Assignment #2: Scene Analysis

The Carter Documentary

According to the producer, this documentary was intended to give a look at the life of rap star Lil Wayne. In a way I disagreed with the producer as two topics were overly predominant, both his addiction and recording process were noted on countless occasions. The scene that I analyzed was one that focused primarily on the stars addiction to syrup (cough syrup). The approach that is taken in the documentary is to follow Wayne as he travels around the world doing shows and recording. It also contains interviews with Lil Wayne’s manager and daughter. The creator of this film lets the audience know that although they were supposed to have the opportunity to interview the rap star, after watching the footage he revoked his support behind the picture. The scene I observed I believe to be one of the main reasons he withdrew his support. In the section I analyzed the camera catches on numerous occasions, the star filling his drink with the cough syrup. The video making techniques they use to address this situation is to layer in the background of the scene, different Lil Wayne songs with lyrics concerning syrup, to expose a strong connection between the star and his drink. An interview with his manager is also used to verify the fact that Lil Wayne is addicted to the medicine and that he refuses help. Another video technique the crew uses is to flash through existing interviews that Lil Wayne has done to show him answering questions about the drink and to show him with the plastic cup almost always in his hand. The final video technique the film producers use is the show a cell phone video of when they attempted to confront the artist with an intervention, which resulted in him publicly outing his manager and entourage on stage. The scene ends with another one of Lil Wayne’s songs with lyrics asking that no one try to interfere with him drinking the cough syrup and definitely don’t attempt to take it away from him.
I felt that this scene was very interesting and important in the video, in order to get a true representation of the stars life. I did see a disconnect, as there was very little content prior to Lil Wayne becoming famous. That was one element that I disliked, as I appreciate chronological order. I thought that this scene was a sufficient depiction of the artist’s addiction and that continuously showing him with the drink, or discussing it throughout the film, actually limited the continuation of the video. At times it seemed to be more about addiction or cough syrup than the stars life as a whole. Overall, the scene left alone, without readdressing it, was well placed and did allow the topic to be grasped as you moved on to the next aspect of Lil Wayne’s life. The documentary did provide a backstage pass to the stars current lifestyle. My scene was integral in piecing together the messages in his lyrics with his behaviour, in order to get a different picture of the star and forward the documentary.

JL