Nothing busts canons quite like living in interesting times. In our ongoing Inflection Point series, we look back at the films that have taken on new relevance due to our ongoing cultural and political upheaval. Some beloved, some undiscovered, these titles deserve newfound consideration as film criticism evolves to meet the moment.
Those raised on a heavy diet of ’80s hip-hop will instantly recognize, “Colors,” one of the earliest hits for Ice-T. Performed from the perspective of a gang member struggling against an uncertain feature, “Colors” has been described by the rapper as one of the “biggest, most powerful” tracks of his career. It also served as a fitting theme song for “Colors,” a 1988 police thriller directed by Dennis Hopper in the years before his resurgence as an actor.
Offering an unprecedented look at gang violence in Los Angeles – the film and its director were actively picketed by anti-crime organization Guardian Angels for its alleged gang-friendly depiction of the Crips and Bloods – “Colors” was meant to be both a vehicle for rising star Sean Penn and a hard-hitting exploration of modern policing. Three decades later, “Colors” retains little of its sociopolitical luster but remains an entertaining examination of artists operating below the peak of their power.
READ MORE: ‘Cop Land’ Is What Happens When A Few Bad Apples Spoil The Bunch
“Colors” opens with a series of title cards to reinforce the plight of the then-modern Los Angeles Police Department. Outnumbered on the streets and facing unprecedented levels of gang violence, “Colors” makes a case for the LAPD as both outgunned and outnumbered. This sets the stage for a character like Bob Hodges (Robert Duvall), an aging officer who finds himself back on the streets with a young partner. Together, the two are tasked with locating Rocket (Don Cheadle), a local gang member responsible for a recent drive-by shooting.
Danny McGavin (Penn) is the opposite of Hodges in every way. From his liberal use of force to his strict adherence to the law – he treats low-level drug offenses as future leverage against gang members – McGavin bucks against the more measured approach taken by Hodges. The latter has developed a network of contacts on the streets of Los Angeles; with retirement looming, he is unwilling to gamble his lives or the life of his young partner on a lesser drug charge. Before long, the two men find themselves at an impasse in both the investigation and their collaboration.
Wherever Hopper was on his journey between the “pretty heavy” socialism that made him the bane of John Wayne’s films and the late-career turn to more conservative politics, in 1988, he served at the whim of a younger generation. By his admission, “Colors” was only offered to Hopper at the behest of young star Sean Penn, who had initially hoped to make “Barfly” with Hopper as director. When that film fell through, Penn used his influence to get Hopper hired to direct “Colors.” Having not directed a feature since 1980’s “Out of the Blue,” Hopper was all-too-aware that his opportunities as a filmmaker were growing limited. His responsibility, then, was to ensure commercial success.
READ MORE: ‘Dark Blue’ Does Not Shy Away From The Cruelty & Institutional Racism Of The Police
And just as he did in his previous work, Hopper brought an ethnographer’s touch to the filming of “Colors.” In a lengthy interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Hopper spoke about his many attempts to make “Colors” a more authentic depiction of gang violence than what audiences had previously seen on the screen. From location shoots to local casting – several members of the cast were active gang members recruited by the filmmakers – “Colors” impressed contemporary audiences with its attention to detail. The film’s complicated depiction of gang culture would even inspire a series of 2018 Vibe interviews with West Coast artists – including Murs and Del That Funky Homosapien – recalling their first impressions of the film.
But whereas “Colors” might have offered audiences a more modern look at Los Angeles gang culture, it is hard to make a case for the film as an enduring work of art. Gone was the Hopper whose films spoke to the politics of the day; the Hopper of “Colors” is a filmmaker feeling the ticking clock of his relevance. As a result, “Colors” is most entertaining when it abandons its social commentary and veers into the spectacle. From a cross-town car chase led by Penn’s McGavin to a climactic shootout between two rival gangs, “Colors” is a series of set pieces co-opting social commentary. Cinematographer and film legend Haskell Wexler may imbue Los Angeles with a unique life onscreen, but it is hard to look beyond the polish and see anything of substance underneath.
This is not an act of revisionist history. Alan Bell, a trailblazing Black journalist of the 1970s and 1980s, waited all of three days after the film’s release to lambast Hopper and his producers in the Los Angeles Times. While Bell is best known as the founder of the landmark LGBTQ publication Gaysweek, his work as a film critic in the Los Angeles Sentinel gave him a platform to speak about Black representation in film, a position he embraced when it came to Hopper’s depiction of gang culture in the movie. In a piece sublimely titled “’Colors’: A Monochromatic View of Gang Life in Los Angeles,” Bell went all-in on the film’s reductive narrative regarding gang violence.
READMORE: ‘Narc’: Revisiting Joe Carnahan’s Story About The Fallout Of Police Violence
While Bell’s criticisms of youth culture in 1988 sometimes flirt with a generation divide, his description of how white audiences would respond to “Colors” is revealing. “Rather than looking to the social structure and the politics of racism for answers,” Bell wrote,” one comes away from ‘Colors’ with the feeling that the disadvantaged black [sic] community as a whole is functionally malignant.” In “Colors,” Bell saw a film reducing communities of color to acts of violence, with no interest in exploring the underlying social conditions that might make those gangs necessary. “When you portray something as sensitive and as serious as gang violence in an ethnic community,” Bell concluded, “you have a responsibility to be attentive to the implications of your enterprise.”
There are times in “Colors” when the film veers towards a more thoughtful viewpoint on gang culture. These moments are present in Hodgman’s relationships with community leaders and his penchant for overlooking minor crimes. They are most present in a public forum McGavin and Hodges elect to attend, where members of the community voice their concerns directly to leaders of the Los Angeles Police Department. In a modern version of this film, this community meeting might challenge officers like McGavin and Hodges to engage more directly with community members. In this one, any insights into the relationship between police and the policed are immediately played for laughs.
READ MORE: ‘Jaws’: The Shifting Models Of Masculinity In Steven Spielberg’s Blockbuster
Take one scene with a young Tony Todd. When the department representative claims that the parents have “got to get involved,” Todd’s unnamed parent loses his cool. “What the fuck do you think we’re doing here?” he shouts. “The police ain’t ever gonna get anywhere,” he continues. “Shaking people down, shining the lights in our eyes. Treating all of us like criminals’ cuz of where we live.” The idea that the police themselves bear some responsibility for pushing teenagers towards gang culture is missing from the rest of the film; a moment of self-examination on the part of either of our two leads (beyond the old school/new school posturing) might have delivered on its promises of being a genuinely challenging work of art. But when the discussion soon devolves into shouting, Hopper and company wave off its implications through a few snide glances between McGavin and Hodges.
There are plenty of reasons why “Colors” will continue to endure in the minds of film fans. As a historical document, a boundary-pushing work of mass entertainment, or even an auteurist curiosity, “Colors” deserves its spot in the Hollywood canon. But as a film showing the intersection of police and their communities, “Colors” leaves much to be desired. Perhaps it is Murs who describes the film best. In his interview with Vibe, the rapper has little patience for questions regarding the movie’s legacy. “At worst,” he concludes, “it’s a ‘well-intentioned’ dagger jabbed in the back of the black [sic] community by yet another clueless white male fascinated with our plight and culture.” In other words? Stick with the song.
