Review of Boyz n the Hood (1991) by Andrew B — 08 Dec 2015
In the midst of the up and coming west coast "gangsta" rap music phenomenon that was about to sweep across America is popularity, Boyz in the Hood takes you to the place that these songs are written about.
All people from the suburbs know of South Central LA is what NWA and Snoop Dogg have told you about it in their albums. Sounds kind of grimy and rugged, but in a cool and tough guy sort of way, right? John Singleton takes that thought that is bobbing in your head and puts a bullet right through it.
This is a devastating look at what most young men in the Los Angeles ghetto have to deal with on a daily basis. Just walking from a picnic down the street to your house, not even a block away you have to worry about someone driving by and opening up fire on you.
Not just a couple random shots from a handgun, but from an automatic military rifle, because of course you did something for them to cause this behavior, right? Wrong again, they are shooting at you and trying to end your life because you may be wearing the wrong colors or maybe they just don't like your neighborhood for some unknown reason.
What Singleton does with this movie is great, because up until Boyz in the Hood gang violence was glorified in music. There is no glorification in this movie at all. If you come away from watching this movie thinking it is cool to be "hood" or live in the "ghetto" you have to immediately have your head examined, because you have lost your mind.
A harrowing look at not only how violence and gangs have an effect on the people involved in this criminal activity, but also how it effects the people around them, their family and friends. We get a unique look from all perspectives in this movie.
From the mother and father to the gangbanger and the do good star football player athlete and they are all stuck in the hell they are forced to call home. There is a very poignant scene at the end of this movie where Dough Boy played by Ice Cube just kind of shakes his head and realizes people get killed every single day in their area and no one will ever hear about it or even know about it.
He is not mad at this realization, he has accepted this fact and has come to terms with it. Which is sad in its own right.
This review of Boyz n the Hood (1991) was written by Andrew B on 08 Dec 2015.
Boyz n the Hood has generally received very positive reviews.
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