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By
THEMIS ATHENA
South Central L.A.: Where
murder rates are five times the nationwide
average, or in absolute figures, double the entire
U.S.'s death rate for breast cancer (L.A. Times,
January 1, 2004.) Where "I'll have my brother
shoot you" isn't just an empty threat, and guns
are passed from one sibling to another when an
older brother goes away to "do time." Where owning
a gun is a means of self-protection even for those
who've always stayed clear of gangs. Where "where
ya' from?" is an inquiry about gang membership,
not geographic origin, and wearing the wrong
colors can cause you to be "hit up;" resulting in
violence, and more violence by way of retaliation.
Where over the past 15 years the LAPD has
accumulated a backlog of 4,400 unsolved homicides
-- roughly 3/4 of the city's total -- because, as
kids learn early, a bullet doesn't come with a
name attached; and those who know the killer
generally stay mum, either fearing reprisal or
preferring to take care of their own, rather than
leave justice to a police and a court system
they've learned to mistrust anyway. And where
crimes like burglary only merit police attention
if something actually was stolen, and are quickly
sidelined upon the officers' summons to another
murder scene.
South Central L.A. is the home of Tre Styles (Cuba
Gooding Jr.) and his friends, "Doughboy" and Ricky
Baker (Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut). We first
meet them at age ten, when Tre's mother (Angela
Bassett) sends him to live with his father Jason,
aka "Furious" (Laurence Fishburne), who seems
better equipped to raise a son in a neighborhood
like this. When we see them again they're
seventeen, Tre and Ricky are about to graduate
from high school, while Doughboy has already
graduated -- from shoplifting to guns and
small-time drug deals. And while Furious guides
Tre towards moral choices, responsibility and
self-respect, Doughboy and Ricky are raised by a
mother who lacks the wherewithal to steer them out
of the ghetto. Yet, Ricky in particular is
naively, fiercely resolved to make it out of
there; with a football scholarship (provided his
SAT scores are high enough) or if that fails, by
joining the army. And in a poignant, spot-on
conclusion it is ultimately Ricky who forces Tre
and Doughboy to choose their own paths in life, to
either be drawn into the ghetto's spiral of
violence, or conquer their inner demons and
extricate themselves from that vicious circle.
Upon this movie's 1991 release, several Los
Angeles cinemas either refused to show it at all
or hired extra security guards: That big, in a
city that had recently seen the Rodney King
beating, was about to be rocked by the Christopher
Commission's scathing indictment of its police
department, and was gearing up to the riots that
would ravage its inner city the following spring,
were fears of the reaction to John Singleton's
partly autobiographical film. Yet, while "Boyz N
the Hood" paints a starkly accurate picture of
inner city life's daily realities, it in no way
encourages violence -- much to the contrary. That
it's told from a profoundly "black" perspective is
a given; and with that come charges that those of
us with a more fortunate childhood often dismiss
as the "chip" on many black people's shoulders
(e.g. the notion that drugs, liquor and guns in
the ghetto are tacitly encouraged by society's
white-dominated ruling circles to keep inner-city
minorities subdued). But while neither such
charges nor their "white" response are the be-all
and end-all of the problem, there is no question
that drugs, alcoholism and guns are major issues
in the 'hood, as are teen pregnancies and
unemployment; and Singleton intelligently weaves
all of these elements into a compelling picture.
Equally well deserved as the praise for Singleton,
who garnered "best director" and "best screenplay"
Oscar nominations and several other distinctions,
are the kudos to the movie's outstanding actors.
Then 23-year-old Cuba Gooding Jr. came practically
out of nowhere to give a fully accomplished,
emphatic portrayal as Tre, caught between the
lessons of ghetto life and those of his father.
(Although this wasn't his first movie, he had
never before appeared in a remotely as prominent
role.) Morris Chestnut's naively determined
football-hero-to-be Ricky is similarly compelling;
and Laurence Fishburne noticeably didn't have to
reach far for his "Furious" Styles: While based on
Singleton's father, the role was created
specifically with him in mind. So, reportedly, was
Ice Cube's Doughboy; and he, too, is a perfect
match, giving the teenage trio's most troubled
member a depth clearly informed by his own South
Central boyhood (although despite his songs'
inflammatory lyrics, he himself stayed clear of
gangs). Angela Bassett finally is the perfect foil
for the movie's male characters, exemplifying a
woman who through hard work gets as far out of the
ghetto as conceivable and unlike her ex-husband
doesn't avoid the moneyed upper crust, but doesn't
forget her origins, either (and is still perfectly
capable of talking tough when challenged).
The movie's last words are Ice Cube's, both spoken
as Doughboy and rapped in "How to Survive in South
Central," underlying the closing credits. "Either
they don't know, don't show or don't care what's
going on [here]," Doughboy comments on a TV
program about exotic faraway places he has seen
shortly after experiencing the kind of violence
that he knows will haunt him forever. And in his
rap song, sarcastically premised on a guided tour
to the "concrete Vietnam" South Central L.A.
("Have you witnessed a drive-by? Okay, make sure
you have your camcorder ready!"), Ice Cube warns:
"Rule number one: get yourself a gun...'cause
jackers...love to start sh*t. Now, if you're white
you can trust the police; but if you're black they
ain't nothin' but beasts...So don't take your life
for granted, 'cause it's the craziest place on the
planet...This is Los Angeles."
There is a plethora of extra features on this
2-disc Anniversary Edition: Included is a
screen-specific audio commentary by Singleton, the
45-minute documentary "Friendly Fire: The Making
of an Urban Legend" (which includes interviews
with the director, cast, reporters and casting
agents), two deleted scenes, two music videos
(Compton Most Wanted's "Growin' Up in the Hood"
and Tevin Campbell's "Just Ask Me To"), cast and
crew filmographies, and eight trailers.
"Boyz N the Hood" was released in 1991. It remains
as topical as ever. |
