Bad Short Film Review

The story is a fiction story about a Black American (African American) man from Harlem returning to his home community and his friends, the “homies”. It is a story about isolated cultural environments and a Black man who tries to break that barrier. It is about the tension between races, cultures, and level of education and it is about doing the right thing. In “Bad”, you see a fight with a variety of emotions: frustration, anger, tenderness, and hope.

The title name “Bad” reveals the diversity of being “bad”. Are you being bad when you rob a poor man on the streets? Are you being bad when you flash your gun on the streets? Are you bad when you are a tough gang member?

Daryl, the main character of the short film, has a different opinion of being bad. The original meaning of being bad is doing mean things. Now, it is the opposite of that. It is being street-smart. The word is slang. It means being good and doing the right thing.

“Bad” sets the scene at a high school in a community where most are White people. The atmosphere is cheerful and everybody is happy. One of the young students tells Daryl that he is very proud of him working hard at the semester. Daryl is one of few people at the school who is not White. The Black people and others seem accepted and equal to the students. The students have finished the semester and are going home by train. The train symbolises the journey from the rich community to the Black poor community. The happy and playful atmosphere turns more harsh and severe as the train enters Harlem.

As Daryl returns home, his friends, the “brothers in the hood” are welcoming him. Very quickly, they start asking questions about high school. It is very clear that the “brothers” have many prejudices about the “rich white” high school. At first, they tease Daryl and call him “Joe College”, and the gap between Daryl and his friends increases. They think that Daryl has turned his back against them and has forgotten who his true friends are. They take a walk on the street as a gang, but it turns out that Daryl has changed. He freezes at the sight of a gunman. The scared face of Daryl´s reveals his inner thoughts of fright, distancing and condemning of the actions of his criminal friends. Daryl´s time has come to show his friends who he really is. Towards the end of the story, the conflict escalates between Daryl and his friends. So who is really bad?

The story of “Bad” was inspired by a real story about a 17-year-old Black boy, Edmund Perry, from Harlem. He went to a New England prep school (Phillips Exeter Academy) where he graduated with honours. Edmund Perry tried to rob a white man, a police officer in plain clothes, who shot him dead. The short film “Bad” does not take that dramatic turn and is far less tragic than the original story.

The lyrics in “Bad” are provocative messages to gang members. There is a lot of tension here. The message is, “Gonna hurt your mind. Don´t shoot to kill”. It is a message of general understanding, respect, love and peace between all races and cultures in the world. There is also a message about treating other people with respect, “Don´t make a fight. Your talk is cheap. You´re not a man. You´re throwing rocks to hide your hands.” In a cool way, Michael Jackson says that only, “the sky is the limit”. He has dreams and goals for the future for himself and the human race. Be the best you can be in your field! (Education and knowledge can be good ways of accomplishing and reaching goals.) These messages are very typical of Michael Jackson.

“Shammon” is a way to sing “come on” in a way the singer Mavis Staples did. It is the Black roots with a twist of attitude and challenge. “Bad” is so full of attitude from the beginning to the end. It is cool, clear, and provocative. The character starts out being humble, but he gets more self-confident and the nerve in the story gets more explosive.