Critical Analysis Of The Hoods

“Boyz n the hood” takes place in South Central Los Angeles in 1984. The main actors in the movie are Cuba Gooding Jr as Tre, Morris Chestnut as Ricky, and Ice Cube as Doughboy. In the beginning of the movie it says, “One out of twenty-one Black American males will be murdered in their lifetime” followed by “Most will die at the hands of another black male”. Later it shows the main characters in the movie Tre, Ricky and Doughboy as kids each of them having plans in life. Ricky’s dream is to become a football player and Tre going to college and doughboy still not deciding what he wants to do in life.

In ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ a non-naturalistic performance style is used to allow the audience to make sense and develop their understanding of the present characteristics of the characters. Flashbacks of the main character are portrayed in non-naturalistic form as we see Anna’s friend Catherine playing out the role of ‘young Ana’. This is evident in Act 1 Scene 10 and Act 1 Scene 16. All three scenes require the Catherine to transform into a new character called ‘Young Ana’ as we flashback into the past scenes of Ana’s imagination; this is evident in the texts stage directions ‘ARTUR speaks to CATHERINE now, as though she is the young ANA. The real ANA steps slightly away’ to show the transformation of ANA into CATHERINE. However the scenes are set within the setting of the present time, for instance, the text stating ‘Ana’s home transforms into Hungary’ shows the non-naturalistic setting of the scenes. Both performance techniques are elements of the Non-naturalistic performance style and highly reflect the non-naturalistic nature of the performance.

Through this play Matt Cameron uses transformational acting as a way to portray the idea that it is possible for Ray and Sylvie to be playing a sick game with each other trying to make sense of what happened. As Matt Cameron calls it ‘theatre magic’ Matt Cameron uses this technique that could only be used in theatre to have its full effect. So we can question the message he wants us to receive without having a resolution. It’s like Ray and Sylvie represent society and they want the truth at the same time don’t want the truth. Do we really want to know the harsh truth of what happens behind closed doors.

Williams presents the conflict between old and new in Scene Two in different ways, such as the manner in which Williams portrays the three characters Blanche, Stanley and Stella, as well the added tension through the structure of the scene, and finally in the stage directions. Through the use of these techniques, an atmosphere of tension is seen and felt by the audience, and the contrasts of the characters motifs are clearly highlighted.

These two characters showed significant psychological work in hopes of changing their “problematic” social identity. Both of these characters were conscious of the stigmas that surrounded their identities, each, however, had distinct ways in which they dealt with those stigmas and changing their meanings as they grew older. Many would say that the way in which they were able to transform their identities meant either embracing it or denying one’s own identity fully as the film progressed and new societal pressures arose.

The dramatic meaning is successfully highlighted by the generation of multiple roles enabling the successful creation of symbolism. Through the professor and the chef roles, the actor clearly created and switched between roles to bring awareness to the dramatic meaning. An example of multiple roles was in the professor scene where the professor describes the road to reconciliation. In this role the actors straight and stiff posture, down ward glancing and overexaggerated condescending tone assisted in the creation of character. This

In the 1991 drama “Boyz in the Hood”, Written and Directed by John Singleton. He successfully attempts to portray what life was like and in some areas in America still is for African Americans living in a rough Los Angeles neighborhood. It displays a portrait of the harsh realities that plagues the black community and by displaying uninviting living conditions that is South Central L.A, Singleton aims to share to the world the self-destructive deviant behavior that is to this day, destroying the African American community. Some of the self-destructive deviant behaviors include gang life, selling drugs, and gun violence. Various issues are displayed in this movie involving the black community including deviance, poverty, gentrification, the importance of a father in a young man’s life and black on black crime. Singleton displays a tale of three friends growing up in the “hood”, plagued by drugs and violence and layers textures over rough and compelling visuals of black culture that shows us what it means to come to maturity, or die trying, as a black male. In this essay, I will be giving a thorough analysis of the film, as well as covering certain points from the movie from a sociological perspective to explain why singleton chose to write this film.

Discusses how race is a conceptualized concept most often through stereotypes of different groups with the presence of a systematic structure of racism where the dominant group has placed themselves as superior and all other groups are deemed inferior. This structure often produces a negative impact on same race relations. Identity, according to this theory is created due to psychological enforcement of repeated racial oppression. The movie “Boyz N’ The Hood” demonstrates the effect of this enforced systematic structure and its negative impact on same race relations which lead to the ultimate death of some of the characters in this film (Singleton,1991). The movie takes place in impoverished South Central Los Angeles and depicts scenes of violence perpetrated by gangs against the main characters of the movie. Janet Helms points out that racial theory consists of four models White Identity, Black Identity, People of Color, and the Racial interaction model. She points out that the more an individual becomes aware of the social constructs of race and the racist system the closer

The overall dramatic meaning of this play has been successfully shown by the elements of drama. The

THESIS: Fear is the primary emotion and the central motivating factor that influenced the outcome of the play as it dominated and controlled the nature of multiple characters.

Some challenges between anti-social behaviors and geographic are evident in the film Boyz n the Hood. It a 90’s films created by John Singleton, about a boy Tre styles who is sent to live with his father Furious styles in South Central Los Angeles after he got into a fight at school. At his father 's house, he is taught morals and values of being a respected man. On the other hand, his friends Ricky and Doughboy who are half-brothers has a different upbringing with no real support system, resulting in forming a gang, involvement with drugs and a tragic ending. This film is based on the African American experience in terms of environmental conditions which results in a great deal of African American males being pushed into the criminal justice system.

John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood is an American teen drama film released in 1991 that focuses on three black teens who live in the dangerous neighbourhood of Crenshaw, Los Angeles. The main characters Doughboy, his half-brother Ricky, and their friend Tre grow up together but meet drastically different fates as young adults. As Swanson (2011) points out, it is important to understand the tension within black communities in Los Angeles at the time of the film’s release; the Rodney King beating had taken place only months before and LA’s gang wars were reaching a peak. As a Los Angeles native, Singleton’s goal with the film was to alert people about the situation around them, as he said: “I couldn’t rhyme. I wasn’t a rapper. So I made this movie” (Swanson 2011). To reflect the environment as accurately as possible, the film was shot on the streets of South Los Angeles, so the crew was just as on edge as their characters would be; there were even threats of gun violence from local gang members.

Nearly every character in the play at some point has to make inferences from what he or she sees, has been told or overhears. Likewise, nearly every character in the play at some point plays a part of consciously pretending to be what they are not. The idea of acting and the illusion it creates is rarely far from the surface -

Characters – agents of the play, they provide motivation for the plot. “Vivid Characters” are the ones who are faced with “obstacles that we the audience can recognise”.

The above example illustrates not only how the theatrical performance affects the audience, but also how the audience influences its dynamics, development and the characters within it. The actors feel a certain level of acceptance from the viewer, who demands a certain way of depicting the character. Theatre is not just entertainment, itís something much more than that ñ itís education. Theatre should always represent things, rather than