Boyz in the Hood review

 The film Boyz in the Hood came out in 1991 by the director John Singleton who explored and displayed the lives of Black men born and raised in the hood. This film was set in South Central Los Angeles, California and we are introduced to first Tre Styles. Tre Styles  lives with his divorced mother Reva Styles  played by Angela Bassett. One day Tre begins acting up in school and his mother makes a decision for him to go live with his father in Crenshaw. Tre’s father is played by Laurence Fishburne and he is now the main caregiver to tre. He moved to live with his dad at a young age around elementary school. When he first moves into the neighborhood he befriends two other kids that are his neighbors being Ricky and Doughboy. They begin to spend time together around the neighborhood and play with one another. One day Doughboy gets in trouble for stealing and goes away to juvenile detention with another friend. 

The film then fast forwards to several years later when Tre, Ricky, and Doughboy are all reunited at a big barbecue cookout at Ricky and Doughboy’s house. All three of these characters are all grown up now in high school with different paths. Tre is planning on going to college soon and Ricky as well with a dream to get a football scholarship. Doughboy has been in and out of jail with no real plans as to the future, but staying out of trouble. In the barbecue scene we get introduced to Brandi, Tre’s girlfriend, played by Nia Long who he is purposefully trying to upset and also trying to have sex with.  The group of boys and their friends all go to this event where there is street racing going on. A Lot of people from the neighborhood were there including some members from the blood gang. Ricky and one of the blood members named Ferris get into an argument and then Doughboy comes to his defense revealing a gun. The argument ends and everyone goes back to hanging out. Then, out of nowhere a bunch of shots start to ring out into the air and everyone from the event runs and drives off. Tre and Ricky get pulled over by police while driving back from the event and the cop threatens them. The following day, Ricky is asked to run an errand by his mother and Tre goes with him. Ricky and Tre go to run the errands and talk with one another. While they are headed back home they are spotted by Ferris and a couple of other members of the blood gang. They try to go through the alleys to avoid them but end up splitting up. This strategy was unsuccessful because Rickey ended up getting caught and shot to death on the pavement of the alley. Rickey is then brought home where his family grieves his death.

In an attempt to get revenge, Tre coordinates with Doughboy to kill the person who shot Ricky. Tre’s dad  finds Tre preparing to take his gun ,but convinces him to abandon his plans for revenge. Tre, still enraged by his friend's death, goes out anyway with Dough Boy and his friends in search of the killer. While driving Tre asks to get out of the car after changing his mind. Doughboy then lets him out and ends up finding his brother’s murders and killing them. The following day  Doughboy visits Tre,  and talks with him about life. He tells him how he understands why he left and isn’t upset. Doughboy poses a valuable question being  why American media "don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood." In the end, Doughboy is murdered two weeks later while Tre and Brandi go off to college. 

 This film Boyz in the Hood which premiered more than 30 years ago was very monumental in Black cinema. Not many films were being real and honestly displaying the day to day experiences of young African Americans in the nineties. This was a very emotional film with some funny light hearted moments included.  The film displayed three usual outcomes in a low income environment. The three main characters being Doughboy, Tre and Ricky help depict these scenarios. First, with Doughboy, a young man who gets caught up in street life and is in and out of jail. Doesn't really have much guidance and is just blowing as the wind goes. Doughboy has no plan and represents the male that chooses the street life.  Then there is Tre that comes from the same environment as Doughboy, but  puts value into his appearance and his actions show that as well. Tre is guided a lot partly because of the father figure in his life that is helping him navigate and constantly giving him advice throughout the film. This foundation is crucial in Tre’s life and sets him apart from his friends. Tre’s dad talks to him about safe sex and how violence isn’t the answer. Tre represents the role model and the standard idea black excellence. Straining towards an education and dreams of escaping poverty. 

Ricky, being the hopeful prospect to attend USC on a football Scholarship and is focused on keeping his grades right, is gunned down right before even seeing the results of his SAT scores and even getting to go to college. Ricky also left behind his young son that now has to grow up without a father in his life like Ricky did. These three characters were relatable to the African American experience where you find yourself fighting to stay alive and get out of the hood or become another casualty in the hood. Some other notable things that this film brings to light is the black man’s relationship with the police. When Ricky and Tre are pulled over they are harassed with excessive force by two policemen. One being white and another being black. They pull them over as potential suspects to another crime going on in the neighborhood. At one point , the black police officer points a gun at Tre’s neck and Tre tries to remain calm. We can see the tension and scared look of Tre later on when he goes back to Brandi's house. Tre later crying after that incident showed the frustration between black men and the police that has been a  very common problem in America still present day .Violence as well seen throughout this film and the amount of guns that were carried by some characters in the film. Also, the family dynamics depicted as well. No one in the film came from a two parent household together. Doughboy and Ricky both had different fathers by the same mom. Tre had divorced parents and in the film it only showed Brandi’s mom. So, I feel that this is another notable thing that the family makeup during this time and even still now is a huge majority of single parents. Single parenting doesn't mean that you automatically become a bad kid with a doomed future. It depends on how that particular parent raises you and what you choose to do with your life despite your individual circumstance.