Analysis Of The Get Down

Back in the Bronx during the 1960’s and 1970’s it was common to see poverty, violence, gangs and drug dealers. This city was forgotten about and it was filled with poor people living inhumane places. Buildings were being burned to the ground by gangs hired by landlords, so they could collect insurance money. This lead to the evolution of music which changed society for years to come. In the episode of “The Get Down,” hope, violence and music is used illustrate the character lives and hardships they face in the Bronx.

“The Get Down” begins by introducing the two main characters, Mylene and Ezekiel, which are both very talented kids growing up in the rough part of the Bronx. Mylene has an amazing voice and is an ambitious girl

This also shows the audience that there were limited ways talented people to leave the Bronx. There were plenty of kids with talent trapped with no hope of ever escaping the conditions. Her dreams are being held back by people close to her, from the little sister telling on her and the father beating on Mylene for going to the club and singing the devil’s music. Mylene loves Ezekiel, but she rejects him for acting like a man and refuse to let anybody hold her back from her goal of escaping the Bronx. Ezekiel is talented himself, but he has no courage and he cares what other people think about him. For example he didn’t want to read his beautiful poem in front of his class and he lied saying he didn’t write the poem. Zeke is the opposite of Mylene where he got talent but he not trying to become anything but another kid who had talent to escape but didn’t use. He thinks there is no chance of escaping the Bronx, so he goes with the flow of life having no ambition. Toward the end of the scene, Mylene rubbed off on him and Ezekiel started wanting to be somebody. When he was at The Get Down, as first he froze up on the microphone and then later he snatched the microphone back and started rapping in front of a large crowd. I think Zeke started to find his meaning in life and he finally felt his gift. Through the eyes of “The Get Down” kids in Bronx had potential, but it was hard for them

It portray violence and gang activity to be normal. There was numerous amount of violence in the Bronx during late 20th century, because of low wages and unemployment, which made people turn to other alternative like drug dealing. The Warlord was a gang displayed in the Get Down who attacked Zeke and his friend for being on their territory. Gangs were everywhere in the Bronx particularly on every block. During this time it wasn’t safe to travel alone because there was a high crime rate, which is the reason gangs were created in the first place because it would give young teens and children a sense of protection. Gangs became more than protection when they started committing crimes like robbery, arson and even murder. During the episode, the Savage Warlords went to Kingston Top Stop Variety Store to make the owner sign a contract promising to give them $50 a week not to disturb the peace or hurt the owner. This was normal around this time, because gangs would just intimidate other people for income or sell drugs to the people in their territory. This made surviving life in the Bronx difficult, because all of the crime that was being committed around them. “The Get Down” also portrayed violence to be normal because you here sirens wailing throughout the episode. Another example of how dangerous the Bronx was, Les Inferno was dance club run by a drug dealer which led to a big shootout in the club