Crookyln Analysis

    Crooklyn is a 1994 Spike Lee Film that takes place in New York in the early 1970s (most-likely 1973). The film is centered around a lower-middle class black family, and their various struggles with everyday life (the family is based on Spike Lee’s own family). There is emphasis placed on the daughter (Troy, played by Zelda Harris) especially, as she is the only girl in a house that is filled with five children.

    Troy is often overlooked in the house, as she is the second youngest, and the only female. Her interests seem to be secondary to her brothers, and as a result she has to resort to dishonest (though not necessarily “evil,” or illegal) actions in order to achieve what she desires, such as stealing from the local convenience store (as she is not given money to do so), or stuffing her shirt to make her appear as having breasts (which most nine year-olds have not developed yet).

    In today’s modern family, situations like this are few and far between as almost always, all children in a family are treated equally, however Crooklyn in my opinion accurately reflects the way females were treated at the time the film is set (not necessarily how a female is treated in a family setting, merely how women were treated in society; the workforce, on television, in the media). Surrounded by males, the woman slips through the cracks, and less time is spent on them, while the woman herself struggles to develop her own persona/life. While this struggle takes place though, Troy never forgets who she is, and what her background is.

    Even with her struggles, as well as having a Hispanic (Puerto Rican?) friend whose hair every girl in the neighbourhood is envious of, Troy never forgets that she is a black girl in a lower-middle class family. Spike Lee accurately portrays the depiction of the black female as Bell Hooks states in her notion of the “Oppositional Gaze.” Troy never desires to look as her Hispanic friend does (though it can be argued that someone of Hispanic heritage is not inherently “white,” as many forms of media have no doubt portrayed) and she asserts herself as female, avoiding to play in any of the games her brothers play.

    Crooklyn is an enjoyable film to view and is especially worthwhile for students who are studying cinema; I feel it should be required viewing. Spike Lee has a knack for accurately portraying the black community and his films include many concepts that film students will no doubt come across.