As Essay on the Film “Boyz N The Hood”

Many of the predominant concepts in the film Boyz N The Hood are best viewed from a sociological perspective. The film tackles friendship, parenthood, violence, revenge, and conflict as part of the human condition, all in the context of “the hood” (the black neighborhood/community). Other less dominant concepts are racial prejudice, drug abuse, abuse of power, gentrification, sexuality, and equality in education.

The problems of parenthood, violence, conflict, sexuality, drugs, power abuse, and discrimination are all too real; the relevance of these problems as depicted in the film resonates with today’s modern society. Although some aspects of the film have exaggerated implications for the average American neighborhood (such as the sound of police cars, helicopters, and shooting which are often heard in the background, and the commonness of extreme violence), the issues depicted are actual and immediate for many Americans.

One scene highlights the prejudicial attitudes of some white people to blacks: During the first part of the film when the teacher calls Tre’s mother, Reva, instead of discussing Trey’s situation, the teacher needlessly asks whether or not Reva is employed, to which Reva answers that she is both employed and studying to get her master’s degree. The teacher seems to respond to this condescendingly, saying, “Oh, so you are educated…” This shows how some white people automatically assume that blacks are either unemployed on uneducated.
This exchange makes the viewer think: Would the teacher have asked the same questions had the mother been a white person? In slum neighborhoods teeming with illegal immigrants, problems with inequality and violence seem to abound. Particularly, the Latino communities in the U. S. seem to be experiencing the same issues as that of the blacks. This includes the prevailing racial prejudice, the income disparity between racial groups, and the dangers of living in violent neighborhoods.