Movies - Boyz N the Hood

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	Movies - Boyz N the Hood

Boyz N the Hood is a 1991 film directed by African American director John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long and Morris Chestnut, the film depicts life in crime-ridden South Central (now South) Los Angeles, California. It is the story of a young man navigating his way through the pitfalls of being young and black in an American ghetto ('hood', abbreviation of neighborhood). It is notable for de-sensationalizing, exploring the roots of violence in urban America and the cinema. It is also notable in that it promotes the view, and importance, of an involved father in this young man's life. The father, played by Laurence Fishburne is central in setting the life path his son takes. It was nominated for both Best Director and Original Screenplay during the 1991 Academy Awards. This made John Singleton the youngest person ever nominated for Best Director and the first African-American to be nominated for the award. The film is also credited with jumpstarting the careers of Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The movie was a vivid portrayal of racism between police and African-Americans. It is considered to be a pre-cursor of the feelings vented during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

In 2002 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Cast

Plot summary

In Boyz N the Hood, John Singleton portrays the life of three young black youths, Tre, Doughboy, and Ricky, as they grow up in South Central, Los Angeles. Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is an intelligent young student, but encounters disciplinary problems at a young age. His mother Reva Devereaux, decides it would be best for her son if Tre were to live with his father, Furious Styles. Furious is a no nonsense disciplinarian who teaches his son how to be a man. Tre begins his new life in South Central L.A. and reunites with old friends Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut). All three boys lead very different lives. Tre is an aspiring college man, Ricky an All-American football player, and Doughboy a drug dealing gangsta. Boyz N the Hood offers a keen insight on racial inequality, drugs, sex, and gang violence in the hood.

One of the most powerful scenes of the movie occurs when Ricky is shot and killed by members of a local gang. The men who shoot Ricky wear red and black colors, possibly associating them with the Bloods; a large gang from the Los Angeles area. Tre, who is Ricky’s best friend, has to make a decision as to how he is going to react to Ricky’s murder. Will he seek violent revenge on Ricky’s murder, or will he realize that murdering another young african-american male will just add to the omnipresent violence taking place everyday around him? Tre chooses not to proceed with the murders of the men. Doughboy, unlike Tre, searches for and murders the men who did the same thing to his brother.

Themes

The most important theme is the benefit of a strong father figure on young black males. Of the three boys Tre, Ricky, and Doughboy, Tre is the only one who's father is present in his everyday life. He leads a very different life than his two friends because of his father's guidance. The decisions he makes, especially not to partake in the revenge of Ricky's death, happen because of the morals instilled in him.

The film also deals largely with the seemingly unstoppable violence that plagues urban life. It is set in South Central Los Angeles, where Tre's father owns a house. The neighborhood is a violent one; the sounds of shootings and patrolling helicopters are heard often and even something as common as a passing car can mean death. The police that patrol the neighborhood seem indifferent to the notion of preventing crime. Early in the film Furious frightens off a would-be thief with the pistol he keeps under his bed. The police, arriving an hour after Furious' call, do not seem concerned about the effect of the crime on the people they are supposed to protect. Additionally, the African American officer possesses a combative personality and has a tense exchange with Furious about the proper execution of his job. (As a teenager, Tre is pulled over by the same policeman while fleeing gunfire on Crenshaw Avenue and the officer threatens him with his pistol, an act of police misconduct.) This officer was in fact based off of a self-loathing Black officer seen by John Singleton growing up in South Central Los Angeles.

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