Analysis Of The Main Themes In “Boyz N The Hood” By David Broodryk
We live in a world today where very often your environment plays the largest role on your life. When we look at Boyz n the Hood we can see how this belief of being a product of your circumstances can so often be true. This film highlights many topics however this essay will focus on a few themes that fit under the same umbrella of identity, in this case that identity can be termed also as black masculinity. Stereotyping, racism, identity and gender roles will be identified and discussed based on the film Boyz n the Hood. One of the main factors that makes this film so relevant is that the issues it brings to light are topics that continue with time. When the movie is set has no effect on how the message can still be brought across and identified with by individuals. Another factor that aids its permanent relevance is that its themes are not subjective they are mostly worldly known scenarios that are just emphasised in this more concentrated context. The director did a brilliant job at making sure that viewers do not feel alienated because they cannot relate directly to the content rather its themes can be seen in many people’s lives, he decided however that this would be the way to portray the topics best and would be a true representation of what is happening in certain areas with certain people. When watching the film viewers can be taken in by the surface action that includes violence, partying and sexual interactions but the greater themes are the ones that constantly underline the storyline this the philosophical analyses of John Singletons “Boyz n the Hood” by David Broodryk.
A theme that we see right from the start that links well with black masculinity would be the sense of ‘becoming’ that these young men experience. This almost forced sense of becoming inhibits these young men from following the due process of growing up and testing the waters around you as their choices yield life threating results and they are not given the time our support to properly process their feelings and individuality. Rather many of them experience a sink or swim scenario due to the environment they find themselves caught up in, they are met with some internal conflict as some decide to engage in their surroundings becoming a stereotype while others fight the looming title of being another number without becoming an outcast. They see becoming a man as a solution to things that they will still experience as men. It is worth noting that their idea of manhood and being a man is to a large extent tainted because of the environmental examples set for them. When we look at becoming and how these young men could use proper fatherly role models it is common knowledge that statistically African Americans suffer the most with single mother homes and we can see that this skews their reality of manhood and deviates from what should be considered acceptable as the norm. This is also where we see the “Tre’s” father trying to show him a different definition of what it means to be a real man and that it comes with responsibility and not just authority. As they become men in the film they realise that small decisions they made without proper guidance as children now yield large results in terms of what they are able to become and what they involve themselves with. We see how some of them become the stereotypes and fall prey to being a product of circumstance or imposed societal direction but how others with proper guidance can take a different root but don’t fully remove themselves from the stereotypical actions and scenarios like gang shootings.
“Future” correlates well with “becoming” as these individuals want better lives it isn’t a secret among them that most of them want to get out of the hood. The reality is that few of them are given the opportunity to branch out the others try to raise the quality of their future by fully embracing their current circumstance in order to minimally or materialistically improve it. They are thus accepting their minimal opportunities and functioning on more of a survival basis. When we look at this it is easy to state that these young men made their own choices but to be objective their choices are most often limited and they are playing life with an already stacked deck of cards. This is not to say that their future is predetermined but we could say that it is definitely pushed in a certain direction. There is a scene where “Furious Styles” mentions how there is a bottle store on every corner in the hood but not in white suburban areas and he carries on to state that this is in order to keep the black community down which supported the argument of societal direction. The characters worldview is something that effects their mentality overall, often in poorer areas we see how the peoples mentality is shaped so strictly and they are in fact limiting themselves by not seeing further and although we then come back to the fact that some of them can see further but rather embrace their surroundings instead of giving themselves false hope of a different future because things have been the way they are for years and they don’t believe it will easily change in their lives. We can see moments of humanity and hope in between the violence and anger, there is a scene when the characters are still kids and they go for a walk in the streets and the young “Ricky Baker” decides to take the football with them. It is then stolen off the kids by older gangsters after giving the kids a hard time the one sees how important the ball is to the young kid and gives it back to him against his friend’s orders. This opens up a new topic as we see that kindness is almost looked down on, the people are surrounded by violence and anger, kind deeds have become a surreal occasion. This shows us that the humanity is still there no matter what the situation. In an environment when everyone is fighting to gain something to hold onto we can see that not often good examples are set. Kindness has become almost a deviant behaviour becomes of the constant underlining anger suppressed within many young people in the hood for many reasons. A feeling of constant frustration is felt as we can see the characters fall in to the same roles they once tried to get away from and they realise they are in the vicious cycle but can do so little to get out of it then are also angry at the world for not trying to help this class of people more and instead just accepting their living standards or fate without intervention as it plays no major role in the lives of the middle to upper class white citizens that are not subjected to the hoods everyday norms that would make the news if it was in a richer or whiter area.
