Boyz n the Hood Blog Assignment

In the film “Boyz n the Hood,” positive masculine images are portrayed through the characters Tre, Ricky, and Furious Styles. Tre embodies the “thinking man” who can rise above the constricting circumstances in the hood. Tre studies hard in school and has a job in order to prevent himself from succumbing to his destructive environment. This is the kind of positive masculinity that the movie would like to promote children in the hood to aspire to. An alternative to this positive masculine image is Ricky, who harnesses his athletic abilities in order to be awarded a scholarship to a university. This image is positive because it depicts Ricky as someone who should go to college not only to play football, but also receive a good education in order to provide for his family. The character Furious Styles also promotes a positive image by being a good father and provider, while also raising his son to be a man. Furious also acts as a good citizen in his neighborhood such as when he tries to get the neighborhood kids to sweep up his lawn, or when he goes to Compton with Tre and Ricky to inform them of gentrification. Some of the “dangerous” images kinds of masculinities are portrayed the by the random “neighborhood thugs” seen throughout the film. The characters like Doughboy and his friends promote the negative images associated with the hood that should be avoided. These characters are seen to be drinking alcohol and dealing drugs on the street corners. Furthermore, they carry guns and at the end of the movie are shown to be murderers who gun down others for offending them in some way.
The African American masculinity is portrayed in a negative way throughout the film because the majority of the characters are seen to be “dangerous” type. Even though Tre, Ricky and Furious are some of the main characters in the film, the are portrayed as an obvious minority in the hood. Throughout the movie, African American masculinity is often negatively associated with carrying guns, dealing drugs, and treating women as nothing more than sexual objects. Women are portrayed in the film as passive characters who only make appearances to show their submissiveness or as objects of sexual desire. The only appearances or mentions of Tre’s girlfriend are when Tre is trying to have sex with her. This leads to a very negative view of women throughout the film. Doughboy’s girlfriend is portrayed as an “outsider within” in the film because she is often seen to be present when the boys hang out, but she is not a part of the negative views of masculinity (such as killing and dealing drugs). Furthermore, when she questions why Doughboy always refers to women as “bitches” and “hoes,” she is given no other reason than, “Because you are.”