Boyz n the Hood (rebroadcast)
Get your tickets for our Boyz n the Hood screening (in 4K!) and panel discussion on November 13th at SteelStacks.org.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Boyz n the Hood (rebroadcast)
In time for our screening of Boyz n the Hood in 4K at SteelStacks in Bethlehem on November 13th, here is a rebroadcast of our original episode on Boyz n the Hood. You don't want to miss this screening, as we'll have a throwback set by DJ ARM 18 at 6:45, and then a really terrific panel discussion about the film featuring Ali Akarcesme, a filmmaker and professor from Kutztown University, Andrew McIntosh, a sociology professor from Northampton Community College (whom you already know as DJ ARM 18), Vernard James, a filmmaker and co-curator of the Black Film: Then & Now series at SteelStacks and Nandini Sikand, a filmmaker, professor and artist from Lafayette College. Get your tickets at steelstacks.org.
Transcript
Yo! Bring it!
2
:C’mon!
3
:Welcome to hip hop movie club where three
old heads put their old heads together.
4
:The vibe on some of the most memorable
or forgettable
5
:hip hop themed movies of all time.
6
:And here's Hmsi with your HMCs Boogie.
7
:JB. Oh yeah, and Deano, right.
8
:Bring it.
9
:Come on.
10
:Season four, episode one Boyz n the hood.
11
:Written and directed
12
:by John Singleton
and produced by Steve Michaelides.
13
:Released in 1991 and featuring Ice
Cube Cuba Gooding Jr.
14
:Morris
Chestnut and Laurence Fishburne. Oh.
15
:Well, answer the question.
16
:Which of the boys can survive
and which can thrive
17
:in the main streets of South Central LA?
18
:Right.
19
:One on one.
20
:Look what I know.
21
:Boys in the hood is a coming of age drama
which sees a young boy, Trey,
22
:sent to live with his father.
23
:Furious styles in the rough and tumble
south central LA neighborhood of Crenshaw.
24
:Both series instills proper
values and respect in Trey.
25
:His friends Doughboy and Ricky
don't have the same kind of support system
26
:and are drawn into the drug
and gang culture with tragic results.
27
:Boogie, what are your
28
:initial thoughts of boys in the hood?
29
:Boys in the hood
30
:is the quintessential South Central film.
31
:It's the first film from John Singleton,
first major film film,
32
:and the first of the South Central quote
unquote trilogy films.
33
:I think the super poignant and it touches
on, a lot of a lot of topics.
34
:You have street violence,
you know, drug dealing, gang culture.
35
:There's police brutality.
36
:It touches on gentrification of the
of the hood as well
37
:as on misogyny
and single parent households,
38
:absentee father and the repercussions
that can occur, when that takes place.
39
:Even though I know
40
:the ending of the movie, it's it's
always one of those movies that whenever
41
:I see it on, I have to stop and pause
what I'm doing.
42
:And I pay attention to it because
43
:it tells the story of of what can happen
if you're not careful.
44
:And also, you know, even though
45
:you have a hopeful situation
46
:in terms of the of the character Ricky,
47
:and his ability to play football,
in potentially get out
48
:chance occurrences of being
in the wrong place at the wrong time can
49
:sometimes have some really ugly results
and consequences.
50
:But yeah, I definitely enjoyed this movie.
51
:This is one of those films that
52
:I highly recommend for people to watch
if they want to get an insight
53
:on on the street
culture of Los Angeles in South Central.
54
:And it's sad because a lot of these
occurrences in the movie still occur.
55
:I mean, we do it
just fairly recently hip hop artist
56
:PNB Rock,
you know, murdered in Los Angeles.
57
:And it's very sad to see situations
like that occur.
58
:And also we have the issues
of prudence, brutality that still occur.
59
:So I think John Singleton was
was ahead of his time.
60
:As far as bringing these stories
to the forefront
61
:so that not only can the world
see what's going on,
62
:but also the people that live in Hollywood
that are oblivious to the situations
63
:that are going on,
64
:to kind of
look over their shoulder to say, oh,
65
:wow, this is what's going on in our own
backyard, and pay attention to it.
66
:It does. Right.
67
:What are your thoughts initially?