Stereotypes that we notice are gang violence as these young men simply try to find purpose. We also see the already mentioned single father homes in the black community being a detrimental factor to individuals growth and actions. Drug and alcohol abuse have also become a hood problem as people attempt to numb their reality. A stereotype that can be overlooked is how the one friend “Ricky” that does get an opportunity to grow and leave the hood for a better future is given this opportunity for sport as a black athlete this is also for filling a stereotype that young black men can perform athletically but not easily academically in the US schooling system. Gang relation becomes a way for these young men to find some form of purpose and belonging they are able to express their frustrations about their lives we can see this when Ricky is shot down the stereotype of black on black violence is engaged instead of trying to uplift the community over the long term they vent their anger towards each other with minimal reason. There is so much frustration about being stuck in the hood and how these individuals feel that they are limited by the small but broken world around them.
To approach this essay’s main theme of identity we will incorporate many aspects and address the topic of black masculinity that is brought up throughout the film. There seems to be a very toxic depiction of what black masculinity has become in the hood. As it is now perceived as the ability to attract women and engage in violence or have higher stature due to material possessions such as new cars, outfits and weapons. We can see that the characters in the film are aware of the negative way they young men in the community are being raised when Tres mother asks Furious to take Tre and raise him to be a proper man. Throughout various scenes in the film, Furious Styles imparts his knowledge of his experience as a black man, as well as deterring him from partaking in the lifestyle some of his friends have chosen. Furious Styles is a strong presence in Tre’s life and is always available to hand out advice on everything from women to how to cope with being a black man in America. This sense of fatherhood is not a general depiction of the experiences of other man young as many do not have fathers around or their fathers example is negative. We can see how important the influence of having a stable father is on black masculinity as Tre begins to act different and think deeper than his friends his worldview has been extended by the influence of his father and it has changed his goals and life direction substantially. There is a scene where Tre breaks down after a shooting that occurred because he comes to terms that he no longer wants to be part of this life and he doesn’t identify with it anymore. He has accepted the fact that this way of life is not normal and this internal conflict between his environment and internal values now clash and become a tipping point. Internal Identity conflict is a leading theme when we look at Tre because the values that his father has instilled in him have helped him to now see a broader picture however this true sense of becoming a man conflicts with the black masculinity he is surrounded by and it almost alienates him because he is now different in mind which makes him different in actions. On the surface we can see how he attempts to reconcile a connection with his friend’s values and goals by having a certain image but they all know he is different and destined for something else. When he seeks revenge for the murder of Ricky we can again see how he wants to fully engage in the toxic black masculinity he has been taught to stay away from. He takes furious’ gun and starts to behave impulsively but great depiction again of the need for fatherhood is how furious calms him down and gets the gun away from him in order to deny him the act of becoming another violent black man.
When Tre decides to join Doughboy, Monster, and Dooky in their hunt for vengeance in light of Ricky’s murder. After sneaking out of his home, against his father’s wishes, Tre jumps in a car with the crew and has the intent of drawing blood. As the moment of truth approaches, he comes to the conclusion that he’s not built for the gang lifestyle and asks to be let out of the car, a decision that may have very well saved his life. This again highlights the importance of a good fatherly figure as Tre gives in to what he has been taught is right and wrong and how by engaging in the things around you mindlessly will simply make you another statistic.
A representation of fatherhood that is often overlooked is the situation with Ricky how he has not yet secured a solid job or bursary yet having children with his girlfriend is seen as a norm. Many people will not want to analyse his character choice in having children due to his sad death but it was his choice to have kids and he has now left his girlfriend with the children on his own after passing away. The passing is not necessarily his fault however by brining life into the hood he knew what they would experience without have a stable family setting, this is again why we see lack of fatherly guidance causing young men to make poor fatherhood decisions in the future that enables the vicious cycle of fatherless homes and broken children stuck in the hood. The film’s biggest takeaway for the message of responsibility suggests that men are in greatest need of taking on the duties. Singleton's film argues that there has to be a better way to live, and people killing one another is only a way to provoke and further enrage the situation that is already a problem. Taking away more men, more fathers at alarming rates through violence causes an implosion of the community. Whether these fathers are absent by choice or by circumstance, they contribute to the problem. The film shows us a lifestyle in which black men are regularly killing one another “one out of every twenty-one die by homicide” according to the opening titles, most of these at the hands of another black man. This rips more fathers out of their children’s lives, including ones like Ricky who likely would have grown up to be a constant and powerful presence in his child’s life, the way Furious is for Tre. Instead, he is murdered in an alley simply because someone didn’t like the way he talked.
Throughout this essay I showed how having a father figure or a person for guidance can lead a child or young man down the right path. As well to show how children of different races and classes must adapt to their environment for survival differently. Some children must grow up and mature more quickly then other children their age. Also, I attempted to depict how three friends can be really close yet all have different goals and futures planned for them, if it be a professional football player and father, a gang member, or a happily married man. These three friends Tre, Darren (Doughboy) and Ricky came from the same race and class, yet have had different responsibilities and advice that has helped them turn into the man they are at the end of the film. This is all because of the way they decide to identify themselves and the guidance they received while growing up they all engaged in the topic of black masculinity differently and we can see how their outcomes differ at the end of the film. With the last resonating outcome being that the one individual who came from a home where his father was there to guide him turned out the best.
