In honor of the 20th
anniversary of ‘Menace II Society,’ I proudly present this multipart retrospective. The current chapter is posted below. To read the previous chapter, please click here. Thank you, and enjoy!
Part VIII: Hell Unleashed
Menace II Society
had weathered the storm. It survived
post-riot angst, gang rivalries, jilted cast members and a tentative
studio. Now, the film was finally in the
can. It would be shipped out to theater
projection rooms across the country.
There would be the usual round of test screenings and press
screenings. However, the real litmus
test would the opening weekend. May 26th,
1993 would be judgment day. Just what
was in store for those who dared purchase a ticket?
Right from the outset, Menace
wears it’s ugliness on its sleeve.
As the broken sprocket logo of New Line Cinema appears onscreen, the
audience is verbally assaulted:
O-Dogg (Larenz Tate):
Hey, hey, nigga...is it gonna be some pussy in this motherfucker?
Caine (Tyrin Turner):
Man, its gonna be a gang of ho's up in this motherfucker. I’m going to the shit myself, god
dammit. Shit…
Beggar: Can y'all
brothers spare some change?
O-Dogg: Hell
naw! Get the fuck out my face, fool!
Caine: Man, Fuck
what he sayin.’ Remember that one
bitch?!
O-Dogg: Man, that
bitch was finer like a motherfucker!
When the logo disappears, the screen briefly goes
black. The characters who had just
spoken remain hidden. A gauntlet has
been thrown down at the audience’s feet.
The obscenities they’ve just heard is but a taste of the world they are
about to enter. Those with weak
constitutions should flee to the exit doors.
The camera’s lone eyelid suddenly pops open to reveal the
interior of a small grocery store. O-Dogg
and Caine enter the right hand side of the frame. Already, the audience is treated to the first
of many visual affronts aimed squarely at conservative viewers. O-Dogg’s hair is faded on the sides and
plaited on the top. He sports a
“wife-beater” (White tank top T-shirt), khaki pants that sag well below his
waist and reveal his underwear, and “biscuits” (cheap, comfortable “old man” shoes
once favored by the Crips). Sagging
pants and braided hair have long been staples of prison culture. Some believe them to be styles affected
mainly by homosexual inmates. Whatever the origins, such styles have
engendered the wrath of both Black and White parents alike for decades now. The Korean grocer’s wife serves as a
surrogate for members of polite society.
She shadows the young men all over the store.
Caine and O-Dogg pay for their drinks. As they walk away out the door, the grocer
makes the fatal mistake of insulting O-Dogg.
The scene then goes into meltdown.
O-Dogg murders the grocer and his wife before stealing the store video
surveillance tape and emptying the cash register. Caine remains in a state of shock
throughout. He finally runs out of the
store. O-Dogg follows, but not before collecting
his bottle of malt liquor.
As is the case with many of the most shocking moments in
movie history, the scene is deceptively discrete. Still, the visceral impact is undeniable. The murders themselves happen off-screen. Only a glimpse of the aftermath is
shown. The grocer’s dead body is seen
bleeding out on the floor. The audience experiences
everything through Caine’s reaction.
Likewise, the murder of the grocer’s wife is heard on the soundtrack,
but never actually seen. A final warning
has been sounded. Anyone who chooses to
keep watching after this point does so at their own peril. All of the aforementioned takes place before
the opening credits. Not even five
minutes have passed, and the horror show has already begun.
Subsequent moments of violence follow a similar progression.
Build-up is followed by pay off. However, the “payoff” isn’t gratifying in the
usual sense. It’s designed to elicit a
mixed emotional response from the viewer.
One character commits an act of violence while another watches in
disbelief. Other times, bystanders look
on in horror as the carnage unfolds. In
fact, “horror” is the opportune word, as Menace
often functions more like a horror film than anything else. No one is safe. The tide can turn at any time. Predators can become prey, and friends can
become enemies. It’s the exact same rule
set observed in the zombie films of George Romero, or the hit television series
The Walking Dead.
![]() |
The main cast of AMC's hit television series The Walking Dead. |
The film also incorporates the logic of modern war films,
particularly those about the conflict in Vietnam. Oliver Stone’s Platoon shows a “civil war” between two opposing factions of an
American platoon in South Vietnam. This “civil
war” plays out against the larger backdrop of their war against the North
Vietnamese. The film was inspired by
real life “fragging” incidents. Once
could look at the many gang sets of South Central in a similar light. Though many may fly the same flag (Crip or
Blood), they still kill each other on site.
