By Vijay Ramanathan
The first query any remake of a traditional film should reply is: Why does this exist? Many, like Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot Psycho which provided nothing new, failed spectacularly. Often, a remake succeeds by utterly reworking its supply materials. For example, De Palma’s Scarface bore little resemblance to the 1932 authentic past primary plot however ended up a contemporary masterpiece. Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest falls between these extremes. The place Kurosawa examined post-war Japanese class constructions via an industrial government’s disaster of conscience, Lee makes use of a music mogul’s dilemma to discover how energy operates in modern America. The core query stays: What do you owe to these “decrease” than you? However Lee’s reply reveals how class, wealth, and affect perform in an period outlined by social media and cultural capital.
The Function of Class
Kurosawa’s Excessive and Low offered class division as literal geography. Gondo’s (Toshiro Mifune) mansion sat on a hill overlooking the slums beneath. The high-class government lived in consolation whereas low-class employees toiled in squalor. The connection between lessons was clearly seen, and unambiguous. Lee retains this vertical geography however transforms its which means.
David King’s (Denzel Washington) penthouse sits atop a skyscraper within the metropolis. The individuals beneath, nevertheless, are aspiring artists, and struggling musicians. The category divide isn’t between administration and labor per se; it’s between gatekeepers and people who are saved out. King constructed his empire by recognizing expertise and selling it. Within the music trade, it isn’t nearly capability or expertise. It’s about entry and gaining consideration of the gatekeepers. You “get in” by gaining entry.
King doesn’t simply management the cash – he controls platforms and connections. When he promotes an artist, he confers cultural legitimacy. This class energy continues to be as highly effective as what Kurosawa depicted. The kidnapper, Yung Felony (A$AP Rocky), understands this contemporary dynamic. His crime isn’t nearly extracting cash – it’s about forcing King to acknowledge his existence. After which about utilizing that acknowledgement to achieve each monetary and cultural clout.
In contrast to Kurosawa, Lee ends his film by exhibiting us two contrasting outcomes. We see how, ultimately, Yung Felony finally ends up getting presents for giant music offers though he’s behind bars. Cultural gatekeeping isn’t affected by criminality. Programs are in place to “elevate you excessive” even in case you wouldn’t qualify in conventional phrases. Lee additionally reveals King beginning over at floor degree, actually and figuratively. He creates a brand new music label; going again “right down to his roots” and beginning over. Lee’s ending is a sugar-coated and extra optimistic take than Kurosawa’s. This ending lessens the affect of the film however is extra American in its perception that people can begin over – pulling themselves again up by their bootstraps.
Affect and Social Media
Lee’s adaptation feels most modern in its exploration of Influencer Tradition and Social Media. In Kurosawa’s world, newspapers performed a giant position however they couldn’t essentially destroy somebody in a single day. In Lee’s world, Cancel Tradition and viral moments can demolish careers in a flash, even if in case you have thousands and thousands of {dollars} within the financial institution. And in the identical trend, on-line virality can elevate you to the highest even in case you’re penniless and behind bars.
The specter of reputational collapse is a continuing undercurrent all through the film. King hesitates to pay the ransom similar to Gondo. However his calculus isn’t simply concerning the cash. It’s additionally about how his actions can be interpreted on-line. Will social media butcher him for being so wealthy you can simply pay a multi-million greenback ransom for an worker’s son, or will he be perceived as a “buddy of the frequent man” who involves the rescue of his buddy in want? It looks like a weird query to be asking oneself however it’s altogether plausible in our current society.
Essentially the most placing illustration of how social media has warped our understanding of proper and flawed comes when Yung Felony is taken into the courthouse. A whole lot of supporters line the steps of the courthouse, protesting on his behalf. For them, Felony is a hero quite than a felony who kidnapped a toddler and extorted thousands and thousands. Lee lets us take in the chants and indicators supporting somebody who dedicated a devious crime. The supporters see Yung Felony as somebody who “caught it to the person.” The precise sufferer of Felony’s crime turns into secondary to the narrative of sophistication revenge.
That is Lee’s sharpest commentary on modern discourse. Lee reveals us a world the place grievance can justify virtually something; crimes towards the rich may be reframed as justified resistance. Felony turns into an emblem that may be reshaped to suit whichever narrative good points most traction on-line. The gang exterior the courthouse isn’t defending what Felony truly did – they’re defending what he represents. Lee reveals us how simply public sentiment may be manipulated to undertaking a felony as a savior when the fitting story is instructed.
Reviving the Soul
Regardless of these modifications, Lee preserves the soul of Kurosawa’s highly effective movie. The ethical weight of selecting between self-interest and responsibility to others is simply as torturous now as again then. Each Lee and Kurosawa present us that doing the fitting factor can have super prices. Each acknowledge that class constructions create inequalities that trigger some individuals to be thought-about much less beneficial.
The place Lee diverges is in suggesting that the equations and outcomes may be completely different at present. Whereas people can genuinely change, and techniques may be rebuilt, going from low to excessive or excessive to low just isn’t so easy on this time the place cultural capital issues as a lot as monetary capital. Kurosawa had a extra fatalistic view of human nature and social constructions. Lee presents us a glimmer of hope by hinting at King’s resurrection. He means that recognizing your complicity is step one towards working in another way. The basic questions stay as earlier than: What will we owe one another? How will we acknowledge one another and our respective humanity? What prices are we keen to pay to do the fitting factor? Lee’s reply displays a world the place virality can override morality, the place cultural capital can survive, and even be created by, scandal, and the place the gap between highest and lowest has by no means been extra fluid or extra fraught.
