Response to Boyz N the Hood

Amad Elia CIN 303 Response to Boyz N the Hood and Review by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times

The more times I viewed this film, the more I became captivated by the poignant message Singleton is trying to convey in Boyz N the Hood. The poignant message is the impact that a father has on a young urban African American individual living in the ghetto and subsequently the impact of being fatherless in the ghetto.

In fact Boyz N the Hood includes, among many social topics, a father's essential role in his son's healthy development and the disastrous effects a father's absence has on children and society. For instance, the main character, Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), has a father who strongly influences and guides him. His father's involvement in his life allows Tre to learn about responsibility, dedication and morality. As a result, Tre avoids the social problems that pervade his South Central Los Angeles neighborhood, such as selling drugs, gang involvement, addiction, and violence.

Additionally, Tre's father Furious Style (Laurence Fishburn) teaches Tre to respect life and avoid violence (Another message of Singelton's conveyed through Furious Style's character). One scene that illustrates this, is when Tre is young, his father shoots at a burglar who attempts to rob their house. The burglar escapes unharmed, and Tre says "You should have blown [the robber's head off]." Tre's father responds by saying "Don't say that. Just would have been contributing to killing another brother."

Another scene that illustrates this (Singleton's message of respecting life and avoiding violence conveyed through Tre's character), is towards the end of the film when Tre initially accompanies Doughboy (Ice Cube) and his friends to avenge Rickey's (Morris Chestnut) death, but at the last second, he asks out of the car. Although extremely saddened and angered over the loss of his best friend, he does not want to take part in violence. With his father's guidance, Tre realizes that killing the gang members responsible for Rickey's death will not solve anything. Violence will not bring Rickey back, and it will just result in more bloodshed.

Furthermore, Boyz N the Hood also offers an honest and realistic portrayal of a father's absence in urban America. This is best exemplified by Tre's boyhood friends, who lack a strong fatherly influence, end up involved in gang violence, selling drugs, and other societal traps. More specifically, a close friend, Doughboy, lacks a father in his life. And although Doughboy's mother ties to lead him in the right direction, she favors Doughboy's brother Ricky over him, and Doughboy ends up spending time in prison and dealing drugs. Doughboy experiences gang-related violence first-hand and ultimately becomes a neighborhood victim. Without a strong father figure, Doughboy never valued responsibility, dedication,