RESPECT

Respect, Respect, Respect. In this material world that we live in, very few people realize that respect, not money, makes this world go round. You see, respect fuels all of the decisions that we make. Generally, things that we don't respect, we don't do, and things that we do-- good or bad, we proudly proceed in doing. Throughout time, respect has been longed for; resulting in many people crying, lying, and dying in search of it.

Juice, follows four street savvy friends from Harlem, appropriately named "The Wrecking Crew". Using the world as their playground, the crew lives life care-free, and has fun doing it. Until one day the antagonist Bishop (played by Tupac Shakur)botches a petty robbery attempt at a convenient store and kills the cashier. Following the robbery, Raheem, who is the leader of the group attempts to take the gun from Bishop, who still in his rage, kills his fellow crew member and friend Raheem.

With the remaining crew members in shock, Bishop quickly goes from friend to enemy as he threatens to kill the other two crew members (Q and Steele) played by Omar Epps and Jermaine "huggy" Hopkins. The plot thickens as tensions rise between Bishop and the other 2 crew members.

In many cases, respect can be substituted with the words: acceptance, cool, or approval. I learned that all of those things start from within. You don't have to prove anything to anybody. This film illustrates the lengths that some go to, to validate themselves and gain respect. Often times yearing for that feeling forces people to act out of character and attempt to be something there not. But in this case, and many others similiar, it comes with a heavy price.