Boyz N The Hood Styles

Development, a word that defines how drastically the world has changed in the past century. Cities and countries around the world are booming with economic prosperity and opportunities that it is often hard to see the negativity of development. However, often what is overlooked is the minority who suffer at the expense of the same development that appeases the majority. In order for the majority to enjoy this new world, many have been displaced and have lost their livelihood, and are subsequently forced into dilemmas that there are only two choices for: do whatever you can to survive, or die trying. By examining the film, Boyz n The Hood by John Singleton, it is evident that policies of development and displacement perpetuated by governments

in areas such as South Central Los Angeles led to an increase in crime, poverty and lack of opportunities for those living in urbanized areas.

Boyz n The Hood is a critically acclaimed movie that has received praise for its accurate depiction of growing up in crime ridden neighbourhoods (Maslin, 1991).

The movie revolves around Tre Styles, a young African American male growing up in the Crenshaw neighbourhood of South Central LA. The movie depicts Tre as an intelligent, young man who is guided by his father, Furious, who strongly encourages Tre to avoid falling victim to the violence that surrounds them. Tre’s friends involve Ricky, a high school football star looking to get into college and avoid the gang banging life while his half-brother, Doughboy, is a gangbanger for the Crips. Tensions rise and rise until finally members of the Bloods, a rival gang, shoot and kill Ricky. Tre and Doughboy swear to avenge Ricky, and Tre almost succumbs to a life of crime until he remembers his father’s words and turns back. Doughboy however, finds the Blood members responsible and shoots them dead, which results in him being murdered two weeks later. While this movie does not explicitly show how development in the area resulted to crime ridden neighbourhoods, it shows the devastating effects and how much of the youth there, as much as they try to avoid crime and gangbanging, end up falling victim to it anyways, like Ricky. As depicted in the movie, growing up around violence led Doughboy and his friends to become violent as it was the only way to survive (1991). This is how Boyz n The Hood displays the effects development has

on marginalized groups through crime, poverty and lack of opportunities.

It is remarkable just how much involvement the government played in shaping the area known as South Central Los Angeles. Following WWII, US governments used terrible practices such as redlining and block-busting to keep areas with large African American populations impoverished (Bouie, 2014). African Americans that migrated to South Central not only had to deal with constant threats of violence from the White population, but were also subject to inflated costs by realtors and public housing projects that not only concentrated poverty but subjected them to the poor education and public services in those areas. (Wiggins, 2016) As well, many have suggested that the CIA was responsible for the introduction of crack cocaine into predominantly black neighbourhoods, which led to a substantial increase in drug use, crime and gang activity (Grim, 2014). In the film, Furious refers to this, remarking that, “Well, how you think the crack rock gets into the country? We don't own any planes. We don't own no ships” (1991). The circumstances regarding the creation of the “ghettos” is not one that only America is at fault for. Many countries place importance on certain groups of people and disregard others. This was seen in China during the creation of the Three Gorges Dam, an engineering marvel that has provided benefits to millions of Chinese residents. However, what is often overlooked is the millions of villagers that were displaced into terrible conditions, or stayed and lost their livelihoods (2008). Likewise, in India during the creation of the Sardar Sarovar dam, many villagers lost their homes and their way of living (2002). Michael Dyson describes the film as a

“plausible perspective on how people make the choices they do-and on how choice itself is not a property of autonomous moral agents acting in an existential vacuum, but rather something that is created and exercised within the interaction of social, psychic, political, and economic forces of everyday experience.” (Dyson, 1992)
The systemic racism enforced by the United States government indicated that they were motivated to develop where it benefited the white population and thus, led to the displacement and discrimination of the black population, who were in turn, forced to reside in segregated areas that were prone to crime, poverty, and lack of growth and opportunities.

As it is well known, Boyz n The Hood was a blockbuster success, but many may wonder how accurate of a depiction the movie really provided. For one, it starred famous rapper Ice Cube, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles and has been cited as one of the founding fathers of rap music. He himself reflected, “Damn, they’re actually going to make a movie about how we grew up. I didn’t know how we grew up was even interesting enough to be a movie.” (Kashner, 2016) Nia Long, the actress who played Brandi, reflected on the realities of South Central as well as she was also born and raised there. Long states how the film is a reflection of her life and how, “even though it’s a world of less—a world of drugs, violence, poverty—it was still (her) world.” (Kashner, 2016) Indeed, the film opens a window into life in South Central that those who are not familiar with could not understand, but sympathize with. For those who did grow up there, it showcases a reality that was rarely talked about or shown on the big screens. The film itself provides an emotional insight into life in South Central Los Angeles. Particularly the scene where Ricky is murdered, the film shows how in an instant, things can change forever and make a person question their morals, like what occurs with Tre (1991). It shows the devastating effects his murder has on the community and the violence and rage that is so pervasive in the streets. This scene and the subsequent ones have a lasting impact on the viewer that words alone cannot describe. The film also does a great job on showing the two different outcomes at the end. The first is the expected murder of Doughboy and the second, the optimistic realization that Tre and his girlfriend, Brandi, are able to move out of the hood and pursue college degrees in Georgia (1991). It shows that not every person who is born in the hood is destined for jail or death, but rather some can escape the vicious cycle that threatens them. Overall, it displays an accurate portrayal of the trials and tribulations faced when growing up in the hood and the aftermath of development and displacement.

Boyz n The Hood depicted a troubling but accurate picture of how government enforced development and displacement led to crime, poverty and lack of opportunities to those living in South Central Los Angeles. Motivated by racist agendas, the government aided in the displacement of African Americans after WWII by moving them into racially segregated areas that were impoverished and lacked access to opportunities and success. (Wiggins, 2016) The ‘War on Drugs’ administered by the Nixon administration placed thousands of young African Americans in jail and aided in the insertion of crack cocaine into their communities which caused the crime and gang activities to rise exponentially (Grim, 2014). Through these examples, it is evident that the government placed importance on the development of the white population more than it did for the development of the black population. Boyz n The Hood shows the dangers of discriminating against a population and the devastating effects that occur when opportunities and infrastructure to aid in growth are taken away and drugs and crime take their place. While the film focuses on South Central Los Angeles, the viewer cannot forget that these atrocities occur everywhere and affect countless people, regardless of age, race, or gender. As seen with other instances such as the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and Sardar Sarovar Dam in China and India respectively, certain groups are always marginalized in the process of benefitting others.