![]() |
Sgt. Elias (William Dafoe), Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), and Sgt. Bob Barnes (Tom Berenger) from the film Platoon. |
Caine’s descent into violent criminality follows a logical
progression. He starts life as a victim
of circumstance. Both of his parents are
criminals. At age 18, he becomes an
accessory to murder and armed robbery thanks to O-Dogg. From there, his role becomes more active. He’s
shown selling crack. He also exacts
violent revenge for his Cousin Harold’s murder.
A failed carjacking lands him in jail for the first time. Once released, he resorts to armed robbery. All of this occurs during the course of his
first summer as a legal adult.
Throughout this descent, Caine is deprived of any easy
answers. His choices can often be
understood, if not condoned. For
instance, he had no idea whatsoever that O-Dogg would murder the grocer and his
wife before robbing their store. Once
the dye is cast, Caine’s is left with few real choices. He can’t turn to the police. Where’s he’s from, being branded a snitch is
an automatic death sentence. Simply
cutting ties with O-Dogg can have similar consequences. His Cousin Harold’s murder poses a similar
conundrum. An overworked and racist
police force could care less about Black males killing each other. The same goes for the judicial system. Street justice suddenly becomes a viable
option for Caine.
The conceit of O-Dogg’s “robbery tape” is both timely and
prophetic. He not only watches it tape
for his own enjoyment, but circulates it among his peers (Much to Caine’s
dismay). This plays into the urban myth of “snuff”
films. It also anticipates the rise of “Shock
sites” like WorldstarHipHop. These days, antisocial youth are more than
willing to risk criminal prosecution for their 15 minutes of fame.
![]() |
Doughboy (Ice Cube) and company from Boyz n the Hood. |
The differences between Menace
and Boyz n the Hood boil down to a handful
of subtle yet crucial nuances. In Boyz,
Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) successfully navigates his way through the hood. He does so largely with the help of his
father and the public education system.
By contrast, Caine has no such advantages. This has caused detractors of Menace to overstate it bleakness. A closer look reveals a tiny glimmer of light
at end of the tunnel: Ronnie’s son
Anthony (Julian Roy Doster).
![]() |
Caine and Anthony |
Anthony’s escape comes through Caine’s redemption. This arch plays out through the use of parallelism
and contrasts. Just after the opening
credits, a five year old Caine sneaks out of his bedroom. He crashes a “welcome home” party that his
parents are throwing for a family friend. The friend in question has just been released
from prison. In the back yard, Pernell
(Glenn Plummer) gives Caine his very first taste of liquor. A little later, Caine sees his father (Samuel
L. Jackson) kill a man over an unpaid debt.
The victim is the party’s guest of honor.
Flash forward thirteen years later. Ronnie (Jada Pinkett) hosts a going away
party. She’s scored a secretarial job in
Atlanta. Anthony crashes the party,
just as Caine did 13 years earlier. O-Dogg
tries to give the boy a sip of malt liquor, but Caine stops him. This illustrates the difference between Caine
and Pernell. Just after this, Ronnie has
a private moment with Caine, during which the two finally consummate their
love. Later on, Chauncy (Clifton
Powell) makes a drunken and aggressive sexual overture to Ronnie. Having already given Chauncy a friendly
warning about such behavior, Caine pistol whips the man within an inch of his
life. Anthony witnesses the event. That Caine does not kill Chauncy illustrates
the difference between him and his maternal father. Tat Lawson killed over an unpaid debt, while Caine
Lawson fought to protect the woman he loved.
During the climactic drive-by shooting, Caine fulfills his ultimate
purpose. As his killers open fire from
their vehicle, Caine’s torso is riddled with bullets. Instead of taking cover, he runs toward Anthony,
who peddles his big wheel right into the line of fire. Caine’s final earthly act is to protect the
boy from harm. He succeeds, but at the
cost of his own life. He pays the price
for his sins, but dies with a measure of honor.
His debt is paid. Anthony is
allowed safe passage from the hood. It’s
not unlike the sacrifice that Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker makes for his son,
Luke Skywalker at the end of Return of
the Jedi.
Caine’s death also brings the cycle of violence in the
Lawson family to an end. Tat Lawson was
a ruthless killer who died in a drug deal.
Pernell then became Caine’s surrogate father. He also fathers Anthony before going to
prison himself. Caine Lawson grows up to
be a violent criminal, but retains a modicum of humanity. He doesn’t allow Anthony to be consumed by that
same cycle. Consequently, Anthony will likely grow up to a better man than Tat,
Pernell, or Caine.
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