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What Goes Around

Name: What Goes Around
Director: Nic Penrake
Released: 2007
Duration: 11 min

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Representation Score

5.8/10

Fair

2007

PG-13

Director

Nic Penrake

Runtime

11 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

What Goes Around is a gritty social drama that finds its strength in centering a Black protagonist and exploring the heavy consequences of systemic friction. By focusing on a Black teenager's actions, the film moves away from homogeneous storytelling to address communal dignity and moral relativism. However, the film lacks breadth in its representation of other identities. There is no visible inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters or individuals with disabilities, which limits the narrative's multi-layered reach. Ultimately, while the film succeeds in providing a meaningful critique of social institutions and racialized experiences, it remains narrow in its demographic scope.

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Category Breakdown

Does What Goes Around have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include any explicit references to LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight relationships. The plot centers around a personal conflict without addressing the range of sexual orientations.

How does What Goes Around portray gender?

Fair

The story challenges gender clichés by focusing on a female character's dignity as the main driver of the plot. Gender roles are complexly intertwined between a male protagonist and a female character, reflecting diverse gender experiences.

How racially and ethnically diverse is What Goes Around?

Good

The film intentionally highlights a Black protagonist facing high-stakes drama. It examines the social pressures and systemic impacts on Black youth through a gritty perspective.

How does What Goes Around represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative questions Western ideas of justice by showing a cycle of violence driven by societal pressures. It critiques the effectiveness of traditional institutions in protecting underrepresented individuals.

Does What Goes Around include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with physical, sensory, or neurodivergent disabilities in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Strong intentionality in centering a Black protagonist within a high-stakes dramatic framework.
Explores complex themes of systemic consequence and communal dignity.
Challenges traditional Western narratives of restorative justice through a lens of subjective morality.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight relationships.
Provides no discernible inclusion of characters with physical, sensory, or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

When a black teenager avenges his cousin's dignity by stabbing her would-be drug dealing sex buddy in a moment of panic, he sets off a chain of bloody events that leads to his own death.

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