing to racial
stereotypes and their representation as more than “objects
for the male gaze.”
In
the second section, “Men,” the film scores 2 out of 4 points for its inclusion
of men of different colors in non-stereotypical roles as protagonists and
supplemental characters. Shootouts and chase scenes exemplify this when Lowrey
and Burnett wind up in a truck filled with barrels of flammable ether while the
villains race after them. Lowrey then pushes the barrels onto the road, shoots—causing
them to catch on fire—, and sends them pummeling into the
cars behind them. Furthermore, the part of the film when Burnett impersonates Lowrey
and deals with his household business while Lowrey is out in the battle dealing
with Julie is, in my opinion, strange but creative. It creates conflict and
defies the stereotypes of male characters in film. Unfortunately, because of the
intense violence and pervasive strong language, the film loses its credits of avoiding
violence scenes and perpetuating an extreme ideal for men, bringing its score
in this section down.
In
the third section, “Race, Ethnicity and Culture,” the film does not touch on
any offensive racial and cultural stereotypes but instead elevates these characters
of different colors to an equal level where they can freely perform and prove
themselves. The starts casted are mostly African-American actors or actresses,
and the extent of the humor and their ability to enjoy themselves helps to
prove that Michael Bay favors indiscrimination, which leads me to add a point
in this third section.
Combining
the fourth, fifth and final bonus sections of inclusion of LGBT people, people
with disabilities and specialties of the film director, Bad Boys did not
receive any points. There are times that the film actually mentions the
stereotype of LGBT people in an ironic, devaluing manner. Therefore, it does
not receive a score, even though the film briefly touches on the subjects.
In
conclusion, this “Representation Test” contains both pros and cons. The pros include
covering various aspects, touching on diverse roles of characters, and bringing
all the shades of indiscrimination together. It means that films about
anti-racism, human civil rights movements, female suffrages, and/or LGBT and
people with disabilities will score higher than the rest. Scoring low indicates
that the film represents narrow array of people and experiences. However, at
times I do not think that this is necessary. Films usually focus on their main
themes and specific genres, which help make them unique and unalloyed. If there
were more concentrations in specific genres so that audience could get the best
interpretation of the film, the quality of the test would improve.
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