37: Boyz N the Hood

July, 1991

Janus Theater

with: My summer camp group and our priest-I could probably name them all but won't

I think I really listen to my priests.  I put them in a category all by themselves.  I remember most of them since Robinson, Illinois. I even went to high school with one of them, but I refuse to go to his station for getting anointed with oil.  We have way too much history for him to heal me. If you have to confess, go to one that doesn't know you so well.

One summer, I went to an Episcopal camp-it was one of "those" camps.  Like the Breakfast Club or any other coming of age movie or sitcom where a group of different kids were together for one week to learn about themselves, life, the universe, and everything.  There was an even number of us, and I think we were half and half on everything. Half girls, half boys, half black, half white. I don't believe in magic rainbow happy endings, but by the end of that week, all of us were closer than we were before. I'm still close to three of them now.

The priest insisted that all twelve of us agree on everything before we made a decision-how Quaker of him.  One of the planned activities was for us to go see the movie Boyz n the Hood together and then discuss when we got back to camp.

Everyone was all for this idea....except one camper.

So the priest, who I have since learned enjoyed starting fights and watching them work themselves out, told us none of us were going because one person didn't want to....

This sparked quite a fight amongst us.

I don't remember all the details, but we did end up going.  She huffed and puffed, but she sat through her first ever R rated movie.  What was my first R rated movie?  I think it was Bachelor Party, it might have been the Godfather. It was definitely something my dad didn't want to turn off the television.  My sixteen year old self has the image of twelve teenagers showing up with a priest in his collar to order thirteen tickets to see Boyz n the Hood...

 Now, for the movie:

John Singleton was only twenty four when he wrote and directed this.  He was the youngest person ever to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. I saw him on Oprah and all I could think was you are wearing a hat inside.  I used to be southern.

Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the main character.  The boy in the hood with a present father figure that cares about him.  The character left the hood and went to college. The actor went on to win for Jerry Maguire. The day after Cuba won I put the movie poster up in my room in Spanish. It was translated, "Los chicos del barrio."

We had to watch it for a class at Meredith. The discussion wasn't as deep as it had been at camp. Nothing ever is I guess.  That professor, unlike my priest four years before, kept an edited for television version in the library. She rolled her eyes about hearing kids in the hood say "Gosh darn..." but she gave girls the option.  I would love to see the list of who checked out the clean copy.

My friend Timothy said when he went with his friends he clapped at the end, and when he went with us, he cried. Interesting...

After we got back to camp and had dinner the priest made us do a conflict resolution thing.  Again, I don't remember the mellow drama except maybe the girls got ugly and the boys were like whatever and the priest was enjoying his creation and since I still remember it he must have done something right.

But at the end, he asked us, "Does anyone else, have anything else, they need or want to say?"

And we didn't.

And we didn't bring it up for the rest of the week.

So when you have something to say, say it.  If you don't want to see an R rated movie speak up and say you don't want to go. If you think that maybe just looking at the rating without the entire content is a little too black and white, say that back.  (My apologies for the pun I swear I didn't mean it.) Work together and increase the peace, just like John Singleton told you to do at the end of the movie.  But once it's over, keep the peace. :0)

I wonder how Singleton would write that movie now at 44 instead of 24. Would he change anything?

I hope not....