I love hood movies. My father introduced them to me when I was very young. I was grateful for that. My favorite hood classic of all time is “Boyz N The Hood”. The late great John Singleton directed this movie fresh off of graduation from the university of Southern California. For those who have not watched the movie or do not have a clue about this movie, I can summarize it in short form. The movie captured gang life in South Central Los Angeles in the early 90’s.
Ricky was my favorite character in the movie. He was portrayed by Morris Chestnut. The movie starts off with the characters being shown as kids, and then growing into teenagers. Ricky was a humble person in the movie. He was quiet. To himself. Athlete based. He wanted to be a football player. He was really good at it too. As he started to grow up, a recruiter from the University of Southern California showed interested in Ricky and wanted to recruit him. Ricky was required to take the SAT exam in order to get into the university.
Ricky had a brother. A hothead brother. One who was completely opposite of Ricky. His name was Dough Boy. He was in the street. He was about the gang life. He was someone who was always getting into trouble and did not have a promising path to success. There were moments of the film where Dough Boy was shown being arrested due to shop lifting. As he grew into teenage hood, he was shown being fresh out of jail. He was not well liked by his mother, and she had every reason not to like him. Ricky, on the other hand, was loved by his mother because she knew he always tried to do good by her.
Long story short, Ricky was put in an unfortunate situation. There was a situation where Dough Boy and Ricky went out with their entire crew on a random night. Ricky was pushed by a gang member who was a blood. Dough Boy was able to have his back and had his weapon on him. Thankfully that situation did not go left and no one died in that particular moment of the movie, but it did create tension moving forward.
The entire movie showcases a great ordeal of fight or flight situations. Survive the situation. Survive the day. Survive the night. Live for another day. That was what life was like living in South Central Los Angeles in the 1990’s. John Singleton highlighted a very accurate depiction of what gang life was like. I know this because my father lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. He would often tell me stories about the bloods, the crips, and the MS13 gang. It became too much for him, and he was able to thankfully move his entire family to New York.
It seemed throughout the film that something was bound to happen. Ricky seemed to be put in bad positions. Not because of his decision making. But, because of the environment he was living in. Boyz N Da Hood is one movie where I truly wish there was a different ending every time I watch the film.
There was a scene where Ricky and his friend Trey were put in yet another fight or flight situation. There was a drive by shooting from the Bloods and they were targeting Ricky and his friends. Initially during the first attempt of the drive by, Ricky and Trey were able to escape the Bloods. They were able to escape into an alley. Ricky needed to use the bathroom and left for a brief moment. When he used the bathroom, the Bloods creeped into the alley. One word that I will never be able to unhear again. Trey yells “RICKY!!!” Ricky turns around and begins to run towards Trey. One of the blood members pulls out his shotgun and aims it towards Ricky. He fires and hits Ricky in the stomach. He was dead instantly. It was truly a tragic ending. A young man, with so much potential. Killed in the hood. I wish there was a different ending to his story. But, things like this seem to happen so much. It’s truly heart breaking.
Dough Boy wanted to get revenge. Him and his friends ended up finding the killers who killed his brother. Dough Boy ended up killing all of the gang members in revenge for Ricky. Things didn’t end so well for Dough Boy either. Dough Boy was murdered two weeks later in retaliation for killing the gang members. This was life for young men living in South Central Los Angeles.
There are many Ricky’s in the world. Athletes who are just trying to make it out of the hood. I think the best thing we can do as human beings is try to become a mentor to these young men. Some young men do not have mentors in the world. If you have a mentor, be grateful for that. Whether if that is a parent, a coach, an older sibling, or your friend who looks out for you. Because God knows that person may be the person to help you out of that situation.
Give back to your community. Get involved. Impact someone. That person you may impact may go a long way in life. And you might save a life. It’s the least we can do to help one another. Believe it or not. The world needs you. And we need each other. We are all we got.
Thanks As Always,
Mr. Creator
Mr.Creator blog 