SWMS210

Monday, September 28, 2009

Boyz N the Hood

There are two types of masculinity depicted in the film. One is delineated through the characters Tre, Tre’s father, and Ricky. The other one is delineated through the characters Doughboy, and his enemies. The first masculinity is the positive masculinity, which is related to the ability to control oneself, to not give up to emotions, to do the right thing, to think through, the ability to raise a child, to operate a business, etc. In the film, Tre shows that he is masculine and he is a real man by his ability to control his emotion, attain a high education, respect his father, showed his maturity in thinking, and act in a proper way. He can be seen as higher and more masculine than the other men in the movie. Furthermore, Tre’s father also showed positive masculinity, through his success in raising Tre to be an accomplished individual, his ability to educate people and think maturely, and operating a business. Furthermore, positive masculinity is also showed from the character Ricky. Ricky was able to think about his future and know what he want to do with it. He did not give up to reach his dream of playing football and he is able to be persistent in achieving it.

The negative and dangerous masculinity depicted through the character Doughboy and his enemies is related to physical strength, violence, power, winning, engage in fights, etc. Doughboy and his enemies keep on fighting and shooting against each other to show their masculinity and power. The dangerous masculinity is the ability to win a fight and to eliminate the enemies.

All of the characters in the movie are African American which is very effective in depicting African American masculinities. Instead of the typical white vs. black movie, this movie present 2 different sides of African Americans, where each side portrayed different types of masculinity. I think this movie build the perception and generalization that African Americans are dangerous and violent, while in fact not all of them possess negative masculinity.

Women in the film are portrayed as passive agents and sexual objects. All of the main and important character in the story are male. Women in the picture are shown when they are carrying a baby, Ricky’s girlfriend, and walking in tight clothes. Women as sexual objects are also shown when a couple of girls were walking pass Doughboy and his friends and the men were shouting out sexual language and intentions to them. An example of the “outsiders-within” is Tre’s mother. Tre’s mother is different compared to all the other women in the community. She has her own job and she did not raise Tre until he become an adult. It can also be seen from the movie that she is wealthy compared to the other women.

From the article “I couldn’t ever picture myself having sex” by Karin A. Martin, it is stated that “Boys seem to be looking for a blend of friendship and sex in relationships” and “They are not looking for romance or ideal love.” Tre did not maintain a close relationship with his girlfriend, not returning her calls, and when they are together, they are always talking about Tre’s problem. This show that, as the article explained, boys “rarely express the feelings of romantic love”. They are only looking for a “good friend, someone to talk to a lot”. Boys also frequently complain about “commitment and the amount of time one has to spend with his girlfriend.” This is shown when Tre ignored his girlfriend when she complaint about him not calling and communicating with her for a long time. Furthermore, the article also say that boys have “positive expectations about sex ... pleasurable, they looked forward to it and curious about it.” This is subverted when Tre told Ricky that he is “scared” of having sex with his girlfriend.

Blog Assignment #4

The positive definition of masculinity in the movie “Boyz n the Hood” is depicted by Furious Styles (Fishburne). Styles was wise, responsible, caring, educative and not temperamental. Styles repeatedly stressed wise advices to the young children as well as the neighborhood people. He was depicted as responsibly taking care and educating his son, Tre (Gooding Jr.), even though initially the child was under the care of the mother. Last but not least, Styles was very patient in handling the black police officer who insulted him after the break-in. However, negative masculinities were also portrayed in the movie. The rivalry of the gangs as well as the constant shooting amongst these gangs were the most dangerous issues. These activities jeopardized the future and the lives of the children in the neighborhood. The role of race in the depiction of the African American masculinities is a stereotypical depiction of the irresponsible, hostile characteristics of the African American male in general. These men are depicted as not taking on the traditional role of being the head of the household. When compared to the Mexican men, they actually have something in common. The article “Male Discretion and Sexual Indiscretion in Working Class Mexico City” points out that a lot of Mexican men leave their first wives and start another family with another girl. Most of them do so without officially getting divorced first. In a way, this is really similar to the African American race in the movie who are simply not present in most of the women’s lives, and might have moved on to be with another woman.

