Boyz N The Hood

                                                       Boyz N The Hood - 25 years later

            Boyz N The Hood was the track that initially introduces Eazy E and N.W.A to the world, A song written by Ice Cube. The song was a reflection of South Central, the home of Ice Cube. For a U.S.C student who was also from South Central this would be the title of his debut movie. As a kid John Singleton wanting to write a movie for him and his friends could relate to, based on where he is from and life as he knew it. Last year we O’Shea Jackson Jr made his acting debut playing his father in the bio pic “Straight Outta Compton. Now it’s time to take a trip back 25 years into the past to revisit his father breakout role and so many other known black actors’ and actresses would have in this movie, “Boyz N The Hood.”

Boyz N The Hood was the ultimate story of the ghetto and still holds up today after 25 years. Just like Hip- Hop the film world share the same experience, starting in New York and fully blossom in the west. Spike Lee is from Brooklyn, New York where he open the door for more film makers and John Singleton is from South Central, California where he completely knock down the door for film makers to tell their story from where they came. I was one and half years old when this movie came out going on two. I was a new born kid at the time of its release so was John Singleton (the director) being his first movie and making it to the big screen. First the movie was played at the Cann film festival in Paris, France which got rave reviews. Once the movie got international reviews over sea’s the American press pick up on it to see what the buzz was all about.

 Boyz N The Hood of course is about three young black men who all come from South Central and trying to make it to the next day only to repeat that format. I’m not going to explain the whole movie because the movie self- explanatory for so many people in the world today and back  then who  can identify with Tre( played by Cuba Gooding Jr), whose mother says you’re going to live with your father and he is going to teach you how to be a man. Then there is Doughboy (played by Ice Cube) and Ricky (played by Morris Chestnut) two brothers with two different fathers. The mother treats one of the son’s with love and more admiration while she looks at the other with fear and conscious of his life. Throughout the movie you can see how each one of these characters live their lives. But it’s the last fifteen minutes were it becomes the most powerful heart weeping with emotions. After the incident Tre has with the police the next day gets even worse with heartfelt tear jerking scenes one after another. It starts with Ricky and Doughboy once they get into a fight with one another, we see the mother attends to Ricky needs a treats Doughboy as stranger. That moment would be the last moment for Ricky, Doughboy and his mother would share together. After Ricky is killed Doughboy would hold his brother in his chest as a new born baby not able to protect him from the world and never wanted anything to happen to him. For Tre he is confused between two lifestyles, the lifestyle of Doughboy and his crew and the lifestyle of his father and valuable lesson that he has taught over the past seven years since he has stayed with him. But in the end Tre chooses the lifestyle of what his father has taught him. But for Doughboy it’s another story, riding to the murderous rhythm of revenge for his brother death. (Kendrick Lamar “Sing about me, I’m dying of thirst could have been played here in this pivotal scene if he was rapper and the same age he is now). We see Tre coming back home where his father stops and stares at him without saying a word. But what about Doughboy how did his mother react to him coming back home with everything that just happen, that has always been on my mind. After everything is all said and done Doughboy and Tre well mostly Doughboy sit down and talk about what happen that night. And for the first time you see Doughboy revile his pain that he had bottle up for so long saying “I ain’t got no brother got no mother neither”, how sad lonely he has always been. In the end we see Doughboy walk back his house and the bottom of the screen shows that he was killed two weeks later and Tre and Brandi both went off to college. This movie shook up Hollywood just as “Do the Right Thing” did two years ago but with Boyz N The Hood there was a deeper understand about what really goes on in the ghettos of America that was so easily to write off and not pay attention. Well you had no choice to but to pay attention to it and so did the Academy Awards, nomination the movie for two Oscars one for best screen play and the other for best picture making John Singleton the youngest to ever get nomination. But in the end John told a story that happens all over the world that people could relate to. Even though Spike Lee is the seed of Black films makers of the 80’s and 90’s , John Singleton is the root that would help other black film makers to tell their story  the way that they wanted to tell it with no doubt or worries . From the Hughes brothers who directed Menace 2 Society and so many others. Boyz N The Hood is the story of dark America which was brought to the fore front for all to see. At the end of the movie beneath the title small letters read a statement which said “Increase the Peace”. And after twenty five years later those words ring out more heavily, with police brutality, brutality among ourselves and the brutality we commit to others who look just like us. After twenty five years later a kid who wanting to make story just for him and his friends could relate to became a relatable story for the world.