Straight outta Compton and I, Daniel Blake

Straight Outta Compton

Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical film directed by F. Gary Gray, depicting the career of gangsta rap group N.W.A. Titled after N.W.A's 1988 debut studio album

The film focuses on members Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre, and the rise and fall of the group.

Straight Outta Compton is set in Compton California in 1986. Eazy-E is a drug dealer, Dr. Dre is an aspiring disc jockey, and Ice Cube is a young rapper. Intrigued by Cube's "reality raps" reflecting on the crime, gang violence, and police harassment that they and other African Americans encounter daily, Dre convinces Eazy to fund a start-up record label, Ruthless Records, with Dre as record producer. When their song "Boyz-n-the-Hood" is rejected by a New York rap group, Dre convinces Eazy to perform it instead. It becomes a local hit, so Eazy, Cube, Dre, DJ Yella, and MC Ren form the group N.W.A.

Eazy accepts Jerry Heller's offer to manage N.W.A and co-run Ruthless, and Priority Records offers N.W.A a record deal. While recording their debut album, Straight Outta Compton (1988), the group are harassed by police due to their race and appearance, prompting Cube to compose the song, "Fuck tha Police". The album becomes a controversial hit due to its explicit lyrics, and the group's style is dubbed gangsta rap by the press. During a 1989 concert tour, the FBI demands that N.W.A should stop performing "Fuck tha Police", because it encourages violence against law enforcement. Police in Detroit forbid them from performing the song, and a riot breaks out when they perform it anyway.

Jerry delays the individual members' contracts with Ruthless, and when he insists that Cube should sign without legal representation, Cube leaves the group. His debut solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), becomes a hit, but when Priority Records is unable to pay him his advance on his next album, he trashes the label head's office. When N.W.A heavily insult Cube on their next record, 100 Miles and Runnin' (1990), he responds with the diss track "No Vaseline", criticizing Jerry and his former bandmates, and prompting accusations of antisemitism. This, combined with his association with the Nation of Islam, outspoken criticism of the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the beating of Rodney King, and starring role in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood, make him even more famous and controversial.

Dre hires Suge Knight as his manager, through whom he learns that Jerry has been underpaying him. He leaves N.W.A to form Death Row Records with Suge, who has his men threaten Jerry and beat Eazy to pressure them to release Dre from his contract with Ruthless. Dre enjoys his newfound freedom and begins working with other rappers, including Snoop Dogg. His debut solo album, The Chronic (1992), sells over five million copies, even as he becomes disturbed by Suge's violent behaviour, and the community is ravaged by riots.

Eazy, whose fortunes and health have declined, is devastated by the comparative success of his former bandmates. Learning that Jerry has been embezzling money from Ruthless from the beginning, he fires Jerry, and rekindles his friendships with Cube and Dre, who agree to resurrect N.W.A. However, before recording can begin, Eazy collapses, and tests positive for HIV/AIDS. Amid emotional visits from his bandmates, he dies on March 26, 1995, and is mourned by fans.

A year later, Dre parts ways from Suge and Death Row to form his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. Clips shown during the film's credits highlight Cube's subsequent roles as a film actor and Dre's career as a producer and entrepreneur. Several famous rappers credit Dre with helping to launch their careers, and Beats Electronics, which he co-founded, is bought by Apple Inc. in 2014 for $3 billion.

I, Daniel Blake:

I, Daniel Blake is a 2016 drama film directed by Ken Loach and written by Loach's frequent collaborator Paul Laverty. It stars Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, who is denied employment and support allowance despite his doctor finding him unfit to work. Hayley Squires co-stars as Katie, a struggling single mother whom Daniel befriends.

Widower Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he must complete forms online and is not computer literate.

Daniel befriends single mother Katie after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a jobcentre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a London homeless persons' hostel, as there is no affordable accommodation available in London. Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity and crafting wooden toys for the children.

During a visit to a food bank, Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, a security guard offers her work as a prostitute. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no other choice to feed her children.

As a condition for receiving jobseeker's allowance, Daniel must keep looking for work. He refuses a job at a scrapyard because his doctor will not allow him to work yet. When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job or be sanctioned, Daniel spray paints "I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve" on the building. He earns the support of passers-by, including other benefits claimants, but is arrested and warned by the police. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn.

On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound. On glimpsing the judge and doctor who will decide his case, Daniel becomes anxious and visits the lavatory, where he suffers a heart attack and dies. At his public health funeral, Katie reads the eulogy, including the speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. The speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him by treating him like a dog instead of a man proud to have paid his dues to society.