Alternatively, women characters are portrayed as the powerful race who support and take care of the children, They are definitely “active agents” controlling their children’s lives and educating them in the best way possible. Even though Tre’s mother kind of disappears in the middle, it is depicted that she still fights to regain custody of her child until the end. As for the other mothers in the movie, from the beginning they were depicted as the sole provider and caretaker of the children, in absence of men’s support in their lives. These behaviors elucidates that women are in fact “active agents”. Reva is also an example of “outsiders within” who defied the African American struggling women stereotype. She worked hard to educate herself and in the end, is depicted as highly successful.

Masculinity of Boyz in the Hood

It's clear from the very start of the movie that a man is only a man if he is capable of carrying the responsibilities of a family and providing for them. I believe Furious at one point tells his son that "any fool can make a child, but only a real man can raise one"... or something to that effect. Even Tre's mother acknowledges this view point simply by sending him off to live with his father, because, apparently, only his father can teach him how to be a real man. According to Furious, and by extension according to the movie, positive masculine roles center around knowledge, responsibility, and family values. Furious essentially trains his son by placing the weight of chores and other such tasks upon his shoulders so that he can learn how to be responsible, thus keeping his mind focused on important needs rather than having him gallivanting around the streets like his friend Doughboy. Further more, Furious is constantly warning him and lecturing him on the precautions one should take to prevent having a child when one is not ready. He speaks to him about sex and contraception in order to ensure these ideals into his son so that he won't have to shoulder the responsibility of a family until he is able to carry his own weight and support himself.

Of course, not all the positive masculine roles revolve around family. Tre's best friend, Ricky, takes a different path, one that involves a sort of american dream of sports and the success it brings. Because of Ricky's talent within football, his future seems bright and stable because it has a clear direct path, a path completely separate from that of his irresponsible brother. Ricky is somewhat the generic symbol of american culture and the success that things like sports or fame can bring and is thus shown as a positive route in direct opposition to the turbulent his brother chose. It's a direct juxtaposition of what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'.

In contrast, it's obvious that the negative masculine roles revolve around delinquency and criminal behavior. A lifestyle sorely lacking in responsibility and direction, and infused with overt sexual behavior and disregard for other human life. This in no way implies a carefree lifestyle, but instead, rather a careless one... one without regard for anything, even one's own self. Doughboy is the singular embodiment of all of these aspects within the film and it is clear that his life is not as acceptable as his brother's or Tre's. He's a criminal, one that is of no consequence and is completely disregarded in the grand scheme of life - especially the lives of his mother and his brother.

Obviously race factors into all of these depictions of masculinity. Sometimes in a subtle manner and sometimes extremely overt, but one major way that it plays a role is simply the viewpoint or the lens through which we are viewing all these depictions. It might not actually be so, but the way the movie depicts the life of african americans in south central LA makes their lifestyle, and perhaps their culture in general, to appear extremely aggressive and turbulent. The characters live in a neighborhood where people get shot at everyday and drugs are dealt around in the most overt of manners. Sure it may give the story a dynamic setting, but it also reflects upon the people being portrayed. It infuses their culture and lifestyle with this violent anti-social nature in the eyes of all it's viewers. In the case of masculinity it almost multiplies the aggressive nature of a man almost to the point of being hyperbolic and slightly unsettling.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Boyz n the Hood Response

After watching Boyz N the Hood, I noticed that the film depicted both masculinity and femininity in a number of different ways. For the most part, the movie revolves around the plight of black men in 1990s South Central LA, with the women not receiving nearly as much focus throughout the movie. As an aside, I'd like to point out that many of the depictions of gendered and racial behaviors in the movie ring true to a certain extent, but I feel they are also heavily colored by the time period focused on and are also a bit exaggerated, which makes drawing clear-cut conclusions based on the content of the movie alone difficult (and likely a bad idea, in my opinion). That's just something to note.

