It was a massive hit, it launched careers, and it grabbed two Oscar nominations. The buzz surrounding Boyz n The Hood played into the hands of Singleton and his film, rife with stars like Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, and Cuba Gooding Jr. It shined a (soft-focus) light on the bloodshed, the violence, and the cyclical nature of murder and despair eroding the black neighborhoods from the inside out like a social cancer. The film was a watershed moment in American cinema, bridging the gap between white moviegoers and the issues plaguing the African-American community in South Central Los Angeles. This was a hard year for everyone, but our love of movies got us through." (That night, nearly three decades after Singleton's first Oscars ceremony, King celebrated three nominations for her directorial debut, One Night in Miami.This July marks the 25th anniversary of John Singleton’s time-capsule urban drama, Boyz n The Hood. "As a mother of a Black son, I know the fear so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes that," King shared during the 2021 Oscars opening ceremony. Since Floyd’s murder, many celebrities - including stars of the film Ice Cube and Regina King -have spoken out against police brutality and the systemic issues Black communities face. "Because when you see that person in the back of the police car, know why he's there," he noted. "And to know why he's there, you gotta see Boyz n the Hood, you know? 'Cause it shows you the road that a kid takes and all the pressure that's applied on the kid when he's living in like, a concrete Vietnam." Boyz n the Hood helped pave the way for these narratives by humanizing the experiences of inner-city families for a universal audience.Īhead of Boyz n the Hood's release, Ice Cube explained to ET why he thought "everybody should see this film." The issues are still prevalent, and these stories still deserve to be told.
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It's staggering to celebrate 30 years of Boyz n the Hood while still reeling from the events of the summer of 2020. The murder of George Floyd and subsequent trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin have played out before us, verifying that Boyz n the Hood's unofficial slogan, "increase the peace," is still relevant today. Great legacy he leaves behind, but we miss him dearly already. On the world over, you know, a great storyteller. "Pretty difficult for all of us, because he made such an impression on our lives, on filmmakers, on actors, on audiences, on his family. Boyz in the Hood star Angela Bassett commented on Singleton's legacy at the CHANEL Tribeca Film Festival Artists Dinner in 2019, just after the director's death.
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Today, titles like Snowfall - one of Singleton's last projects before his death in 2019 - and On My Block explore similar themes and remind us that young people in Los Angeles are still dealing with the same issues the boys in the 'hood dealt with in the '90s. He went on to write and direct more films, and complete his "South Central Trilogy" with Poetic Justice and Baby Boy. It received critical acclaim at Cannes Film Festival and made $57 million at the box office.Īfter the success of Boyz n the Hood, Singleton became a voice for the young Black generation. "It's straight out of South Central." Boyz N the Hood was much more than a sleeper hit.
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"This movie is for our generation, we're ready for this." he told ET at the premiere. He knew the Black audience was primed for a new way to see themselves represented on screen. Upon its release, Singleton hoped the film would have an underground following that grew. And that’s what makes this movie great is that it’s a story that unfolds and everyone is able to see … It’s a movie that brings people closer together.” Most people who live here in Century City either don’t know or don’t really care to know.
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“I mean, we’re standing in Century City and we’re talking about, you know, people who live five, six miles from here. “For the first time you get a real sense of life in LA,” actor Keenan Ivory Wayans told ET at the film’s premiere in July 1991. At the end of Boyz n the Hood, Doughboy (Ice Cube) sums this up with one of the most memorable lines: “Either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s going on in the hood.” But if 90210’s Dylan and Brenda had cruised a few miles south to visit South Central LA, they would have met high schoolers growing up with much different external stressors. Shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 captivated audiences nationwide who grew up on John Hughes films. In the early ‘90s, coming-of-age stories set in Los Angeles almost always centered around beach blondes, the Beverly Hills elite and Hollywood types.