YOU MUST HAVE WATCHED Spike Lee’s 1995 film Clockers
Spike Lee’s 1995 film Clockers shows the good and the bad in the projects of New York City, as well as the good and the bad within the NYPD. There is no clearer contrast within the film, however, than there is between brothers Victor and Ronald “Strike” Dunham. By the film’s conclusion, are we meant to view Victor or Strike with more sympathy? References to specific scenes from the film are required. Two outsides sources are required, one about the film itself and one about the difficulties of living in the projects. An MLA works cited page is required.
Basic Requirements:
* The essay must have a total of five paragraphs (intro, three bodies, conclusion)
* The essay must utilize a total of three sources: The film itself, an outside source based on the film and an outside source based on the difficulties of life in the projects
* There has to be at least one quotation from each of the outside sources, in addition to references from specific scenes from the film
* The essay has to have a clear thesis and points
* There must be an MLA works cited page with at least three entries (the film and two outside sources)
* You must complete a peer review (one short paragraph) for one of your classmate’s essays
What you can do for this essay that you cannot do in more traditional ones:
* Change the question! We will be coming up with alternative questions about the film during group work, so if you don’t like the question listed above, feel free to choose one of the others – or another that is not suggested in class! That said, if you’re okay with the more traditional question above, feel free to use it for your essay.
* Change the essay type! While we have been concentrating on standard persuasive essays up to this point, there are many other types of essays: Descriptive, narrative, division and classification, cause and effect, just to name a few.
* Change the diction! In more traditional essays, you usually have to stick to a more academic form of writing. Here, you can make use of such concepts as slang, first person, personal reflection, etc.
* This list is not meant to be exhaustive. If you have further suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
Sources on the Film
* Clockers: Between “Rock” and a Hard Place
* Clockers movie review & film summary (1995) – Roger Ebert
* ‘Clockers’ – Washington Post
* ‘Clockers’ Was Almost A Great Movie | The Spokesman-Review
* ‘Clockers’ is a Deeply Felt Coming-of-Age Movie – Peterson Reviews
* The Wild Contradictions of Giuliani’s New York in “Clockers”
* https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/091395lee-clockers-review.html
* https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/sep/13/clockers-was-almost-a-great-movie/
* https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/clockers-1995
* https://pricedoutblog.com/2014/12/16/clockers-film-1995/
* https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/1995-09-15/142629/
* FILM REVIEW — Lee’s Timely `Clockers’ / Vivid, gritty look at deadly street life
* https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-13-ca-45221-story.html
Sources on Difficulties of Life in the Projects
* https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-public-housing-harms-citieshttps://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/rightsviews/2021/12/20/nychas-public-housing-fosters-crime-poverty-and-dreadful-living-conditions/
* https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-public-housing-harms-cities
* PHOTOS: See Everyday Life in New York City’s Projects | TIME
* New York housing project residents photograph their daily lives in the book, Project Lives. (slate.com)
* https://www.clevelandfed.org/publications/economic-commentary/2014/ec-201419-public-housing-concentrated-poverty-and-crime
* The Rise and Fall of New York Public Housing: An Oral History – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/no-dragons-no-zombies-can-david-simon-turn-a-story-about-public-housing-into-high-drama/2015/07/24/887f09a6-25aa-11e5-b77f-eb13a215f593_story.html
Max, Andrew B, Mateo D
Traditional Question
Reasons for Sympathy for Strike and Victor
Strike Victor
We view Strike with more sympathy because he fell victim to the society around him. He got stuck on the bad side of the projects and had to pay the consequences. We view Victor with more sympathy because he has two kids and a wife and is trying to get his family out of the projects.
We view Strike with more sympathy because the men around make fun and abuse his stomach problems. While he is already sick, they beat him more and make him throw up more blood. We view Victor with more sympathy because he works extremely hard every single day to get his family out of the projects and is not making enough money. Meanwhile, his brother is a drug dealer and makes more than him without any hard work.
We view Strike with more sympathy because all he wanted to do was help Tyrone and guide him in the right direction and was called names and slapped in the face for it. We view Victor with more sympathy because he works more than one job day and night every single day and still cannot afford to leave the projects.
We view Strike with more sympathy because he got blamed for getting Rodney locked up when he wasn’t the one who snitched. We view Victor with more sympathy because he is a hardworking, and honest man working every single day to get his family out of the projects and eventually snaps and kills Daryl Adams
Alternative Questions
* Why did Strike feel he had to mentor Tyrone.
* Why was detective Cline so obsessed with the case.
* With the two different outcomes in life with Strike and Victor are people born the way they are or created by their environment.
* What breaking points happened to Victor to cause him to murder Darryle.
* What parallels are present in Strike to turn him into Rodney.