68
:I had never seen this before
in one of those movies,
69
:and it was equal, or
maybe even better than Do the Right Thing.
70
:The characters were very human.
71
:It was multi-dimensional, and the acting
actually met the level of the writing.
72
:The writing.
73
:These characters were written so well,
and they they really brought
74
:great acting to it.
75
:And a lot of them were their first movie
roles.
76
:It's like,
amazing that you got these performances
77
:out of these, the actors,
and the whole thing was just,
78
:you know, they turned it the stars, right?
79
:They so many people,
like we've seen so many other movies
80
:now in this podcast too.
81
:They got their start here. It's like, wow.
82
:Yeah,
a lot of them like had been working, but
83
:they really became more prominent
thanks to this movie. And,
84
:this might be
85
:my favorite one that we've seen so far.
86
:Yeah, this was incredible.
87
:I had seen it once or twice,
but years ago, shortly
88
:after it came out and to rewatch it,
I was just enthralled by it.
89
:It holds up.
90
:I mean, this could be a top
20 film of all time, perhaps.
91
:I'm just astounded by how young John
Singleton was when he made this film.
92
:He was 24 years old.
93
:Think about what we were doing at age 24.
94
:I think it's important.
95
:You know.
96
:Youngest director
ever to be nominated by an Oscar.
97
:So kudos to the late,
great John Singleton.
98
:Yeah, actually you you did a comparison
with Do the Right Thing.
99
:I was reading up
100
:two years after spike Lee was passed over
for nomination for Do the Right Thing.
101
:He didn't get it.
102
:Singleton
became the first African-American
103
:to earn a Best Director
nomination for, Boyz n the hood.
104
:The character development,
the cinematography was all on point,
105
:and it's a teaching moment,
and it's poignant, like you said.
106
:So this one started out
with the statistic of one out of every 22
107
:black Americans will be murdered,
which is just jaw dropping,
108
:and most will be at the hands
of another black person.
109
:So then you're talking about,
you know, black on black crime,
110
:like you said, done, right.
111
:Ice cube hadn't done any acting right
for John Singleton to reach out to him.
112
:So John Singleton,
I really want the USC for film school,
113
:which is a cop program,
and for him to reach out to Ice Cube,
114
:who was really knee
deep into the success of N.W.A.
115
:And to bring him into this
role was just remarkable.
116
:And he you nailed it.
117
:When I, was thinking about
118
:the characters and how this movie was,
119
:it was Ice Cube that you really saw
120
:how he became a Hollywood star
because he has the acting chops
121
:to to do a role like this
122
:that wasn't just one dimensional,
123
:you know, he would he could have been
just portrayed as a thug,
124
:but there was a dimension
to his, his character.
125
:And, you know, he actually did.
126
:I mean, he and his brother would fight,
but he actually did love his brother
127
:and wanted to protect him.
128
:And he had levels to him.
129
:So, and that made him think like
that was his first movie.
130
:Wow, what a talent.
131
:Yeah.
132
:He definitely knocked it out of the park.
133
:I mean, toe to toe
with any seasoned vet in the film.
134
:His portrayal of Doughboy
in this movie is top notch.
135
:And like you said,
it was definitely layers.
136
:Like, he was definitely not just a street
like he was.
137
:He was compassionate.
138
:He was loyal, compassionate.
139
:He was strong, strong willed as well.
140
:And he was very realistic and very he was
he wasn't a good person,
141
:but you kind of want to root for him
anyway,
142
:because you can still see
those good qualities in him.
143
:And he's a guy I, you know, like,
you know what?
144
:He's he's he's not good.
145
:But there's something about him
146
:that, you know, he can do better
if he just applied himself.
147
:And you want to root for him to do
better is.
148
:You see, unfortunately,
149
:at the end of the movie, he definitely,
you know, he didn't make it,
150
:you know, he was he was also,
you know, he was murdered as well.
151
:Came another statistic, unfortunately.
152
:And that's that's the sad thing.
153
:And it's like you see these guys
and you know that there's something
154
:more to them, but you're so wrapped up
that, you know, it takes them under.
155
:The character of Doughboy.
156
:That's very interesting.
157
:He was the street smart one between him
and his brother Kenny.
158
:He was protective of them.
