Research Paper On Boyz N The Hood

The movie I chose to watch was Boyz n the Hood, written and directed by John Singleton. Some of the main actors in the film include Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne and O‘Shea “Ice Cube“ Jackson. The director and a huge majority of the cast are African Americans, which is a minority group in most countries on earth.

Boyz n the Hood has been on my “to-watch“ list for quite some time now, but I never got around to watch it. I knew that the plot of the movie involved black characters dealing with the struggle that most black people living in the ghetto neighborhoods of Los Angeles have to go through. Such as racism, police brutality, robbery, same race violence and peer pressure. I am a big fan of 90‘s West Coast Hip Hop, Ice Cube being one of my favorite rappers. After I watched the movie Straight Outta Compton a friend of mine recommended this movie to me.

In the beginning of the film, we follow the main character as a ten-year-old boy called Tre. He lives with his single mother who puts a big emphasis on discipline in raising him. His mother sends him to his father to learn how to become a man. His father think‘s it‘s very important for Tre to learn the difference between right and wrong. The neighborhood they live in is very dangerous, full

of gang violence, drug abuse and, robbery. As Tre get‘s older his friends start drinking, selling and smoking drugs, and committing other crimes. He constantly has to avoid dangerous gang members that might shoot him up.
One night, when Tre was 10 years old, a burglar broke into his father‘s house.

His father shot at the burglar three times but missed. The police showed up but they didn‘t even bother making a report. They talked to Tre‘s father in a racist manner and even called him the n-word. The most shocking fact is that the cop was actually black himself. That really shows you that it‘s not only white cops that cause problems for the black minority. Later on in Tre‘s life, he encounters the same cop again. The policeman stops Tre‘s car and orders him to get out of the vehicle. As the cop is searching Tre for drugs/weapons he pulls out a gun and pushes it into Tre‘s neck. He says some very atrocious things about Tre to make him

sob.
Another night, when Tre was hanging out with his crew, some gang walked by and created drama between them. To make a long story short, the other gang started firing a submachine gun into the air, terrorizing the whole neighborhood. A few days later the other gang shot, and killed one of Tre‘s friends. It was incredibly devastating for him and he had to make the decision to get revenge by killing a fellow black man or to forgive and move on. He eventually decided to do nothing and move on.
The movie teaches you that black people aren‘t only harassed by whites but also by other black communities. You realize that the poverty in these ghetto districts is a big problem in America and they need attention and solutions. The government in the USA should focus on solving their own problems before they start sending troops to other countries to “help“.
All the black characters are treated like criminals even though they might be athletes that have a chance to get a scholarship for college, students with top grades in their classes or just generally kind and not involved with crime at all. They get stopped on the street for doing nothing. We need to educate everyone to not judge people based on stereotypes and accept everyone into the community. The problem isn‘t just white people discriminating black people. It‘s also black people prejudicing their fellow black people based on the place they live, their age, or the clothes they wear.
The film might not be based on a true story, but it is certainly based on true events. The things that heppen in the movie have and do happen every day in real life. There are a few movies that have a similar meaning, like Straight Outta Compton (2015), Menace II Society (1993), and Hustle & Flow (2005).

I can relate to this movie in a few ways. The characters are 17-19 years old in the movie and have to face some similar decisions as I do. Things like being offered alcohol and drugs, prioritizing school, sports, and friends and other similar things that matter in a teenager‘s life.
This movie has taught me a bunch of things. I wasn‘t as aware of the war that was going on in the streets between gangs that are the same race. I also didn‘t know that black cops hated other black people so much.
I had fun watching the movie from a different perspective than I usually watch movies. In the future, I will definitely think about these diversity issues more often while watching movies that touch on the subject. Personally, I don‘t care whether the characters in movies are black, white, female, male or anything.

I loved the movie from beginning to end. The directing was fantastic (even though it was his first movie) and all the main actors were fine. The movie took you on a “feel trip“ and I wouldn‘t be surprised if a lot of people have cried while watching the film. This movie is the ultimate ghetto film, it truly takes you into the lives of the people in South Central Los Angeles. I give it a solid 8.5/10.