Tupac: Resurrection, which opens nationwide today, is a documentary with a curious, uncanny twist: it seems to be narrated, from beyond the grave, by its subject, the actor and rap star Tupac Shakur, who was shot to death at a Las Vegas intersection in 1996.
The film shows us the inner life of Tupac Shakur: political and social circumstances he has grown up in, musical and literary influences that have made him the person he was, Tupac’s relationships with his family (especially with mother) and his friends, his image in media and hip-hop business. All that creates for us an influential character that can be talked about and analyzed through the many philosophical aspects such as political involvement, spiritual life of the individual, crime and redemption, religion and fame, religion of a “thug” (“a person stuck in the ghetto that’s trying or has succeeded in getting out of the ghetto” (Tupac: Resurrection), etc.
I want to relate the Deistic philosophical thought with a Tupac: Resurrection documentary via Shakur’s unusual religious beliefs, which you are reaching due to watching the film. Religious issues can be implicated to anything, including the given artwork about Tupac’s life.
But anyway, you see the main character which represents an individual with a critical mind that was built up during the “thug life” he’s come through. That character is Tupac Shakur itself, who believed in Karma and was rejecting an organized religion. According to Light (p. 53), “Tupac never professed following a certain religion, but his lyrics in songs such as Only God Can Judge Me and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete suggest he believed in God”. That’s why Tupac was described as a deist by some analysts.
In the interview to the Vibe Magazine in 1996 Tupac said:
…if the God wrote the Bible I’m sure there would have been a revised copy by now, because a lot of thing have changed. I’ve been looking for this revised copy…well, I don’t see it. And I’m not disrespecting anybody’s religion. Please forgive me if it comes up like that. I believe God blesses us. God blesses those that use their mind. I believe that your Karma and everything that you do bad comes back to you. (Light, p. 160)
Referring to the Deism philosophy features I found that “rejection of all religions based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God” is one of three basic critical elements of it (Johnson, p. 17). Next to this I’ve found a one from two constructive features: “God gave humans the ability to reason” (Johnson, p. 17), that is consonant to the religious beliefs of Tupac, the main character of Tupac: Resurrection documentary. It means that information given to the world by this documentary can touch upon different philosophical issues concerning the problems raised in it.
This film has changed my perception of the religion and God. Earlier I thought that God controls everything in this world and your prayer can help you in some situations. And I believed in that and didn’t think deeper than I should. But lately I’ve been spending time rethinking my past and realized that every victory or success I’ve reached was just a product of my strong will and the sense of reason. I’m thinking of becoming a Deist now.
Bibliography
- Johnson, Bob. Deism: A Revolution in Religion – A Revolution in You. California: Truth Seeker Co. Inc., 2009. Print.
- Tupac: Resurrection. Dir. Lauren Lazin. Perf. Tupac Shakur. Paramount Pictures, 2003. Film.
- Light, Allan. Tupac Shakur. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997. Print.