159
:In fact, when they were walking down
by the tracks and they came upon
160
:the other group of,
I guess, almost like a gang,
161
:and they stole his football
and they stole Kenny's football.
162
:Doughboy
was the one that stood up for him.
163
:I'm Ricky, I'm sorry.
164
:Ricky.
165
:Ricky's football. Yep.
166
:So he fought to get the football back.
167
:He wasn't
afraid to back down from anybody.
168
:And I think what what was really driving
some of Doughboy was motive.
169
:Was Ricky being the one
that had the aspirations before a player
170
:was definitely favored by their mother,
and he internalized that.
171
:You can see that when they would fight,
she would slap
172
:him, slap doughboy like,
get your hands off him and everything.
173
:In fact, you fast forward,
you know, at the end when
174
:when Ricky was shot and killed,
her initial thought was
175
:that Doughboy had done it,
and she's blaming him.
176
:And punching him,
and he internalized all that.
177
:And I think that kind of made him
the way he was.
178
:Yeah, I definitely agree.
179
:You said you could definitely see him
crying out
180
:for attention
that wasn't being bestowed to him.
181
:Yeah, it was definitely favoritism
182
:in that in those situations
between the wearing Ricky and.
183
:Yeah, yeah, I think if he was getting
that attention from the mother as well,
184
:you might have a different outcome.
185
:Yeah.
186
:Like I said, the synopsis is like daily
they had a single parent
187
:issues.
188
:I mean Trey did also.
189
:So Trey was, you know, well
not single parent but separated, right.
190
:And then furious, played by Laurence
Fishburne.
191
:I mean, what an amazing character Laurence
Fishburne was.
192
:I thought he should have been nominated
193
:for, supporting actor,
but he was passed over as well.
194
:What? What a great father figure.
195
:You know,
the rough and tumble neighborhood.
196
:But the first night that Trey goes to
to live with him,
197
:there's a break in in the house
the way that Singleton had
198
:that build up with the dripping faucet
and the intensity of it and the shooting.
199
:And then that leads to the tension
with the the cop that that came.
200
:There was a black cop who took forever
to arrive, and then he stays.
201
:He states, it's one less
and we're on the street.
202
:If you would have gotten him.
203
:And it's like, well, what's going on here?
204
:Like it was it
kind of brought a lot of drama, for sure.
205
:I read that Singleton shot this in order,
206
:and I also had that reaction
about the dripping faucet.
207
:The tension building was really great
208
:to read that.
209
:Oh yeah.
210
:This was like
when he was still figuring out things
211
:and by the end like, wow,
this was your first movie.
212
:Yeah.
213
:I was listening, to some other podcast
about and doing some research.
214
:It's like he was fresh out of film school,
so like, I guess he was using these
215
:techniques and he used him to to a tee,
and it was masterful.
216
:Masterful as the word.
217
:Yeah, yeah. So, so dramatic.
218
:And back to, furious Laurence Fishburne.
219
:He taught Trey the life lessons,
and he kept them and straight and narrow
220
:as much as he could.
221
:You see, he was the one that was working
at the mall and trying to do,
222
:you know, trying to live a normal life.
223
:The famous scene where they're fishing
224
:and he's teaching him,
you know, how to be a man
225
:and the rights and wrongs
and everything like that.
226
:It was impressive.
227
:Yeah.
228
:Ice cube scenes,
though, boy scenes and periods of style
229
:scenes, those were really gripping, like
I was glued.
230
:And anytime they were on the screen like,
231
:oh, this is something to pay attention to.
232
:Yeah, yeah, he just stole the scenes
and there was a lot of gems that he was,
233
:he would drop and things that, you know,
234
:people are starting to talk about now,
or he was talking about it back then.
235
:And in that movie, just a
just a good overall solid character,
236
:well-respected in the neighborhood.
237
:And, you know,
it was good to see a positive role model
238
:by everything going on.
239
:Usually, you know, sometimes the father
is portrayed in a negative way or not
240
:portrayed at all, non-existent in the case
of, you know, Doughboy and Ricky.
241
:So it was good that there was a counter
balance to show, hey,
242
:you know,
despite the parents being separated,
243
:he's still a positive,
you know, influence in his life.
244
:And there to help him become a man.
