The hip hop malaise and manifestation of hate that has plagued America for many years is beginning to cement itself in British society. If we do not unite and put a stop to it now, this epidemic will engulf the very foundations of mankind. This scourge is evident in the film ‘bullet boy’ where the director unmistakably portrays this predicament as a merciless thrust towards simultaneous self destruction and sums it up in one chilling yet enlightening sentence, ‘it’s a never ending cycle going round and round, it don’t lead nowhere’.
One of the central characters in the film, Ricky who was just released from prison only to be dragged back in to this never ending circle due to his friends capriciousness. We see that Ricky is trying to lament his old ways when he rejects Wisdoms proposal of working on the street with him but the temptation is still there and eventually overcomes him. It leads him into decline and ultimately his death. This further emphasises
Ricky has been presently released from a young offenders' institute and heading home to Hackney, is determined to abscond from his old ways as promptly as he can. Instead, he heads into a dilemma when he becomes inexorably implicated in a street quarrel and sides with his best friend Wisdom against a local gang affiliate. The nuisance escalates into a series of fateful proceedings that threaten to spiral out of control. Ricky's 12-year-old brother Curtis adores Ricky but seems smart enough to know where his talents really lie. Nevertheless, in spite of uncompromising warnings from his mother, Ricky's gangster allure might prove to be too attractive for Curtis to resist.
One of the most predominant ways in which the director accentuates this never ending circle is through the conduct of the characters. For example Ricky is just a tagalong in the midst of hostility and hatred, fused by surplus incidents which threaten to destroy our community. Wisdom is very sturdy and full of buoyancy. He is devoted but at the same time deleterious. Curtis is very much like ricky, he is weak and gullible. The director emphasizes the similarities between the two.
Bullet boy is a film that reflects today’s society with pure distinction. It enlightens us as well as showing us the dangers of choosing the wrong path.
