Twenty-five years after the Boys n the Hood was released.
Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American teen hood drama film written and directed by John Singleton. After twenty five years of it being released, Boys n the Hood is going to be in the UK cinemas as part of the British Film Institute’s Black star season. Director John Singleton was only 23 when he made this film, it was mainly based on his own personal life and shot on the streets that he grew up on. After the film was released, the first African-American and the youngest person to ever be nominated for the Best Director Oscar was John Singleton. With the way the story of how life in the South Central Los Angeles was portrayed as in the film, it surprised and shocked the whole country with its endless representation and information of the poverty and violence used.
Boyz n the hood is now known as an ‘undisputed classic’ that has put a change on the way stories were told back then on this film, it was for all of cinema not just for the ‘Black movies’.
At the beginning of the film, Tre was living with his mother however as school he gets involved in classroom fights and arguments with other students, breaking a ‘contract’ that he had with his mother to behave himself during school and classroom times. The result of this is that his mother thinks it is about time for Tre’s father (Furious Styles) to help and resume his responsibility for his son and to teach him, John Singleton is clearly trying to say in the film – only a father can.
John Singleton was only 21 years old when he first produced and wrote the script, back then he was pulled from his life growing up in Los Angeles. The main character is called Tre who is played by Cuba Gooding JR, he was sent away to live with his father across the town while his mother attends school and also works. This is the situation John found himself in as a young child so he relates to it. He has stated in some interviews and DVD documentaries. John said in a 2011 interview with MTV “if I can get this in a film, a little bit of what this is, that life on film, then I think I will have something that will have a hard effect on people.” John had to use trucks to block the streets where cameras were rolling and worked under threats of drive-by shooting by an actual local gang due to John trying to do everything for a realistic performance, firing gunshots on set without giving any warning and filming the real violence of the neighbourhood.
The audience witness how violence, racism and the increasing disintegration of the black family in South Central Los Angeles fight against the age of these three black males.
The larger meaning of this film is it shows how the economic structure in America is harmful to the majority of people (especially for black people living in bad conditions). John has said that he is pleased that his film has reached a wider audience than the black community as it “deals with ordinary human conditions, everyone sees a part of themselves in the film”, he believes that character and story are one of the most important aspects of filmmaking. “Never be afraid of your material. The audience should not think they are watching a movie”, he says.
Boyz n the Hood is remembered and known as being the directorial debut of John Singleton, and also for introducing the world to the acting talents of Cuba Gooding and Ice Cube. It is also remembered as a hood movie, a movie based on poverty and focuses mainly on the drug issues of the ghetto. It is critical of mainstream culture’s loss and lack of empathy and the understanding with the plight of the ghettos.
Boyz n the Hood has maturity followed by emotional depth, everything is real and nothing is used just for effect or entertainment. John was inspired and got motivation from Spike Lee in both positive and negative ways. He was motivated by Spike Lee to make and produce films similar to Boyz n the hood. However Spike Lee did not hire him as an assistant for production. John Singleton started writing his own scripts after seeing Spike Lee’s oscar nomination film in theatres and cinemas.
The cast in this film that have taken part in it knew how special and serious it was, however they were not aware of how it would translate culturally and to help people that do not understand their language including subtitles to the cannes audience. There are great reviews about this film, “lights go down, the movie plays out, the movie’s over, lights go up. I look up and people are hanging off balconies trying to get john’s attention to say how great it was”. This shows how proud people are over the film and Johns work.
Caren Lamaa 