This weekend I had the pleasure of being able to watch the new movie Barbershop 3: The Next Cut. The approach the movie took was very interesting to me because there were a lot of current social issues brought up within the movie. The shop we are so used to in previous Barbershop movies becomes co-ed which opens up many relevant discussions. Many of the characters in the movie portrayed the very types of characters living in others' everyday lives. Here are some of the characters that stood out to me:

1. Terri played by Eve.

Terri was married to Rashad in the movie and she was the very busy mom and wife that a lot of times failed to show attention to her husband. They both loved each other, but Terri failed to see that sometimes expressing your feelings and showing your significant other attention can go a long way in stabilizing your marriage/relationship. Terri's lack of attention towards Rashad caused him to search for what she was not giving to him in another woman, and that is something that happens a lot in marriages/relationships now. A lot of times when a man/woman starts off at the beginning of a relationship doing one thing and starts to slack in between there can be room for the other to fall into infidelity. Although that is no excuse, people wonder sometimes why their significant other had to go out and cheat, or why there is another man/woman, or why even speak to him/her.

2. Rashad played by Common

Rashad was Terri's husband, the man that lacked attention from his wife. Throughout the movie it seemed that he was cheating on Terri with one of the young girls working in the shop named Draya. Any time Rashad would say something Draya seemed to always respond in a nice/flirtatious way in front of everyone. Rashad was not looking at her in that way because he loved his wife, but he liked the attention he received from Draya and that is why he continued to be nice to her, and treat her as a good friend. Draya made two advances towards Rashad that he turned down both times, but Terri still did not trust his word that he was not cheating. A lot of times women are seen as the emotional ones in the relationship, and most of the times that is usually true but Rashad's character reminds us that in a relationship men sometimes crave attention from their significant other too. And sometimes that neglect can lead to infidelity if the man is not strong enough to recognize that he would never want to hurt his woman or ruin his relationship/marriage.

3. Draya played by Nicki Minaj

Draya is one of the new young stylists in the shop and she holds that body and beauty that every guy wants his woman to have. She even holds a nice attitude and demeanor whenever she speaks to Rashad trying to show him some affection, and that she does care. Her first attempt at an advance towards him fails, and she tries to play it off as if she is mad at him for even assuming that she wants him. The second time she directly makes an advance and tries to use everything in her power to convince him that she is what he wants. Draya portrays the women in today's society that go after what they cannot have. Women who do this either like the challenge, want to prove they can have any man they want, want to get a man they see treating another woman right for themselves, etc. Women like this are accused of making it hard to keep happy homes when they could just leave any taken man alone, and that is true. The man also plays a part though and should be the strong one that can say no, no matter what is happening within his own marriage/relationship.

4. Jerrod played by Lamorne Morris

Jerrod was seen as the nerdy guy that many made fun of and thought he was weird. Although he was very smart he was also very goofy and found very annoying. For being himself he was made fun of and put down a lot, but that was the only person he knew how to be. A lot of times, especially in the younger generation, people are called weird for not changing their interests, what they wear, or how they act for acceptance by other people because they are happy in their own skin. His part was not big, but the character held a slight message that I feel no one should look past because a lot of teenagers struggle with identity crisis now, but do not know how to fight through it because doing anything they like automatically makes them the target for name calling and laughs. We have to learn when it is the time to focus on what others say and when it is not time.

5. Bree played by Margot Bingham

The last character I want to talk about is Bree. She was also a stylist that worked in the shop that was holding a grudge towards her ex who was unfaithful in their relationship. Any time a discussion of men came up the hatred for her ex would appear as she compared every man to who he was, and what he did to her. Bree's character displays how both men and women act in today's society whenever a relationship happens to go bad after they have put their all into that relationship. After that, no one can be trusted and they see every man/woman in that same light. Something that is not healthy for any being looking to live a happy life. The hurt from relationships you think are going to last forever can be very painful, but no one should let it ruin and control their life. People should take time to grow from the pain and then work slowly to move past it.

I pointed out these characters specifically because their parts showed very common characters in everyday life. A lot of men and women portray these characters in today's society and Barbershop 3 did good on bringing them to the big screen. One problem that occurred often was infidelity, but discrimination and hatred are two other things that many in this generation have, but none are working to deal with. There were more issues happening in society brought up in Barbershop 3 as well that are very current and everyone should take the time out to sit down and watch it.