371: Thaddeus Russell - Renegade Themes and Missed Opportunities In Straight Outta Compton

Thaddeus Russell is back to discuss the recent N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton. When I first read Thad's book, A Renegade History of the United States, I couldn't stop thinking about N.W.A, and when I finally saw Straight Outta Compton I immediately thought of Thaddeus Russell. I have also been rethinking my first appraisal of the film and its subjects; there was too much too worship, and I felt like I superimposed onto N.W.A a libertarian enlightenment that probably wasn't really there. "Heroification" is subtraction of peoples' flaws from their story. However, the identification of someone as a "renegade" doesn't require that.

Our discussion centers around two central topics:
Missed Opportunities - Examination of Misogyny
Renegade Themes -N.W.A fought by ascetics, Protestant work ethic, anti-police, N.W.A impervious to being shamed

Video Highlights:

Bumper Music:
"Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" Ice Cube
"Fuck tha Police(A Tribute to N.W.A)" Scotty Too Hottie

Look Closer:
Thaddeus Russell's Site - www.thaddeusrussell.com

Previous School Sucks Show With Thaddeus Russell - http://schoolsucksproject.com/category/podcast/a-renegade-history-cours…

Unintended Pregnancy in the United States - http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Unintended-Pregnancy-US.html

N.W.A: American Gangstas - http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/n-w-a-american-gangsters-201…

Thaddeus Russell's Reason.com Archive - http://reason.com/people/thaddeus-russell/all