Tre acted out in class and then got into a fight for which he should have been disciplined. I agreed with her on that point but then the conversation went left. The problem at this point isn’t a lack of intellect but at least on Tre’s part, a lack of discipline and impulse control.Īs the teacher points out to Reva, Tre’s mother (Angela Bassett), Tre is intelligent but has a bad temper. He’s undeniably smart and the other kids in the class are also following along with both the teacher’s and Tre’s lesson so they’re smart as well. Tre was in the wrong because he’s supposed to be in class to get an education, not to be the center of attention or introduce his lesson plan. To be fair Tre and the other kids in the class seemed to be following the lesson and everything was going fine until Tre decided to be a wise guy. Add guns into the mix and you have a real problem. In both scenes, they were just fistfights but show just how quickly violence can erupt. We can’t hear their conversation but by the time Tre steps back onto the sidewalk, a fight has broken out and the group is jumping one guy. They’re clustered in a group on the sidewalk so Tre steps out into the street to get around them. Tre is suspended from school and passes some guys who appear to be in their teens or early 20s shooting dice. This insignificant and meaningless disagreement escalates very quickly. Instead, their kiddie argument devolves into them cursing at each other, making violent threats, which is then followed by a fistfight. It’s a simple disagreement that is common among kids where they should typically go from playing to arguing to fighting and then back to playing. We see these early characteristics in Tre and Bobby when they get into an argument in class. But not realizing that there was likely a time when those people were children being exposed to violence and dysfunction which would have a profound impact on their development. It drives home the point that so often people and the media disparage the teens and adults who are carrying on in these rough neighborhoods. To be so young and immersed in violence and crime at that point in life where your world should be sunshine and rainbows. It caught my attention that there was one drawing of a casket and another of an LAPD helicopter flying above.
But these kids are drawing very morbid and violent images based on what they’re seeing and experiencing in their neighborhood. When we think of the images, they’re typically happy scenes of a house, nice family, sunshine, and rainbows. Childhood drawings are usually terrible and only appreciated by the child’s parents or grandparents. The next scene opens with audio of a teacher discussing settlers but the image that we see is childhood drawings by the students of various scenes from life. So not only is the neighborhood plagued by violence but it’s also dilapidated. But this was like dogs, dogs, and more dogs.
I’ve grown up in and been to some rough neighborhoods so I’ve seen stray dogs. And then there were a whole bunch of stray dogs.
Tre’s friend Bobby states that two of his brothers had been shot and survived giving the impression that he thinks shootings and being shot aren’t a big deal.Īs they walked through the neighborhood, I couldn’t help but notice that the place looked filthy with all manners of trash thrown about. As though it’s not a natural impulse to get out of the way of bullets. Having heard shooting the night before, Tre states that he got out of bed to seek cover and is ridiculed for being scared.
In this case, Boyz n the Hood opens with four kids, one of whom is Tre Styles, walking on their way to school nonchalantly discussing shootings in the neighborhood. Imagine being a little kid growing up in a neighborhood where shootings and drive-bys at night are a frequent occurrence. The film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director Academy Awards launching Singleton’s career by making him the youngest person ever and the first Black person to be nominated for Best Director. With the guidance and discipline instilled by his no-nonsense dad, Tre avoids many of the pitfalls that seem destined to trap his friends. The story follows Tre and his friends as they grow up in a rough inner-city neighborhood that is plagued by violence. Boyz n the Hood is John Singleton’s 1991 film debut about a boy who goes to live with his father in South Central Los Angeles.