(The opening of Boyz N The Hood)

Opening with these statistics gives the film a serious edge and outlines what the film is going to be about. The people watching know that the film isn’t just a laugh, they know they’re trying to convey a message. The film is based on reality as much as possible.

The film is set in South Central Los Angeles in modern day America. Although the film isn’t a typical Hollywood movie, it is a Hollywood movie. It was funded by Columbia Pictures, who are a big Hollywood studio. Most Hollywood movies fit properly into a genre, have a simple narrative (Good vs. Evil - Good wins), have stars, are set in a built up, glamorous place (Los Angeles usually gives the impression of being glamorous, built up and full of stars, but in Boyz N The Hood it shows a different side) and have happy endings. When compared with a typical Hollywood movie, for instance, Bad Boys, you can see a big difference. Bad Boys stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is an action thriller, is set in Miami and has a happy ending. Boyz N The Hood has no real movie stars. All of the promotion was done through Doughboy, who is a rap star called Ice-cube.

The scene I am going to be analysing is the scene where Furious Styles takes Tre and Ricky to Compton (a black ghetto renowned for being bad) and teaches them about gentrification. This is a key scene because it shows Furious trying to teach his son values and discussing the problems there are in Black communities. You could almost say that he preached his beliefs and solutions to others. Also, you see a number of different groups all represented in one scene.

Shot 1 - A car comes round the corner and stops in the centre of the screen. You can see a gang of black teenagers hanging round a house in the background. There is a flash white car and the watcher would probably assume that it was bought with money from drugs. The area looks poor because of the gang and the shabby house. Furious, Tre and Ricky get out of the car and Furious walks towards the camera. You can hear rap music in the background.
Shot 2 - You can still see the house in the background but in the foreground you can see Tre and Ricky turned round looking over at the gang, showing they’re nervous. Ricky is drinking milk rather than alcohol, to show he has ambition and is healthy.
Shot 3 - Tre and Ricky looking around, nervously and Ricky makes a comment about not being happy about being there. Both Tre and Ricky are dressed differently from the gang showing they make more of an effort. They are in a Black ghetto called Compton.
Shot 4 - Shows a billboard (‘Cash for your home. Seoul to Seoul reality.’ Soul is spelt ‘Seoul’ because it’s the capital of South Korea - the Koreans have put up the billboard) and the shot moves down to show a long shot of Furious.
Shot 5 - Tre and Ricky walk towards the camera and to the left until out of sight. Police sirens are heard in the background but stop.
Shot 6 - Shows Furious in front of the billboard, using a low angle to make him look important and to show that what he has to say matters.
Shot 7 - Shows Furious on one side of the screen getting frustrated with Tre and Ricky who are opposite him.
Shot 8 - Shows the gang crossing the road towards Tre, Ricky and Furious.
Shot 9 - Furious talks about gentrification and the gang and an old man gather round.
Shot 10 - Furious in front of the billboard again. He talks about keeping everything black, like the Koreans (who own the billboard), the Jews and the Mexicans do. Gentrification is when someone comes in and because people are poor they offer them cash for their homes - not as much as the property value. They do nothing with the land for a while and then they sell it off again for more than they originally paid for it. They transform it from a poor black community into a rich white community. He’s saying to keep everything black owned and that won’t happen.
Shot 11 - Shows a stereotypical old man (granddad hat, granddad shirt) and he starts blaming the younger generation.
Shot 12 - Shows the gang members reaction to the old man - they laugh at him.
Shot 13 - Furious talks about how drugs get into the country, in front of the billboard.
Shot 14 - Furious is still talking but it shows Tre and Ricky to get their reactions. They’re listening, interested.
Shot 15 - Shows the gang for their reactions - they’re agreeing but don’t really look too interested.
Shot 16 - Shows the reaction of a couple, who are agreeing.
Shot 17 - The old guy has now changed his mind and is nodding and agreeing with Furious.
Shot 18 - Furious is in front of the billboard, talking.
Shot 19 - Shows Tre and Ricky, again for they’re reactions.
Shot 20 - Furious asks who it is who is dying on the streets and it shows the old man pointing at the gang.
Shot 21 - Shows Furious talking in front of the billboard.
Shot 22 - You can see a close up of Furious on the left, facing the gang member who has taken off his glasses (shades) to show he is listening. The gang bloke says his opinion - if someone’s going to shoot him, he’ll shoot them first.
Shot 23 - Shows Tre and Ricky again.
Shot 24 - Close up of gang member on the right, facing Furious and Furious talking about breaking the chain of deaths.

