Line #9 Film/Bodied


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3	''Bodied'' is a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Kahn and co-produced by {{Music/Eminem}}, centered around the world of BattleRapping.
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5	Adam Merkin (Creator/CalumWorthy) is a white graduate student at Berkeley who starts the film working on a graduate thesis on the use of the N-word in battle rap. In his process of researching, which includes attending rap battles in person, he becomes so immersed in the scene that he decides to become a battle rapper himself.
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7	Adam's passion isn't exactly met with open arms by those in his life -- his girlfriend Maya is taken aback by the perceived misogyny of the raps, and his father (a professor at Berkeley) doesn't take the idea seriously. As he climbs up the ranks, his passing enthusiasm turns into a competitive obsession as he earns success and sparks outrage alike.
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9	Upon premiering at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, ''Bodied'' won the People's Choice Award, further winning Fantastic Fest's 2017 Audience Award. Exclusive streaming rights for the film were acquired by [=YouTube=] Red in January 2018, with a limited theatrical release in November of that year.
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12	!!The film provides examples of:
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14	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: When Megaton goes after Adam's friends, he calls Devine "[[Music/TheNotoriousBig Biggie]] [[Music/NickiMinaj Minaj]]", which even Prospek finds funny. Devine is not so impressed.
15	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Adam defeats Megaton, earning him respect and fame as a battle rapper, but at the cost of his girlfriend, his friend and mentor Behn, his scholarship, his home, and his relationship with his dad]].
16	* CastingGag: Nearly everyone, including several minor characters. The overwhelming majority of the characters are played by real-life battle rappers, and each of their characters has at least one scene that nods to their real lives and the highlights of their various careers.
17	* DefeatMeansFriendship:
18	** Adam becomes friends with Prospek and his friends after defeating him in a rap battle. Prospek even compliments him on his "creative Asian jokes".
19	---> '''Prospek:''' Shit, at least you knew I was Korean instead of calling me "chink" the whole time. Far as I'm concerned, that's culturally sensitive by battle rap standards.
20	** Subverted with Adam and [[spoiler:Behn]]. [[spoiler:While Behn uses hard-hitting fictional bars, Adam opts to use actual personal details about him, cementing his commitment to winning at all costs and his betrayal of Behn's trust. Adam is shocked that he's unable to settle differences with Behn after the fight ends, seeing the insults as "just battle rap", but Behn tells him that not only do words have consequences, but battle rap has become an outlet for genuine anger and cruelty for Adam and not just an act. This marks the end of their friendship.]]
21	* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:After Adam defeats Behn with rounds using extremely personal details of his life against him, a couple of other rappers begin heckling both of them. Behn and Adam immediately team up to take them down.]]
22	* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:After Megaton is defeated by Adam in the final battle, even he is won over by Adam's skills, and he tells him that he was honored to share the stage with him.]]
23	* InstantWebHit: Deconstructed. The video of Adam's battle against Prospek is posted online (and even used in a classroom lecture by his now ex-girlfriend), which turns the entire student body against Adam and basically ruins his life.
24	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: All of the battle rappers besides Adam and Behn are blatant parodies of the real-life battlers who serve as their actors.
25	* StopBeingStereotypical: Adam and his friends stop by a sushi restaurant where Prospek works as a chef, but the owner kicks them out for making fun of Prospek (even though Prospek takes the jibes in good humour, noting that ignorant white people wouldn't even notice [[RacialFaceBlindness a Korean working in a Japanese sushi restaurant]]) and even roundhouse kicks Che when he tries to approach him. Prospek berates his boss for playing into the stereotype.
26	--> '''Prospek:''' An [[AllAsiansKnowMartialArts old martial arts master]] doin' a spin kick in the middle of a sushi restaurant!? Really? Do you even know how much of a fuckin' stereotype you made us look like? You set Asians back a hundred years!
27	* TheUnfettered: [[spoiler:Megaton responds to Adam's disses towards him by punching him in the face...to which he jumps right back up and keeps rapping.]]
28	-->[[spoiler:"That little love tap? That was real touchin'. ''But I just murdered my own friend, so you should know that I don't feel nothin'''!"]]
29	* TheUnreveal: A minor plot point involves Adam not yet having picked a battle rap name, and as such just going by his first name. [[spoiler:In the final moments of the film, he says that he's finally figured out his battle rap name. He looks up to the camera and says "My name is--" before the credits roll and Music/{{Eminem}}'s "My Name Is" plays.]]
30	* VerbedTitle
31	* WhatTheHellHero: After their battle, Adam talks to [[spoiler:Behn]] hoping that they're "cool" despite all the terrible things he said because "anything goes" in battle rapping. However, [[spoiler:Behn sets the record straight that while he respects him as a writer, they are no longer cool. He calls Adam out for deluding himself into thinking there wouldn't be consequences for what he says, and also thinking that everyone who's criticizing him is wrong so he doesn't have to consider that he might not actually be a good person after all. He ends their friendship, and [[OptOut leaves the battle rap game]] to return to his job and family.]]

Context Film / Bodied