245
:I think even a point to the mother
portrayed by Angela Bassett, that,
246
:you know, she wanted him,
you know, wanted trade to to live with him
247
:because she's like, you know,
I bought him this far, but, you know,
248
:he needs his father
249
:to kind of buckle him down a little bit
and show him how to become a man.
250
:I can, I can help, but you're good, man.
251
:He needs a man in his life.
252
:And I understand that
we're not together, but,
253
:I want you to take care of him
from this point, just to make sure
254
:he gets that other side of the coin
upbringing as well.
255
:Yeah.
256
:You mentioned the term gentrification
earlier and that.
257
:Wow. I mean,
that becomes so much more popular.
258
:This is back. This film was from like 91.
259
:There's a scene where furious is
260
:speaking in front of the empty
lot with the in front of the billboard,
261
:and this is the first time
I pretty much heard that word.
262
:And he explains it in such a clear way
263
:to, train Ricky and a lot of the folks
in the neighborhood,
264
:one of them,
including Grady from Sanford and Son.
265
:Yeah, one of this.
266
:Yeah, one of the neighborhood guys.
267
:And he explains this
like it's called gentrification.
268
:And I have a quote here.
269
:It's like, it's
270
:what happens when the property
value of a certain area is brought down.
271
:He's like, you're listening.
272
:You bring the property value down,
they can buy the land a lower price.
273
:They move all the people out, raise the
property value and sell it at a profit.
274
:Okay.
275
:So now what we need to do
is keep everything in our neighborhood.
276
:Everything black,
black, owned with black money,
277
:just like the Jews, the Italians,
the Mexicans and the Koreans.
278
:And then he's talking about, I think
it was maybe it was actually the old man.
279
:I think Grady talking about,
280
:he's like, ain't nobody from outside
bringing down the property values,
281
:these folks shooting each other
and selling the crack. Right.
282
:So you saying, oh, wait a second,
now we're all doing to ourselves.
283
:And then furious was like, well,
how do you think the crack rockets
284
:in this country?
285
:We don't own any planes.
286
:We don't ownerships.
287
:We're not the people flying
and floating it all in here.
288
:Why is there a gun shop
on almost every corner in this community?
289
:So really gets everybody
thinking it's very provocative,
290
:but it's poignant where it's like, wow,
they really want it.
291
:It's kind of like
292
:the odds are so stacked against us
is all the liquor stores on the corner.
293
:There's the gun shops.
They want us to kill each other.
294
:It's pretty much what he's saying.
295
:We have to overcome
that, you know, we're able.
296
:So that was
297
:really a great speech he had there.
298
:Absolutely.
299
:That was one of my favorite scenes
of the movie.
300
:Yeah.
301
:Anytime you can put Whitman, Mayo
302
:and I think.
303
:Grady.
304
:But it's so funny.
305
:We've had so many.
306
:We don't want to page cameos.
307
:It's about time we got somebody else
from San Francisco and gravy.
308
:We haven't seen on that there in a while.
309
:Let's see.
310
:Grady.
311
:There's one more thing about so Fury
312
:style is played by Laurence Fishburne,
who was like a mortgage broker.
313
:And you see the scene when he, he's,
talking to Trey when they're fishing.
314
:And he was talking about his time
in the military army.
315
:And some people say that this is the same
character, possibly from Apocalypse Now.
316
:Laurence Fishburne is character.
317
:So if you go back
318
:and look at that, this this could be
the evolution of his character,
319
:which was interesting.
320
:I was like these little
321
:interim inter movie kind of connections
that, yeah, maybe
322
:they're. Always kind of. Cool.
323
:Yeah.
324
:This it's possible
if you put two and two together
325
:and we just go back
to the cinematography.
326
:I believe there was like almost John
Singleton was paying homage to Stand By Me
327
:with the train track scene,
328
:finding the body, there was a kind of a
double double thing there,
329
:although this was a much shorter walk
330
:than the boys in Stand By Me
and Finding the Body.
331
:But also,
332
:like you said, when Doughboy vanishes,
that's like, I think River Phoenix.
333
:It the way that they make him vanish
at the end.
334
:Yeah, I read that too. Like it was. Yeah.
335
:To use. That same.
336
:Yeah. And things that
he can. It was a hat tip to,
337
:to stand by me.
