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** Boyz n the Hood reflection/review: SPOILERS AHEAD

Boyz n the Hood’s soundtrack is built with hip-hop, rap, and R&B records. Ice Cube’s “How To Survive In South Central” leads the soundtrack. Ice Cube presents a rule of how to survive in the “concrete Vietnam” in each of the three verses. Rule 1 is “get yourself a gun.” Rule 2 is “don’t trust nobody.” Rule 3 is “don’t get caught up.” Throughout the track, Cube advises: following the instructions of the police, avoiding females, especially hookers, don’t wear gang colors (blue or red), don’t sell drugs or snitch. Compton’s Most Wanted’s “Growin’ Up in the Hood” keeps a funky beat for MC Eiht and MC Chill to illustrate similar perspectives including personal stories of the drug-filled violent life experienced when growing up in Compton. Main Source’s “Just a Friendly Game of Baseball” portray policy brutality, gang rivalries, and youth involvement relating these issues to the aspects and statistical categories attributed to the game of baseball. These tracks from the 1980s to the turn of the decades are used to illustrate the every-day occurrences that accompany living in South Central Los Angeles. The success of the movie helped hip hop engrain not only the music but also its style and swagger into popular culture.

While Tre prepares for the SAT’s to go to college and Ricky accepts a football scholarship to USC, Doughboy is seemingly headed in the opposite direction. Doughboy, Ricky’s brother, has been in and out of prison because of his gang antics. This is a result of the hustler mindset that’s instilled in many of the South Central youth due to their circumstances in a perceived ‘dog eat dog’ or ‘survival of the fittest’ environment. Parental neglect is even evident as his mother seems to believe that he is a lost cause. His involvement instigated by a thirst for power, money, and eventually revenge. When Rickey is murdered, Doughboy and his crew set out to avenge his death by finding and killing Ferris and other accomplices. As they set out to search, Tre joins them yet later leaves, staying true to the morals instilled by his father and realizing the potential consequences. After avenging his brother’s death, Doughboy says to Tre, “I know why you got out of the car… you shouldn’t have been there in the first place. You don’t want that shit to come back and haunt you.” We see that Doughboy understands the situation he’s in. He knows that there are destined repercussions. He goes on to tell Tre about the segment on TV that talked about living in a violent world that only showed foreign places. Doughboy questions government neglect of South Central Los Angeles in that they either “don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s going on in the hood.” When Tre follows up by asking if they killed Ferris, Doughboy breaks down saying that he’s stuck in a never-ending cycle. He assumes someone will attempt to avenge Ferris’s death, by killing him, then says “Don’t matter though. We all got to go sometime."

Furious takes Tre and Ricky to a billboard on the corner of the neighborhood. Furious explains the concept of gentrification. He explains that by selling homes for cash would diminish property value. An old spectator argues that the cause of diminishing property value is due to gang violence and drug trade. Furious counters pointing out the non-coincidental fact that there is a gun shop and liquor store on every corner. This is an attempt reap benefits from the detrimental temptations which include gang-on-gang violence and alcoholism. Rather than fighting, killing, and aiding these temptations, African Americans need communal unity. He’s also trying to convey logical paths to successful futures, like college. John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood strays California’s perception from stereotypical Hollywood, sunshine, palm trees, and beach babes to the harsh realities of South Central.

BTW: did you know that the opening scene where the three boys come across a dead body and show no emotion (surprise, shock, or fear) was the director paying homage to Stand By Me?