Preview
TUPAC RESURRECTION
Starring Tupac Shakur
Directed by Lauren Lazin
Opens Friday, November 28
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My overall knowledge of rap music is limited to two stages in my life – 1989 when I was all gangsta listening to N.W.A and Ice T (I was 15) and today, in line with the status quo, with Outkast and Eminem on regular rotation in the stereo. In between there lived a man named Tupac Shakur and after seeing the documentary Tupac Resurrection, I feel I may have missed out on something fantastic.
Raised in poverty by his mother Afeni, Shakur studied ballet, drama and singing at an art school in Baltimore. He lived life self-aware, headstrong and both politically and artistically articulate. In fact, it wasn’t until he became a famous rapper that he was even arrested.
This documentary shows his numerous arrests including his famous sexual assault charge – which led to an 11-month prison term. A man who was never afraid to say what was on his mind, Shakur always maintained his innocence even when it wasn’t always the case.
In between bouts of flippant sensationalism and overall disdain for people he didn’t like, Shakur was the first to speak out. He was also one of the first to admit when he was being a dick – which, incidentally, was often. Super stardom often encourages people to think they have the right to be an asshole and it was this attitude that led to Shakur’s fatal shooting in Las Vegas.
The film shows the two sides of Shakur – the ghetto superstar, and the street poet who never forgot where he came from. Shakur was a warrior whose persona was synonomous Thug Life, a sort of empowering phrase that captured the zeitgeist of ghetto living. When Shakur got into trouble for glorifying rap violence, he simply stated: "I didn’t create Thug Life, I diagnosed it."
Tupac Resurrection is a stylish yet straightforward documentary that, as the tag line states, is "in his own words." Through the cutting and pasting of interviews, sound bites and television footage taken throughout his 25 years, Shakur posthumously narrates this documentary and the effect is both eerie and beautiful.
In the end I was left with feelings of elation. This movie was meant to inspire (and it did). Shakur was a man who lived a very large life and had he survived his shooting, he might have become a great leader in the same league as Malcolm X or Dr. Martin Luther King. As it stands now, we can listen to his albums and see his movies to catch a glimpse of his potency and potential. |
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