Freeman 0

William Freeman
Renea Butler-King
AFAM 4233
January 25, 2016

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Boyz N the Hood Analysis
In the early 1990s rap music had come under a new phase of
production. Originally based and proliferated in New York City, rap
music was leaning toward to the West Coast now for its new
inspiration. Most of the music that came out of California was
something that had all the features of a refreshingly original hip hop
piece. However, instead bringing in the fun loving messages of power
and doing crazy things with your friends, rap on the West started to
take a very blunt instrument to the deaf ear of the consumer. Niggas
with Attitude, or N.W.A was at the forefront of this new Gangsta rap
genre coming out of California. Talking about gang related activity,
shootings, drugs, death all in very serious and realistic matter that
spoke to an area of the US were hip hop was previously neglected. In
that original fervor you have other things surrounding the culture that
became highly publicized or produced to show the people on the
outside what its like in the streets and ghettos of South Central Los
Angeles.
John Singletons Boyz N the Hood was a very honest depiction of
what was going on during the early 90s in Los Angeles. Wounded and
crawling out the aftermath of the Reagan era economic policy, Black
people were seeing it first hand on both sides of the country. Heavy
gun trafficking as well as the smuggling in of free base cocaine (aka
crack) became an epidemic among the black community. Furious

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Styles (played by Larry Fishburne) asks why is there are so many
places to purchase guns in the black neighborhoods but you would
never see that or a liquor store in Beverly Hills. He attributes it to the
deliberate racial subjugation brought on by the owners of the Hood
based establishments. However, instead of stopping the violence
within our own community, what is our easiest option is to sell our
homes for cheap pay offs so that real estate agency can buy up the
property and sell it to others for higher gains.
Furious and Tre Styles seem to be the only two sound minds in
the entire movie. Although a lot of the characters have good ideas or a
square head on their shoulders, they lack a certain drive to sensical
action. Although Tres friend Ricky is doing right by his wife and child,
his lack of education or book smarts becomes an issue for his future.
Furious ex-wife and Tres mother, Reva has brains, is employed and
seeking for education in the realm of a masters degree. However, as
we see from the on set of the film, Reva doesnt have the necessary
means to teach her young son the fundamental values of being a
quality black man. This is somewhat of a touchy subject about the
black women lacking since the single black female has been the
keystone of the family unit in the contemporary age. Even with that
being a very real truth, race aside there are things that only men can
teach men, and things only women can teach women. My life is
different from mothers life and although I was also raised in a single

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parent household, I had my brothers as an influence as well as the
continued visits with my father like Tre initially had before the custody
exchange was made. I believe the role of a stable family unit, which
was also touched on New Jack City, is vital to the improvement of the
black community. It relieves stress on parents to constantly watch their
children, financial necessity is less of a bother and getting a dual
perspective on a subject or matter going on in ones young life from
two guardians is always more helpful than one.
Bullets aint got no names is a very powerful statement made in
the beginning of the movie and is very true with the numerous
accidental killings of bystanders and neighborhood murders and driveby shooting. Rickys murder by the rival clique in the climax of the film
echoes the truth about the violence going on. Although we cannot
condone their actions, Doughboy and his group were settling a score.
They had lost a brother in the struggle in the streets. Showing that
brotherly connection necessary for survival, they went out on the
street and shot down the agressors for Ricky. But, this even does not
help anyone. The violence John Singleton shows is just one the ideas
that he wants people to understand are important to better ourselves
as black people. Dont be apart of gang violence, dont use drugs,
always protect yourself when having sex, be mindful of your location
and dont let no one take what you received yourself through hard
work.

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