For you, Rachel and Ruth! (Class post)

In today's blog, I'm going to recap and draw in some interesting concepts I took from the movie, Boyz N The Hood. First, it was a great movie, a real depiction of what life in 1984's South Central LA was like for a group of under-privilege African Americans. It takes the social issues of under-class, poorly educated, driven to violence, and, as hard as it is to say, fatherless children and how they view life on the street and the life they live as teenagers. The main characters follow a few different paths, two of which who are seen as the protagonists, had more positive paths than the others.

This film was easy to watch as a kid, lacking certain critical thinking skills I would later develop in high school and throughout my life as an adult, but I found it much more difficult to swallow this week.

At the beginning of the film, the statistic, "One out of every 21 black males will be murdered before he is 25 -- most will die at the hands of other black men" reveals what you are about to watch as an "as honest" story and really draws out a dark picture for the viewers. Many of the critics of this film, as cited in America on Film (p. 94) view this film, and others like it, as "Neo-blaxploitation" for the 1990's. Blaxploitation is defined in cinema as an exploit of the urban and black communities, originating as early as the 1970's, and often with soul and funk music soundtracks which were appealing to the audience the films were made for. When I hear that definition, I remember the clothing brand, FUBU, which brought some attention on from media and other critics of Urban culture as standing for, "For Us, By Us". While I'm not sure if that was specifically what the acronym meant, I didn't wear the brand because I didn't fit the attitude, or however the media put it at the time. Anyways, my point is that to me, FUBU is a type of blaxploitation non-media, because it was designed for a culture and was given that same attention. What "NEO" means, is new, so the neo-blaxploitation in that statement is basically true. The music, as well, is in large majority Gangster Rap. Ice Cube made a sizable profit from his album, the soundtrack, and possibly still does. The same genre title sticks to films like: American Me, Mi Familia, Blood In Blood Out, Menace II Society, and many others.



Boyz N The Hood also has a quick image of the "White Messiah" in the school teacher. Who better to teach these young, black kids about the world than a White Woman? During the scene where they are showing the children in class, they are studying the origins of Thanksgiving and the arrival of the Pilgrims. While I could go into great lengths of rhetoric about education and how one-sided it is, it shows that even in this film, the White Messiah has to be the one to teach these children, as it is she who is educated.

You also get a sense that products of bad parenting, namely the father of the child, can lead to violence, drugs, and crime. You see young Trey, who has a mother pushing for a Master's Degree, live with his father who is actually an anti-racist and gives a message about how white society has pinned the African American community into a corner filled with guns and liquor stores on every corner, and generally educated him in a very philosophical manner. Ricky, the young football champ and College-bound kid, is also the brother of Doughboy, however, they have different fathers. It becomes apparent that Ricky is the favored child, and possibly because of his father. Maybe one father was better than the other and that lead to the differential treatment in the two by the mother? One can only speculate, but it does play into the stereotype of fatherless children growing up to be the bad kids.



In nearly every scene with Doughboy, he is seen holding a 40 oz. Now, I get it, that's funny. The whole "pour one for my homies" is shown at the end when he dumps out the rest of his beverage onto the lawn in honor of his fallen brother (sorry for ruining the ending, if you haven't already seen the movie), and some viewers may see that as a form of respect. The fact that he does have a 40 in his hands tells a story of a man who likes to drink. He also carries a gun. Back to what Furious Styles said about how on every corner of their neighborhoods, stores that carry those items are the norm. Was this a way of the film writers proving their own point? Gentrification, when property is bought at low value buy wealthier people in order to raise income levels and rent prices to consequently evict low-income families (speculation, perhaps?), appears to be a problem in the film, though briefly addressed, which is also a common occurrence in today's neighborhoods. For those that live in Seattle, Tukwila/Renton is a prime example in which retail locations are built up, residential neighborhoods are purchased and turned into "Wal-Mart"s, and low-income families that used to live there are forced to move. Perhaps to Tacoma? Not being a Washington native, I hear that Tacoma is the new Renton. I'm going to assume the same happens as depicted, as I've never been to South Central LA, and was born in the year 1984.



Let's not forget the language used in this film! If you have a young child who is still developing a vocabulary and image of the world, this is not a movie you should allow them to watch! Women, often, are referred to as "bitches and hoes". Comedy, right? That's funny, right? Really? Call your mother that then, if it's so funny. I mean, how much more demeaning can you be? I understand, this is an honest portrayal of life in that time and in that place, but shouldn't these types of things be used as a learning opportunity? I blame education, oppression, and myself for not doing enough to get our world to that point where we should be. I really do!

Finally, and in closing, the protagonist, the good kid, well one of them, is gunned down while trying to run away from confrontation. The gay guys also die in the end in most Hollywood films. So, if you're a good kid in the ghetto, living a hard life and surrounded by violence and drugs and violence, these are the consequences? If you're gay in a movie, you're going to suffer as well? Movies about struggle need more happy endings, in general. The day I see a gay Disney Movie, I will have my own happily ever after.