338
:I don't think there was a false note
in this movie at all.
339
:And I think maybe it's recency bias,
but I feel like Do
340
:the Right Thing had a few scenes
that didn't have to be in the movie.
341
:And so it wasn't like completely ironclad.
342
:And I think this movie, like
there was no fat in this movie.
343
:It was so powerful
and consistent through the entire movie.
344
:Yeah.
345
:And I heard a comparison
of so John Singleton and Spike Lee.
346
:They rose to prominence
around the same time.
347
:So they're always kind of compared
to each other.
348
:And the comparison I heard was that spike
Lee, as we mentioned when we talked
349
:about the right thing, left some things
open ended and wanted to spark debate.
350
:And he was created that whereas John
Singleton was more or less,
351
:I want to take you into this world
and tell you the story of how it is.
352
:This is almost like if NWA was on film,
353
:and that's why Ice Cube was such a natural
to play this role.
354
:It's like, this is how it is essential.
355
:This is the true story.
356
:Here's how the characters evolve.
357
:And this is the tragic events, right?
358
:That whereas spike
Lee was more kind of open ended.
359
:It definitely complementary.
360
:Yeah. They fit together for sure.
361
:Yeah.
362
:I think it's fun to think of Cowboy Curtis
363
:misses that.
364
:And then he goes in Cowboy Curtis
the furious styles that wow.
365
:And I read that, John Singleton worked at
pee wee's Playhouse as a production
366
:assistant and security guard,
and that's how he met Laurence Fishburne.
367
:So you never know
these connections are wild.
368
:Well, yeah.
369
:I was even I was so impressed
by the child actors in the beginning,
370
:when it was the small train
teaching the class.
371
:About, yeah. Africa.
372
:And then he starts to fight and I'm like,
wow, these, these kids are just so great.
373
:Yeah.
374
:The kid that played Doughboy at age
ten and.
375
:Yeah, little Trey.
376
:Yeah. It was very good.
377
:I was reading and I saw that, backtrack
378
:to that ice cube real quick
in his cast of a joke for Doughboy
379
:that he was John Singleton's
first choice to play Doughboy,
380
:but he just kept approaching Ice Cube
381
:after concert 2 or 3 performances.
382
:If, you know, Ice Cube,
of course, was reluctant.
383
:So, like, you know, I'm not an actor,
but John Singleton,
384
:following encouraged him to audition
to take a screen test.
385
:He performed just as well as John
Singleton knew that he would
386
:and you know, was cast as Doughboy.
387
:They developed the friendship,
and John Singleton
388
:actually was
389
:was the one who started
encouraging Ice Cube to write screenplays
390
:based off of his writing of his lyrics,
which resulted in a this,
391
:which was in a Friday.
392
:How about that?
393
:That's amazing.
394
:Yeah. Wow.
395
:This was the source material
396
:for all these great things
that happened afterwards, like Friday and
397
:the rest of his trilogy and all that.
398
:Wow. Yeah, yeah.
399
:With the gang kind of bumps.
400
:Ricky
and he confronts Ferris from the gang,
401
:and the dope boy is the one who stands
up, says, is there a problem here?
402
:The machine guns kind of blast out.
403
:Trey and Ricky kind of get pulled over to.
404
:And then.
405
:And then there's that
406
:black cop threatening them
with the gun to the throw,
407
:and you see the dramatic breakdown
of Trey, like Chase.
408
:Chase so conflicted.
409
:He's trying to live this straight,
narrow life.
410
:But is all this pressure on him.
411
:And he starts
crying in front of his girlfriend Brandi.
412
:And that was a really powerful scene, too.
413
:And then you see furious and,
ex-wife Reba
414
:talking about his future and him moving in
with Brandi and things like that.
415
:Ricky sees the Army commercial on TV
and is intrigued by it.
416
:And then, you know, there's the fight
between Ricky and Doughboy.
417
:There's so much that that kind of happens.
418
:And Trey convinces
Ricky, like, don't go into the military
419
:because his father was like, you know,
it's not for us and everything like that.
420
:So, so much to this character development
and what these kids are going through.
421
:It's it's it's well.
422
:I agree the.
423
:Yeah,
they say they had to grow up really young.
