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 X: Epilogue
Menace II Society was released on Wednesday, May 26th,
1993. This gave it an extended five day
opening that also included Memorial Day weekend. Alas, this was also the same frame that
Sylvester Stallone decided to launch a comeback. Cliffhanger was an expensive Die Hard clone
that would also be the first summer blockbuster out of the gate. Surely, a low budget “urban” film didn’t
stand a snowballs chance in hell against such a behemoth.
Thankfully, New Line Cinema’s counter-programming strategy
prevailed. Though Cliffhanger won the weekend by a considerable margin, Menace held its own. It would maintain that altitude throughout
the entire summer. At one point, it was
even outpaced Jurassic Park at
certain theaters. By the end of its
run, Menace had nearly octupled its
production budget at the North American box office, grossing $27,912,072.
That phenomenon likely wouldn’t occur today. Summer release schedules weren’t cluttered
back in the early 1990’s. The window
between a film’s theatrical release and its home video release was considerably
larger. The DVD format hadn’t yet been
introduced. Internet piracy wasn’t a
factor. Neither were home theaters,
smart phones, or portable media devices.
With good word of mouth, a movie could continue to do business for a
long time.
Successful though it was, Menace never managed to “crossover” as Boyz n the Hood had. It was completely overlooked by The Motion
Picture Academy. By contrast, it received
thunderous applause at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. The Hughes brothers were treated like rock
stars. Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
included it on their “Ten Best” lists for the year, where it placed 5th
and 8th, respectively.
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Tupac during his infamous Tirade on Yo! MTV Raps Today, with Ed Lover (Back left), Dr Dre (Back Right), John Singleton (Front Right) |
Meanwhile, Tupac’s thirst for revenge proved
insatiable. Physical retaliation wasn’t
enough for him, so he resorted to public humiliation. Sometime after the altercation, he and John
Singleton appeared on Yo! MTV Raps Today to promote Poetic Justice.
On camera, Tupac accused the Hughes brothers of firing him from their
film in a “roundabout way.” He then
bragged of having “beat their behinds” in the street. Fearing that Tupac might be incriminating
himself, cohost Ed Lover clasped a hand over the rappers mouth. Unfortunately, it was too late. Allen
Hughes had already filed suit against his former friend.
Flash forward to the winter of 1994. Menace was poised to make its debut on home
video, which would further solidify its status as an instant classic. Meanwhile, Tupac’s criminal profile had risen
farther still. In October of 1993, he
shot two off duty cops in Atlanta (Charges were later dropped). Later that same year, he was charged with
sexually assaulting a woman in New York.
Both situations were still unresolved on February 1st,
1994. That was the day he appeared at the Los
Angeles County Municipal Court to answer the assault and battery charges brought
against him. The Hughes brothers arrived
with a quartet of Fruit of Islam bodyguards.
Journalist Dream Hampton was also in attendence. She was doing an extensive article on the Tupac
at the time. It was called “Tupac:
Hellraiser,” and was published in the September 1994 issue of the Source Magazine. An entire section of the piece chronicles the
events at the courthouse that day. The
article paints Tupac as a manipulative, mischievous antagonist. That’s not to say that Ms. Hampton truly condemns him in any way. To the contrary, she seems somewhat taken
with him. That perspective seems to
inform her recollection of events at the courthouse.
Per Hampton’s account, Tupac was in full schoolyard bully
mode. In the courtroom, he stared the
Hughes brothers down until the clerk called the case. When the proceedings were moved to another
location, he rushed outside to antagonize the Fruit of Islam sentries standing
at the doorway. As the Hughes brothers
left the building, Allen began to taunt Tupac.
This supposedly led to a verbal altercation.
At this point, Ms. Hampton claims that Tupac singlehandedly
backed the Hughes brothers and their Fruit of Islam guards against a wall. He then threatened to sick gangbangers on the
Fruit of Islam. When the sheriff’s
office showed up to handle the situation, they threw him against a wall. He then clammed up, claiming the Hughes
brothers to be the aggressors.
