
By Myah Hicks
Nearly 35 years ago, “Boyz N The Hood” chronicled how Black families have to deal with unsafe neighborhoods plagued with gang violence. Many in these communities try to find a way out. This movie remains powerful because the actors portray what it’s like growing up Black while trying to escape gun violence and survive in a violent neighborhood. The themes remain relevant as teenagers and young adults try to make a life for themselves. The movie teaches many valuable lessons on growing up and how to value your life.
When I first watched this film, I was too young to understand the message this film was conveying about gang violence, being a young black person and witnessing a death of a friend. I hadn’t yet thought about my life’s meaning. Living in Baltimore County from a young age, I rarely saw cops, even though there was a police station a couple blocks away from my house. However, there were plenty of cops when I went downtown to Baltimore City where my family’s old house was in Howard Park. One difference between the county and the city is the level of crime. In the city, everyone knew one another, everyone hung out, but once gang activity came along, many people receeded to their homes and became less visable.
Some of these themes arise in “Boyz in the Hood,” a movie I wanted to rewatch as an adult. Released in the summer of 1991, the film follows Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr), who moves in with his dad (Laurence Fishburne). Many people in Tre’s life are trying to teach him lessons. His dad is teaching him about life and his girlfreind, Brandi (Nia Long), wants him to know about faith. Tre has two friends who are brothers and are taking different paths. Ricky (Morris Chestnut) wants to get out of the hood and pursue football; Doughboy (Ice Cube) is gang driven, leading to a tragic ending. The film was a career launcher for Cuba Gooding Jr. Fishburne and Angela Basset, who plays Reva Styles, worked together in this movie as well as two years later in “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”
“Boys N the Hood” represents what it’s like growing up in the early 1990s in a Black household and in a black neighborhood surrounded by gang violence. Many families have ups and downs, such as with Doughboy and his mom arguing all the time. Most of her attention is on Ricky and his football career. Toward the end of the movie, you can see where favoritism in a Black household is shown when tragedy hits.
Writer/Director John Singleton’s films speak volumes culturally to Black families in part because of his background — he grew up in Los Angeles and writes about what he knows and has experienced. His films, also including “Poetic Justice” and “Higher Learning,” show what it’s like growing up in a Black family. He tackles gender dynamics and other family and community issues.
I watched “Boys N the Hood” to get a feel for what it was like dealing with racism in an all-Black community. I wanted to learn more about how Black films are relatable to someone like me and to see how some friends do not necessarily do bad things but wind up down the wrong path because of where they live. It’s somewhat as if you either have two choices where you can try and make it out of the hood like Ricky or wind up like his brother Doughboy. Many my age would learn by watching this movie the history of how life was like growing up in the early 90’s and how one’s life can either change for the better or worse depending on the influence of your friends, family and community.
Once Doughboy gets wrapped up in gang violence, Ricky’s football dreams are cut short. This movie is successful in portraying the tough life choices many in the Black community face amid violence. In the film, Tre has to figure out what he wants to make of himself. He has friends who decide to take divergent paths, and he is at a crossroads.
While some scenes may seem dated, others still resonate, such as those where the characters deal with wrongful searches and other encounters with police. You can feel the tension with Tre and Ricky once they’re stopped. They don’t try to “act hard,” and they have to do what the cops say or if they don’t, the move would take a turn. The scene where Tre and Ricky are walking from the store and are stopped by the cops is one of the scenes where cops will stop and search as if you did something wrong. They didn’t do anything wrong, and they paid for the drinks they bought, but because they are two Black teens walking in the dark, they were frisked. Many Black Americans can relate to that scene.
Another memorable scene is when Tre, Doughboy and Ricky are at a welcome home block party and when a disagreement occurred, shots are fired in the air between Doughboy and another gang member, making the people attending the welcome home party run and scream. At the end of the movie, you see Doughboy pour out his beer. That scene alone is a way of paying respects to those he lost. This scene illustrates how in the black culture when you pour out liquor it’s “for the homies” who have passed away.
The film’s soundtrack is also memorable. Songs like “Growin’ Up in the Hood” and “Hangin’ Out” depict common experiences for people in the Black community, such as playing dominoes, hanging out at block parties and going to the liquor store.
Much has changed since 1991, but racism, gangs and violence/crime still remain, which makes this film remain relevant. People can get access to guns and a bullet has no name on it. Communities can come along to help and stop the violence, but it’s difficult to do. “Boys N The Hood” depicts all of this, and it has held up over time.