424
:Yeah.
425
:Little like full grown adult situations
as kids get out of high school.
426
:Yeah, yeah.
427
:That scene when Trey breaks down
in front of Brandi at her house,
428
:yeah, he was holding it together so well
and came out
429
:and yeah, you kind of feel that because
430
:you get
431
:threatened
like that and you feel that power dynamic,
432
:but the the cop, the
the self-loathing cop, right?
433
:Yeah.
434
:Totally relate to how he reacted to that
and how he to hold himself together
435
:until they found a place
where he could let it out.
436
:Well, yeah.
437
:And that was
there was a whole lot of tension
438
:between folks in the neighborhood
and the police
439
:at that time as well, and a lot of it,
you know, making no excuse for.
440
:But a lot of
it was based off the violence of the area.
441
:The police officers weren't sure who pull
the trigger to act, and who wouldn't.
442
:So they walk into every situation
and they, they were just over overzealous
443
:with their handling of situations
that could have been violated.
444
:Pretty simply.
445
:No simple questions here and there.
446
:And, you know,
everyone could have been on their way,
447
:but they were just really,
really nasty and rude
448
:and they developed such a bad reputation.
449
:It was a rite of passage.
450
:All right.
451
:Okay.
452
:At what point are you going to come in
contact with the cops and, you know,
453
:get roughed up?
454
:You know, it's going to happen.
455
:At what point is it
going to happen to you?
456
:You know it's going to happen.
457
:That was trace, I guess, real.
458
:That might have been his first time having
that that situation like that occur.
459
:And once it finally happens to you,
you don't know what to do because
460
:at any point,
you know, he could have been dead.
461
:All it takes
is a misjudgment from that police officer
462
:I thought he was going to do
or thought he was going to do this or,
463
:you know, whatever.
464
:And that overreacted and killed him.
465
:So, yeah.
466
:And you said, you said,
there's a power dynamic
467
:where, you know,
you're powerless in that situation
468
:when he was probably out
of that situation, you know,
469
:we had a mount C Helens type moment
where you just erupted with emotion.
470
:I can definitely relate
to that situation.
471
:I mean, I've never been to the extent
of what he dealt with,
472
:but yeah, when you're in,
you don't know what's going to happen.
473
:And when you know you're finally out
of the situation, you break down.
474
:I've broken down before,
475
:not to that extent, but I've had moments
where I've been kind of police officers,
476
:and after they were going my face,
I just sat in the car and cried.
477
:Or I got home and parked my car and
just sat there and cried like, Thank God
478
:they didn't go in a different direction.
479
:And when it did, you know, it was just a
480
:interaction.
481
:I got home.
482
:So every time I see that scene,
it touches me.
483
:Yeah, and police brutality.
484
:You think of the timing of this movie.
485
:If you look back at the
486
:one of the most visible incidents back
then, Rodney King
487
:happened in March of 1991.
488
:This movie was released in July of 1991.
489
:So this was definitely at the peak of
when this came to light.
490
:Obviously it still happens.
491
:We've seen so many instances,
but this is really on everybody's mind.
492
:And you said,
I can see how it could be so emotional.
493
:The police are supposed to be
the ones that serving and protecting,
494
:and someone you can confided
in, someone that would help you.
495
:And then when you a threatened
and pulled over racially profiled
496
:with a gun to your head
where you think you might die
497
:and someone of your own race,
I mean, I can
498
:I can see why
it all bubbled to the surface.
499
:Trey.
500
:So if you want to jump to the final scene,
romantic scene at the end
501
:where they hear the gang pull up
502
:and Ricky and Trey are together
503
:and they hear the car
and Ricky says, you know, split up.
504
:And we always ask us,
505
:you know, like, like you said this,
this kind of movie is pretty airtight.
506
:But the one thing I do question is like,
Ricky has to stop to pee.
507
:He also has to do his lottery scratch
off tickets.
508
:And I'm like, oh man.
509
:But yeah,
that was like poor timing on his part.
510
:So bad.
511
:Like, yeah,
someone really react like that.
512
:Yeah.
513
:I'm like now Ricky had the running back
skills like.
514
:And I'm wondering
why he actually thought the split up.
515
:I was wondering, maybe he thought
that Trey would slow him down.