Considering all that Farrakhan and company have faced over
the past 57 years, it’s highly doubtful that they’d fear a lone “gangsta”
rapper and his supposed street ties.
Dream’s claims seem even more dubious considering Tupac’s slight
physical stature. She alleges that after
this incident, two of the Fruit of Islam guards pulled Tupac aside to express
their love for him and condemn the Hughes brothers as cowards.
After the proceedings, Tupac courted the press. He denied having any direct involvement with
the Rolling 40’s Crips who came to his aid on that fateful day: "Them
niggas [the one who jumped in once the fight began] knew them [the Hughes
brothers] just like they knew me—from around the way. That wasn't my video.
That was a Spice One video. I got them niggas started making videos anyway.
Plus, I came ready to kick both they asses myself! Those other niggas didn't get down with Thug
Life until after that shit happened."
During his March 8th, 1994 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show, Tupac further
elaborated on the situation. This time,
he described it as merely an argument that got out of hand. He chalked the whole thing up to a feud
between the Hughes brothers and John Singleton.
He balked at the idea that he posed a physical threat to either of the
Hughes brothers. By his logic, this
matter would have been better handled amongst the parties involved than in a
court of law.
Tupac copped to the charges and was found guilty of assault
and battery. A lenient judge sentenced
him to 15 days in jail. Ed Lover’s fears
were confirmed, as Tupac’s rant from Yo! MTV Raps was used as evidence against
him. After the hearing, he addressed
reporters and cameramen. He chalked
everything up to a rather costly learning experience, and advised his friends
and fans to do the same. It was akin to
the hollow “life lessons” offered at the end of episodes of syndicated cartoons
from the 1980’s, like G.I. Joe or He-Man.
For all of the trouble it caused, Tupac’s against the Hughes
brothers ended with a whimper. As
always, Vibe Magazine got the scoop
first. Before serving his sentence for
Sexual abuse, Tupac gave reporter Kevin Powell a “Jailhouse exclusive.” It became the cover story for the April 1995
issue. In it, Tupac offered details on
the Quad studios ambush that left him with multiple gunshot wounds. He famously implied that both Sean “Diddy”
Combs and The Notorious B.I.G of had prior knowledge of the attack. That revelation led to the single ugliest
beef in Hip-Hop history. However, Tupac
revealed an apologetic side to his character:
I even apologized to
Quincy Jones for all the stuff I said about him and his wives. I'm apologizing to the Hughes
Brothers...but not John Singleton. He's inspiring me to write screenplays,
because I want to be his competition. He fired me from Higher Learning and gave
my idea to the next actor.
Ironically, Tupac mended fences with the Hughes brothers
just before ending his relationship with John Singleton. With that, the partnership of Black cinema’s
answer to De Niro and Scorcese came to a premature end.
After his death, Tupac would go on to become the single most
revered and imitated rapper of all time.
He is currently one of the biggest selling posthumous artists in
history. Despite their feud, Allen
considers Tupac to have been both a friend and an extraordinary talent. He referred to the late rap star as “the heir
to Denzel.”
Menace II Society is
a revelation. None of the related
controversies or behind-the-scenes debacles has diminished its power. Still, the making of the film is a story of
survival. It shows that a truly inspired
vision can withstand just about anything, so long as the people behind it are
both capable and resilient. Its message
continues to endure in the modern era.
Countless rappers have referenced it, and continue to do so. The Hughes brothers have since gone on to
have a varied if sparse filmography.
They’ve worked with the likes of Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg,
and Russell Crowe.
Oprah Winfrey reportedly hated the film upon seeing it. That’s just as well. Her tender sensibilities represent the
morally rigid worldview that keeps Caine and his ilk perpetually marginalized. To those who think that Black youth should be
weaned solely on visions of hope and empowerment, Menace II Society most certainly is not the film for you. Menace is a movie for only the bravest
and most thoughtful viewers. It should
be treasured, not reviled. Thank you,
Tyger Williams. Thank you, Allen and
Albert Hughes. You guys changed the
world.
THE END
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