Previous to this scene, Tre and Ricky have taken their SATs and have gone to see Furious. During the scene Tre and Ricky feel intimidated by the gang, whereas Furious isn’t bothered - he just wants to get his message across. He talks about gentrification and how they have to keep everything black owned. The gang, the old man and the couple all come and gather round (people for each generation, the old, the young and the middle aged). The old man says it’s the younger generation’s fault but as Furious talks about where all the drugs come from he changes his mind. Everyone begins to agree with Furious except for when at the end, the gang member approaches Furious.

To make Furious look important and worth listening to, they use a low angle and put the billboard in the background. In shots 22 and 24 you can see the back of the head of the person who is listening and the person who is talking is the main focus, in the centre of the camera. This is to show who they are talking to and to show that the other person is listening. All the way through you can hear the rap music coming from the gang’s house. In shot 5 you can hear a Police siren which just backs up what kind of area they are in. When Furious is speaking the camera often flicks across to show people’s reactions. This is a point of view shot and is looking through the eyes of Furious. The shots usually flick over fairly quickly and neatly after what is being looked at has had time to register.

Many different groups are represented in the scene. The gang members are mostly young, black males, with a couple of females too. These gang members could be likened to Doughboy and his gang. They are the ones continuing the cycle of deaths - they kill one person, that person’s friend kills one of them and so on. They dress mostly in black, wear shades and look like they don’t care.
Another group is Black males as succeeders, represented by Tre. Tre has a responsible father and the film is trying to say this is why he has done better than most of the others. He wants to make a go of his life and make something of himself. Tre is dressed fairly casually and looks as if he makes more of an effort than any of the gang.
One group is responsible fathers, represented by Furious. Furious is very wise and wants his son to be someone and tries his very hardest to guide him in the right direction. Furious is dressed in a shirt and tie which makes him look important and responsible.
Another group is unresponsible fathers, represented by Ricky. He doesn’t seem to be bothered about his child and you never see him with it.
The old man represents the older generation and he is very stereotyped. He blames the younger generation for all the trouble, wears a granddad cap and shirt and generally acts like you would expect an old man to.

Throughout the film, lack of respect and responsibility is shown. Tre and Furious are the only two who actually seem responsible. From the very beginning Furious teaches Tre responsibility - he makes him do jobs around the house and gives him vital pieces of advise and wisdom. The lack of respect is shown in both the scenes involving the policeman and the scene just after Ricky has died with Doughboy and his mum. People with the lack of responsibility are Ricky, for not looking after his child properly and the woman who lets her baby wander onto the road. Tre’s mum has been responsible for letting Tre go and stay with his father, so he could be taught morels and values. This was a very wise thing to do.

In this scene and throughout the whole film are young, black males portrayed as being in gangs, killing people and drinking all the time. People in the community have no respect for each other. The film also shows that with a responsible father, people can avoid this way of life and get out and make something of themselves. Other Hollywood films don’t generally tackle with these types of issues. Most movies just have a simple narrative in which there is Good vs. Bad in which Good wins.

Some more important scenes in the movie are both the scenes involving the police. During the first one, while Tre is just a child, they are investigating a break in at Furious’ house. Both the black and the white officer display a real lack of respect for black people. He thinks, just because he is in the police force, he is better than everyone else and can look down upon people.

The second scene involving the police is when they stop Tre and Ricky while they are driving. They didn’t stop them for any particular reason, but they get them out of the car and the black policeman puts a gun to Tre’s head. The white policeman actually looks worried and concerned, showing that he actually has more respect for black people than the black one himself. Under pressure, Tre begins to cry - something most men wouldn’t dare to do. This shows us that he’s not afraid to show his emotions and this is another signifier of a responsible father.