516
:I'm not sure.
517
:So there's a lot of question
about that final scene,
518
:but but obviously they had to get Ricky
was isolated and train
519
:in another direction unfortunately.
520
:And then, you know, Ricky's
gunned down the dramatics
521
:like slo mo scene
where Trey shouting out Ricky's name.
522
:Yeah.
523
:And to further add drama, it's
not like everything ends there.
524
:They actually
525
:bring the body home,
all bloodied and shot,
526
:put him on the couch, and then you see
Ricky and Doe Boy's mother
527
:losing her mind, obviously.
528
:But then again, like I said, blaming
Doughboy, hitting him and blaming and
529
:it all culminates in that Trey then
goes home and, you know, gets his gun.
530
:And then, furious, demands
the gun and the huge emotional hug.
531
:And then there's the, retribution.
532
:Where Doughboy, Dukie and Monster
go find the gang that killed Ricky.
533
:Trey actually asked to be dropped off
before they got to them.
534
:And they do end up,
you know, gunning down the,
535
:the gang members that had killed Ricky.
536
:Yeah, yeah, it got real.
537
:It got real.
538
:A-Train came to the conclusion
539
:that he's definitely not cut out for that,
which was actually good
540
:that he realized
instead of potentially ruining his life
541
:in that situation,
had it going in a different kind of way.
542
:And which was actually good, is
that when he asked to get out of the car,
543
:there was no pressure
for him to make a mistake.
544
:They knew that he shouldn't
have been there, so they just let him go.
545
:Trey again, his future would have
been jeopardized as well. And
546
:I do like the kind of epilog where they do
show you that.
547
:Trey then does
548
:go on to Morehouse College
and his girlfriend Brandi goes to Spelman.
549
:So they they're supposed to be both local
and they can continue
550
:with their relationship.
551
:Unfortunately, like they said, Doughboy
was killed a couple of weeks later
552
:by the other members of the gang.
553
:I'm sure.
554
:One other thing
I didn't mention was interesting.
555
:So Ricky
556
:being recruited by USC? Yeah.
557
:And the recruiter comes to the home
and outside the front porch.
558
:There's a lot of chaos,
a lot of cursing and stuff like that.
559
:And the recruiter was kind
of, like, unfazed by it.
560
:And what did it kind of turn them off,
561
:though, was Ricky Ricky's child runs out.
562
:So Ricky has a child.
563
:They fast forward,
he closes his laptop or whatever.
564
:But what makes it even more tragic
565
:is that obviously you know,
he had the son and he was gunned down.
566
:And it does reveal at the end
that he did pass the I think it was sad
567
:as he had just just met the requirement
by like ten points.
568
:So he would have received a scholarship
569
:and gotten out so many.
570
:So many occurrences of things
like that happening.
571
:What is the potential for
someone when they get out and you don't
572
:because of situations like this?
573
:I mean, we saw some of the similar
almost occur in about the rim.
574
:Yeah,
575
:we saw a situation like that almost occur
when he was going to get a scholarship.
576
:He was could have been gunned down
on the basketball court.
577
:Yeah.
578
:Georgetown in that case. Yeah. Yeah.
579
:It's very believable. Realistic.
580
:Like you said, these incidents happen.
Some gone down all the time.
581
:A lot of these athletes
that come from the inner city,
582
:and they they live in surrounded
by the gang violence.
583
:This is lifestyle.
And that's their only ticket out.
584
:That is really the only ticket
is to get that scholarship.
585
:And, sometimes tragic results occur.
586
:So here's a cautionary tale
587
:and just just well done by a singleton
here.
588
:Absolutely. Thumbs up.
589
:Right. To.
590
:I mean, you guys.
591
:Enjoy the music.
592
:I mean, the soundtrack. Great.
593
:I didn't own it,
but it's a great soundtrack.
594
:Yeah. Is the.
595
:Yeah, I definitely love this soundtrack.
596
:It's a good one.
597
:Really good.
598
:Feature. Ice Cube obviously.
599
:Two. Sure.
600
:Compton's most wanted.
601
:Tony. Tony. Tony yo yo.
602
:I was in it. And in the movie.
603
:Yes, yes.
604
:Two Live Crew even
605
:main source Shamrock.