Masculinity was a central theme of the movie- with both good and bad traits being portrayed. As far as good traits go, Tre's father teaching him the principles of responsibility and independence are portrayed in a very positive light. These are traits that most people value and that a wide variety of people from different backgrounds can identify with. On the "bad" side, male aggression is shown to be the root of the cycle of violence that keeps the South Los Angeles community down. Violence, aggression and revenge are all traits exhibited by the gang members and also by Tre's friend, Doughboy. Although Doughboy eventually comes to realize the problems that aggression brings in the end, he still adds to the problem through his own violent and vengeful actions. I have heard in the past that within low income, financially depressed communities like South LA, gang life and the dangers associated with it can lead to the development of a culture of heightened masculinity- a culture that affects both men and women. Within such a culture, the need for men to live up to the expectations of "hardness" and "toughness" discussed in Don Sabo's article "Doing time, Doing Masculinity" increases. I believe that a drive to assert one's manhood combined with the effects of a culture of heightened masculinity both lead to the high violence level in South Central. Despite all of this, as discussed earlier, positive representations of masculinity still exist in the movie. Tre and his father represent the male "outsiders within", with his father taking responsibility for his son and Tre going on to get a college-level education.

Although many of the women depicted in the film appear to be very stereotypical both gender-wise and racially, several women- including Tre's mother, Reva, and girlfriend, Brandi- act uniquely, which sets them apart. Generally, the women in the movie are treated in a degrading manner by men- called obscene names and sexually objectified. A few of them protested to a degree and questioned their degradation, but these objections were never met with much respect by men. Reva, while pursuing her education, broke past the stereotypes and asserted herself when she was being blown off by Furious. Brandi also resists giving in to Tre's demands and refuses to have sex before she is ready. As "outsiders within", Brandi and Reva both exhibit characteristics that oppose common negative stereotypes of black women living in low-income neighborhoods.

Boyz in the Hood Blog Allison O'Callaghan

Throughout Boyz in the Hood, it constantly showed me the stereotypes involved in this harsh world. Everyone in the movie simply understood that if you were of the black race or you lived in there area of town, then you were like them. However, some of them were not and were actually good people. They would show the typical homeless people begging for money and everyone begging for drugs. What was te most extreme to me was when they showed the dead male body and all the gang members were saying to leave him alone. The masculinities that are portrayed as dangerous include: guns, drugs, low riding cars, being rude to women and much more. It was very accepted in this movie that every man would be extremely rude to every single girl. They would say degrading thing and the women would simply listen and take it. This was very much pointed towards African American stereotypes. The gangs and guns and alcohol and drugs is very much a black characteristic. Also, the way they spoke. Our culture classifies black people like this and this is wrong. They don't see that everyone talks and acts this way when they want to. These symbols are all active agents in the film.. Young boys would see there older role models acting like they do and then they would act that way as well. They would grow up seeing nothing more then this region and they would adapt to this region as well so that they would fit in. Also, not having any women as main characters showed me something as well. It shows that they did not treat women equal and that hopefully this is adapting. This reminds me of "Working Class Chicas Get Working Class Jobs" because throughout the movie they would constantly talk about how they couldn't get certain jobs because of who they are and how they were raised. Especially when Ricky was going to go to college and his mother is so happy because he is breaking the "norm." Also, the article about "Race, Class, and Gender." Each individual feels as though they must fit into their classifications and become who others see them to be. In this movie it showed that when someone tried to break away from what they were supposed to be they would not succeed, until Trey. Trey proved that you could break free however, in the end, Trey still lost his best friend and the stereotypes still existed. Lastly, the African American cop stood out to me. He showed the huge contrast to the typical African American stereotype. He did not accept his people and acted rude to them instead of conforming and being friendly. This could show that it is not acceptable for you to break out of the "norm" and that if you do so you will not be one with your brothers.