With its dual subjects and nonchronological timeline, Dear Mama is an ambitious undertaking that attempts to provide context rather than any definitive conclusions by examining what Shakur’s mother endured, how it impacted their relationship, and the lasting effect it had on his life. “What made Tupac so great was everything she gave him: good, bad, and ugly,” Hughes, 51, tells me.
And although Shakur was explicit about how his mother was a source of his anger as well as his biggest inspiration, Hughes wanted to emphasize how that dynamic impacted his actions. Shakur’s mother, who died in May 2016, is a dominant presence in his music, most famously in the song from which Dear Mama draws its title. After defending herself during the trial, she was acquitted in May 1971, one month before her son was born. In April 1969, she was among the 21 members of the Black Panther Party who were accused of plotting to bomb various buildings and kill police officers in New York City. After all, he and his brother directed Shakur’s first three videos as a solo artist ( “Trapped,” “Brenda’s Got a Baby,” and “If My Homie Calls”), which gave them the cachet to direct Menace ll Society before they could legally drink.ĭear Mama charts the journeys of Shakur and his mother, the activist Afeni Shakur.
Hughes knew he’d have to address this (which he does in the documentary), and after much deliberation, he decided that taking on the project was the right decision. It’s also been 30 years since Shakur infamously assaulted Hughes after his firing during the film’s preproduction phase, the culmination of simmering acrimony between onetime friends. Thirty years have passed since Hughes and his twin brother, Albert, broke out at age 21 with their bleak feature-length debut, Menace ll Society. What more can be said about Tupac Shakur over 25 years after his death considering the frequent and thorough explorations of his place in the zeitgeist? That’s one question director Allen Hughes had to answer ahead of the five-part FX docuseries Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur, but Hughes had a bigger obstacle to clear before even agreeing to do the project.
0 kommentar(er)
