Essay on The Cool-Pose of African American Young Men

Doughboy and his friends are put to the test of the measuring rod and fail because the expectations are too high for them and they turn to subcultural deviance. They know that they are not able to live up to these rules and norms that have been set for them. Furthermore, because they are aggravated that they are not accepted in society makes Doughboy and his friends turn to deviance and turn to gangs. The way that Doughboy is portrayed in the film the audience can tell that he does not want to be and act the way he is and that he just lacks support and emotional support from family and friends, and a great example of that is his mother. Doughboy’s mother gives all the love and support to Ricky however, she does not give that same support to Doughboy which makes him feel alienated and rejected and that is when he turns to being deviant.

The social structure perspective is based on the relationship between social status and criminal behavior. Social structure theories tie delinquency rates to socioeconomic conditions such as poverty and cultural values such as gang culture. Social structure theories focus on three predominate views; social disorganization, anomie/strain, and cultural deviance. Boys N the Hood directed by John Singlton is a great illustration of the social structure perspective in explaining criminal behavior. The movie is about three friends who struggle to survive in South Central Los Angeles where friendship, pain, danger, and love form a true picture of life in the "hood." The three main characters are Tre Styles, Doughboy, and Ricky Baker. Tre Styles is a teen who was pushed in a mature direction to overcome living in the hood by his parents Reva and Furious Styles. Ricky Baker is Tre's best friend who is a talented football player who gets a scholarship to move out of the hood. Doughboy is Ricky's brother who sells cocaine and succumbs to the pressures and lifestyle of living in the hood.

Adolescence can be the most crucial part of a person’s development. It is the time of transition into adulthood. The experiences gathered this time of a person’s life have lasting effects that linger long into adulthood. Proper guidance and support during this time is a person’s life is essential to ensuring that the person is able to become a successful adult in society. However, many African-American youth are lacking this type of support and guidance during this critical stage in life. Disproportionately some African American male adolescents aren’t provided proper mechanisms for their transition to manhood. Some sociologists believe that the lack of a rites of

Furthermore, this essay gives a perspective on what a Black man goes through. Brent wanted to enlighten his readers about daily life as an African American man. This meant explaining his view of the public from his perspective. By bringing these issues to light, he

Throughout the 1992 film, “Boyz in the Hood,” John Singleton takes a closer look at urban black America in South Central Los Angeles. Doughboy, Ricky and Trey, along with their parents are chronicled from childhood to adulthood. Each person, though living in the same neighborhood chooses different paths in life. These characters were raised in a very deviant community, however there were many causes as to why they did not all become deviant. Deviance is defined as behavior that goes against what is socially acceptable. It is when a person disregards what is normal in a specific society and acts upon it. Throughout the movie these characters had many chances to engage in deviant behavior, as some did while

Tre in the beginning of the movie was influenced by violence right outside of his house, the people beat up someone while they were gambling. Things like this he learned and he solved his problems by fighting. Since his dad was the disciplinary parent, Tre could learn how to become discipline and be different than the other people in his neighborhood. Tre’s dad was the positive reinforcement, which shaped Tre to become successful and get out of the poor neighborhood. Tre’s dad had him do chores in the house and rake the leaves, before going out with his friends teaching him to do his responsibilities before anything else. Making him have a curfew and a bed time decreases the likelihood of being delinquent because he cannot stay out past a certain time. His dad believed that if he discipline Tre, then he would not end up dead or on the streets like some of his friends. Even though he was influenced mostly by his dad, he did have negative influences. When he is around his friends, he tries to act tough. At Doughboy’s welcome home party, his girlfriend was asking why he hasn’t called her and he

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.

In the 1960s, Black masculinity was reshaped by the newly acquired political power of the Civil Rights era. Notions of the ‘good negro’ (or obedient/deferential negro) were purposefully destroyed and replaced with a more defiant/revolutionary representation. The 1960s-70s played a pivotal role in the creation of this aggressive male identity. Specifically, the combination of the media’s portrayal of the antagonistic Black Power Movement, and record crime rates in African American neighborhoods, created feared images of African American men (Milton).”

The decade of hip-hop is what some may call it. Tupac, Naz, Biggie Smalls, as well as other artists, were major contributions. Not only for the people who are trying to find their footing, but Buck as well. Throughout the book various lyrics were embedded in order to create a better understanding for its readers. In addition, this book is based upon a 90s lifestyle within Philadelphia, which included drugs, gang activity, crime, hip-hop, and havoc. Malo was directly in the center of everything, the girls, the fights, the guns. His experiences shed light towards what it’s like to as an African American individual living in or near the hood. Not everyone realizes what people go through while living there, but now it gives some readers an image of what goes on. Though times have changed, not all previous feelings

Fast forward 7 years later to a now older Tre Styles, his educational background has grown and the only minor source of trauma that has occurred could be the change of living with his father instead of his mother now. Tre still talked to his mom

The characters: Tre Styles and Mookie are two young African-Americans in the films “Boyz N The Hood” and “Do The Right Thing” respectively. Both films were released around the same time period, with DO THE RIGHT THING being released in 1989, and BOYZ N THE HOOD in 1991. Both films are coming of age tales for Tre and Mookie, they both reside in a low-income, predominantly black neighborhood. Both films share a common theme: the idea of hopelessness and survival as a young black male in the “hood.” Both men are a product of what can only be described as “urban decay;” they are trying to find their place in a society that doesn’t care much for their well being or success. BOYZ N THE HOOD and DO THE RIGHT THING have a common

Though many white men fight with violence, all black men must fight back with acceptance and love, which poses significant physical threat to the black man. The nonviolent black man is brave enough to act on what he knows: a black man is no better or worse than a white man. By acting rationally and without violence, a person can authentically maintain his or her dignity by being respectful, courageous, and accepting. These qualities are especially admirable when they exist in all areas of a person’s life, even in the face of physical danger, violence, and fear. When a person chooses to act on what he or she knows is right, this person understands that “to act is to be committed,” but “to be committed is to be in danger” (9). A white American man takes no risk in claiming that an African American is inferior, especially since his fundamental reason for believing so, that the black

They squirmed, pencils tapping their desks anxiously; none of their papers contained more than five names. Eventually, all thirteen pairs of eyes made their way from the papers, to the faces of their friends, and eventually, they restlessly shifted over to me and stopped. “This is hard,” whined one seventh grade voice. Another chimed in, “It’s all the same, I can’t think of any more.” The question I had asked was simple: “Please list as many young African American males that you see on TV as possible.”

From the beginning of the movie, Singleton shows the importance of adolescents having a male figure in their lives while living in urban areas full of violence. Singleton compares and contrasts Tre and his two closet friends who live in the same neighborhood but have completely different lives. Throughout the movie, Tre’s father guides him and corrects his mistakes before he can make them. Tre’s father was able to instill valuable life lessons in him at an early age and taught him how to survive and avoid any trouble with his friends. However, as a result of Ricky and Doughboy’s father being absent in their lives, they turn to gangs to fill that void. Singleton is depicting the everyday life in

Mr. Hood Hood the despicable father. The man who thinks he is always right & isn’t ever there for his kids. This evil despicable father never changes and you definitely don't want to be his daughter or son.