Speaking of the film’s legacy, Singleton states: “It’s really of its time but it’s also timeless because the conditions and things that people are going through still exist,” the director comments, elaborating, “Whether that’s those in urban environments living under a police state, prevalent black-on-black crime, or the nihilistic view of the world that young people have when they don’t see anything else”. Unfortunately, much of what is explored in the film remains equally pertinent in modern-day society, particularly evident following the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged in 2012 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. Though, the characters of Singleton’s film, and indeed the lives of many black individuals across the USA, are caught within a systemic web of oppression and prejudice, causing violence, fear and in-fighting. The themes and issues of Boyz n the Hood can be reduced into Fishburne’s gripping two-minute speech which goes onto question the reason for drugs, guns and violence in the future, concluding his monologue by saying “you have to think young brother, about your future”. Then they move the people out, raise the value and sell it at a profit”.
It’s what happens when the property value of a certain area is brought down,” he explains. Dissecting questions of race, class and violence, it is remarkable how relevant John Singleton’s groundbreaking script remains, typified by one scene in which Laurence Fishburne, father of Cuba Gooding Jr’s Tre Styles, lectures a group of people on the effects of gentrification in their local community. and Chestnut) living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, weighing up their future prospects as they avoid the troubles that are inflating around them. If Ice Cube was walking with Dre that day, they would've killed him instead of Ricky.Putting actors Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, and Nia Long on the cultural map, Singleton’s film follows the lives of three males (Ice Cube, Gooding Jr. Unfortunately, Ferris and his gang takes things too personal and will kill anybody who back talks at them. Ice Cube interfered showing his guns as a warning to back away from Ricky. Why did they kill Ricky in Boyz N the Hood? The film tells the tale of a young black man Tre, who is raised in a tough California neighborhood in the mid-eighties through early nineties. John Singleton's 1991 directorial debut is the progenitor for a decade of films that would be defined as “ hood films”.
It's 5918 Cimarron Street, between 59th and 60th Streets.īoyz n the Hood is the archetypal hood film. Similarly, what street was Boyz N the Hood shot on? The home of Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) and his son Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr) is a couple of miles to the north in Park Mesa Heights. Doughboy and his crew are based on the Rollin 60s Crips street gang, while Ferris and his crew are based on the Crenshaw Mafia Bloods street gang. Ice Cube owns the gold Chevrolet Impala that his character drives in the movie. Thereof, what is Boyz N the Hood based on?įilm debuts of Regina King and Ice Cube. There are themes related to the overarching society beyond the ' hood too. There is a theme of the importance of responsibility, self-sufficiency, and restraint. Along with the main theme of the dangers of growing up in a poor, violent neighborhood, John Singleton explores several other themes in the film.