The Effects Of The Society In The Black Community - Case Study Example

Boyz N Hood Boyz N Hood is a renowned film directed by John Singleton and released in 1991. It is set up against the backdrop of the violence in the black community in the USA. The film is set up in Los Angeles in the neighborhood of the black community. The film depicts the effects of the society in the Black community and the problems faced by the community. The film was renowned for the style of the filmmaking and for its hard-hitting and particular narrative. The film portrays situations where a character faces more than one choice and the decision determines the fate of that individual. The movie leaves the audience to ponder whether the young characters were truly morally responsible for their ultimate fate. Looking through the lens of Galen Strawson’s “Hard Determinism” the movie seems to prove the philosophy that no individual is truly responsible since it requires the ideal determination of the self. The film is based on the black community and the director uses several characters to portray the characteristics and the problems faced by the society. Before the beginning of the film, the director supplies a statistics, which states that their counterparts in the community kill most of the black males. The story is told through Tre Styles- the main protagonist in the film. Due to some problems in the school he is moved to the black neighborhood of Los Angeles. His father Furious mentors him there and he is acquainted with two boys- Doughboy and Ricky. Furious is seen to have a conversation with Tre about sex and is seen to teach the importance of having precaution while having sex. The major plot in the film is the presence of the violent neighborhood of the black community and the violence within it. Most of the film revolves around the violence. There are minor plots in the film like the bias of culture in the testing procedures and the gentrification of the society. The Whites did not take care of the problems faced by the Blacks in the society. The drug abuse is a minor subplot that underlines the narrative of the film. The film highlights how the racial discrimination, lack of communal unity and lack of a neutral approach in all sectors were responsible for the ill fate of the Afro Americans. There are certain cases where the film shows some important incidents that underline the social structure in the country. The misconduct of the police when he is called by Furious to examine the case of burglary or when Tre and Ricky are caught states the behavior of the police in grappling the problems in the society. Furious holds an important position in the film. It was due to his guidance that Tre did not take the path of violence in the film. The absence of fathers in the lives of Ricky and Doughboy is evident. Here we find the importance of a father figure in shaping the path taken by a black child. According to Strawson, if one has to take true responsibility for one’s actions he or she has to be truly responsible for what he or she is. This cannot be possible always. The fact that Doughboy, the boy turned into a criminal was without proper guidance from a father figure is not his fault. His mother accused him or being irresponsible and instead of imparting moral lessons like Furious. Here we may not ignore Tre’s choice of moving out from the gang before the killing takes place. Tre wanted to continue college and hence did not want to engage himself in violent acts and risk his career. The choice of Tre’s mother to send him to his father determines the guidance he receives. So we cannot say Furious is truly responsible for Tre’s fate of not ending up in jail. Again his mother was unable to deal with Tre’s misbehavior at school and the complain form his teacher. So we can hold the white teacher responsible for the fate of Tre. Such a sequence can continue. So none of them are truly responsible for Tre’s final consequence. The lack of unity within the black community is not the responsibility of any particular individual but an integration of corrupted thoughts and actions from its members. So one cannot hold a single entity responsible for the violence and injustice within the community. Doughboy takes up the law in his hand and kills the opponent gang leader to avenge his brother’s death because he knows that the racially discriminating policemen would not mete out justice otherwise. So his act of crime results from certain evidence around him and his prior experiences. Every individual in this world wants freedom. However, the freedom is influenced by the responsibility of the individuals. People are not responsible for the acts and functions performed by them. Some of the people want basic freedom only while the others are influenced by the need for more. People want others to behave with gratitude to them and this can be proved in the case of love. However, when the people expect the others to behave with gratitude, there is a sense of responsibility in the actions. People want to be responsible but in most of the cases, they are not responsible, as they cannot construct their basic character in life. They behave as they are. Therefore Strawson also suggests that freedom is not possible irrespective of whether determinism is present or not. He gives the instance of imagining making love to someone. We would imagine some predetermined characteristics in that person which will generate a sequence of reactions. Therefore the role of freedom or free will is absent. Free will is not possible under any circumstances and therefore true responsibility, which arises out of freedom, also does not hold. The film consists of scenes, which leave the viewers to guess the functions of the characters. In the case of conversation of sex between the father and son the viewer is left to think of the thoughts in the mind of Tre. Furious states an incident where he had sex while his mother was away. The narration is a fantasy and a teenager boy like Tre was excited by it. However, the director did not show anything after that regarding the issue. In another case when Doughboy was killing Ferris he stopped for a moment. The viewer is engulfed in thinking what was meant by the pause in the action of Doughboy. The director has been successful in implementing his ideas with the help of photography. In the climax of the film when Doughboy is having a conversation with Tre close-ups have been shot to show the emotions. Pan and Whip Pan camera movements have been used in the violent scenes where it added to the excitement of the chase. In the conversations between Tre and his father Mise-en-scene has been used to depict the mood and environment. The socio cultural change and its impact on the characters of the move are illustrated in the film. At the end the audience is left to ponder the origin of the outcomes faced by the three boys, Rick, Doughboy and Tre. Thinking deeply none of them can be held truly responsible for any outcome. A sequence of factors played a role in leading to the final consequences. Despite calling it freedom of action, everyone is guided by certain circumstances, expectations and other determined issues and freedom in the true sense is not realized. Before concluding the essence of the paper one may concentrate on how personal choices plays a role in determining the outcome of the film but the entities involved are not truly responsible for these choices. Furious goes to a black neighborhood and gives a speech to the black community regarding the importance of the unity in the community. He declares that it is the responsibility of the community to be responsible and not indulge in the misdeeds like drug trafficking. This will help in the development of the community. Tre did not indulge in the drug trafficking or any other misdeed though he was from the same community. Doughboy takes the child of Ricky to prevent him from seeing his dead father. This shows that an individual wants to take responsibility of those close to him but cannot finally determine the outcome because no one is truly responsible for any particular outcome. The sense of responsibility should arise among the entire group and here again certain predetermined factors will restrict the freedom of action of the members, thereby restricting the incidence of true responsibility. References: 1. Strawsons, Galen. “Hard Determinism.” 2. Boyz N the Hood, Nicolaides, Steven (producer), Singleton, John (director), Gooding, Cuba and Ice Cude Jr. (perfs), DVD, Columbia Pictures, 1991 Read More