Boyz n the Hood: What it Means to be a Man

Boyz n the Hood is an intense film that sheds light upon the issues of the world, and not the foreign issues, but the issues that are closest to home, right here in America. What is a coming-of-age story for our main character, Trey, is the story of a fatal ending for two other characters, close friends of Trey, endings that were almost inevitable based on the violent circumstances of the neighborhood setting where our story takes place.

The soul-touching story begins with Trey as a young boy. He has spent most of his life up to about age ten living with his mother, but under her decision, is made to go live with his father, Furious, in the "hood". On decent and agreeable terms with one another, Trey's mother and father discuss that this decision is best for Trey. His mother states that Furious, as his father, is the only one who is capable of teaching him how to "be a man". Here, in this line, lies the central question that we as an audience must keep in mind while watching this film: What do the characters and their individual mannerisms and choices tell us about being a man? What, can we infer, is their idea of what a real man is? For years, masculinity has been defined by a man being big, tough, assertive and aggressive. A real man, in the eyes of society, is someone who shows no weakness, no vulnerability.

As the film jumps forward into Trey's young adult life, we see him still associated with the same group of friends that he encountered upon moving in with his father, friends that have been good to him, but not so much good members of society, with the exception of one scholarly young man, Ricky. While Ricky and Trey try their best to avoid getting caught up in the drama of their violent neighborhood, we see the two take a different approach to becoming men; unlike the rest of the boys, Trey and Ricky are respectful, smart, goal-oriented and disinterested in the violence around them. We can certainly agree that Trey is lucky to have Furious as his father, due to the fact that from an early age, Furious has put into perspective for Trey that drinking, drugs, sex and violence will get you nowhere in life. Furious has instilled values and morals in Trey, and because of this, Trey is far better off than group that he hangs around with. But even with these values and his refusal to partake in the same violent lifestyle as his friends, can we agree that Trey is less manly or even manlier than them? That is up to us as an audience to decide, and the fates of these seemingly manly characters almost help make this decision for us.

Towards the end of the film, after Trey is in a good place with his long-time girlfriend, and Ricky is on his way to a university with a football scholarship, things take a turn for the worst and tragedy strikes when Ricky, the unsuspecting victim of the violence in the hood, is gunned down and killed. Filled with hatred and rage, all of the boys, including Trey, set out to find Ricky's killer and deliver the same fate that he has brought upon Ricky. But as Trey is about to leave his house with his father's gun, Furious intervenes and reminds Trey of the consequences of his actions: a lifetime in jail, even death, and of course, the ongoing cycle of violence that he would only be contributing to if he retaliated. After rationalizing Furious' words, Trey takes a step back and decides that he wants no part in continuing the violence, that taking the life of Ricky's killer will only create more animosity within the neighborhood.

Although Trey was able to come to his senses, it is not to say the same for the rest of the group, who continued to hunt down the men responsible for Ricky's murder, and killed them as well. There is a moment, about a day or two after the group seeks revenge when Trey and Dough-boy, the "leader of the pack", discuss that although Ricky's killers were dead, things still are and always will be just as unjust and messed up as they ever were. We learn that no true satisfaction was ever gained by Dough-boy and their group from putting on this "tough guise" and fighting fire with fire. We can then decide not only which character we feel qualifies more as a real man, but which character considers their actions to be truly manly as well: Trey, who will eventually overcome the grief of Ricky's death and move on with his life, or Dough-boy, who is not only filled with sorrow for his murdered brother, but guilt and disappointment as well. In fact, towards the end, captions on the screen reveal that Dough-boy himself ends up dead. Someone who once played the act of a person that was invulnerable and tough has now endured the same fate as his unfortunate brother.