The Hood Time

Most summer blockbusters were and still are action type movies filled with tons of explosions and one liners. However, there were times where companies took a chance to compete via counter program during the heat of the summer. July of 1991 was no different with Boyz N the Hood, the first of many movies done by the now late John Singleton.

It was not the biggest film that year, but it was a defining film of the decade. Primarily because this was made in 1990 and a few months prior to hitting theaters was the Rodney King incident. Life in South Central Los Angeles was not ideal. There are lots of cities that are like this that have an urban neighborhood with tons of crime, drugs. Singleton grew up around the area, so his knowledge on what his home was like was not far from the truth.

The portrayal of life in the hood showcases several types of hood people. You have ones that want to get out and do better or to understand life. Then there's ones who stay within the hood and get involved in shady stuff. But there's also the stereotypes. Just because you're in the hood, you're more than likely assumed to be part of a gang. Cops are not trustworthy. Piss someone off, and you can either get hurt or killed. I wouldn't be surprised if this resonated with people a lot more than they realized in the last 28 years, let alone when it came out. Not too long after that came the riots, and years later the parodies.

It made superstars out of a few of the recognizable ones, and household names out of the up and coming, including Singleton. Getting nominated for awards in 1992 at a very young age of 23 and the first for an African American was a huge achievement. Why not? Boyz N the Hood is an excellent movie and it propelled him to make tons more movies. They may not have had the impact of his first, but the guy had vision in what he wanted to portray. He was one of the more important filmmakers of the 90s and it's a stunner for his sudden passing. I don't think we will ever see someone like this ever again.