606
:One of my favorites
607
:Quincy Jones.
608
:So Kimbro.
609
:Maloney love is in this.
610
:Too. Yeah
611
:great soundtrack.
612
:So could could this movie be made today.
613
:Yeah absolutely I mean.
614
:I think so.
615
:Yeah. Absolutely.
616
:Yeah.
617
:The subject matter is still relevant
much like it was do the Right thing.
618
:Yeah.
619
:And I've said this before on this podcast,
but if you're interested in
620
:see how current
technology would impact the story,
621
:what the cell phones do for
622
:us in this, in this,
I don't think it really matter that much.
623
:There was our old cordless phones
and, and brandy
624
:had that Apple two C computer, like,
I had an Apple two C computer.
625
:I was like, hey, I got that computer and.
626
:I have that meme of,
627
:Leonardo DiCaprio, or,
like, pointing at the TV.
628
:Yeah,
I don't know, it could be made today,
629
:but boy, could anyone top the original.
630
:I don't know, that would be really hard.
631
:Yeah,
it'd be really hard to top the original.
632
:I don't want to see this rebooted at all.
633
:This is so perfect.
634
:Yeah. You
635
:make another movie based on it because
636
:something else.
637
:I gotta admit, I did
638
:listen to the rewatchable podcast on this,
which is done by The Ringer.
639
:They talked for quite a while
on a lot of movies,
640
:and they were saying, well,
641
:if someone had this concept today,
it would be like a Netflix series,
642
:like a ten part,
because there could be a lot of
643
:the back story
and I could see something like that.
644
:Maybe I agree. Yeah.
645
:And there's really rich like,
these characters
646
:all had rich backstories to them,
and they could have had a whole series on
647
:various styles, right? Yeah,
648
:right.
649
:Yeah. You could do a prequel.
650
:Like how did Fury Styles grew up?
651
:What was his upbringing like?
652
:And then show him, you know, what were
the challenges he faced in the military
653
:and what caused him to join
and then to leave. And.
654
:There's a lot to it.
655
:It could be like, got them movie
game or watched the series, got them
656
:and they show the backstory
of Commissioner Gordon.
657
:Really well done.
658
:I feel like it'd be like that.
659
:Yeah.
660
:He almost regret not seeing more of,
Ricky's football highlights
661
:because he that one piece of film,
he was explosive.
662
:He, like, predated, Reggie Bush.
663
:He was the original Reggie Bush.
664
:You must.
665
:Later day OJ Simpson.
666
:Right. Right to us.
667
:Marcus Allen. Yeah.
668
:I think the more I think.
669
:They turned out a lot of stud
running backs or Ricky could, you know,
670
:could have been one of them.
671
:Right.
672
:They 3333.
673
:Yeah.
674
:So while we do our final rating,
this is kind of a no brainer.
675
:But let's go around the room here
and you bring that funky flick back.
676
:Bring that something.
677
:Flick back or leave it in the vault.
678
:Bring that funky flick back.
679
:It's a classic move.
680
:It's done. All right.
681
:Bring this funky flick back.
682
:Outstanding.
683
:Yes! Bring this funky flick back.
684
:Amazing work.
685
:Bring it.
686
:Come on.
687
:Hip Hop Movie Club is produced
by your HMCs, JB Boogie and Dino.
688
:Right? The music by Boogie.
689
:Bring it! C’mon!
690
:Special thanks,
as always to Susan, to Wanda and Alice.
691
:Check us out on TikTok and Instagram
at Hip
692
:Hop Movie Club.
693
:C’mon!
694
:On the next episode of the Hip Hop
Movie Club podcast,
695
:your House and season review juice
starring
696
:Tupac Shakur drops in two weeks.
697
:Subscribe today in your favorite podcast
app and you won't miss it.
698
:Come on.
699
:Shout out to your listeners.
700
:Thanks for tuning in.
701
:Come on.
702
:And remember. Don't hate.
703
:Anticipate.
704
:Shout out the brain
freeze trivia in the Lehigh Valley.
705
:Check out the Instagram brain.
706
:Underscore. Freeze.
707
:Underscore.
Trivia. Double underscore time.
708
:That's brain freeze.
709
:Trivia time on Instagram.