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Comparing Boyz N The Hood And The Outsiders

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Boyz n the Hood, filmed in 1991, illustrates the problems young African Americans endure while growing up in “the hood”. The Outsiders portrays similar struggles with young white males of a low socioeconomic class. Both films take place in tough neighborhoods where many young men are killed due to violent crimes, like drive-bys or street fights. Both films also depict a main character who is struggling with his own identity and place in the community; however, The Outsiders takes on a much darker tone than Boyz n the Hood likely due to the point the director of Boyz n the Hood was trying to make on ending black-on-black violence. In both Boyz n the Hood and The Outsiders, the directors portray the young male’s struggle to overcome impulsivity …show more content…

Tre, from Boyz n the Hood, struggles to balance his impulsive nature with the upstanding education his parents have instilled in him. From fighting with a classmate to pressuring his girlfriend to have sex, Tre is introduced as a boy who does not consider future consequences. Furious Styles, Tre’s father, urges black people within the community to “think young brother, about your future.” The lack of consideration young black men have for their futures may ultimately lead to a lack of a future. Tre is ultimately able to save himself by taking his father’s lessons and experiences to heart. He actively chooses to go against his impulsive instinct and decides not to seek revenge for Ricky’s death. However, Doughboy’s constant heed towards his impulsive nature leads to his inevitable murder. Likewise, in The Outsiders, Bobby, a Social (Soc) who attacked Ponyboy and his friend, is the epitome of impulsivity. Bobby first demonstrates his impulsivity by pressuring Cherry, his girlfriend, to have sex despite her repeated refusal. His later jealousy fuels a blind rage that eventually leads to the final fight that ends with his death. Both films highlight the impulsive natures of the characters with various point-of-view shifts and close-up shots during the attempted drowning of Ponyboy, Doughboy’s murder of Ricky’s killers and Tre’s decision to leave. By …show more content…

In order to survive, the main characters must fit in with the community or risk alienation. In The Outsiders, the rivalry, between the Greasers and Socs, remains because generations of innocent boys have grown and fit into their deemed places in adolescent society and fueled the rivalry under the assumption that “nothing ever changes…Greasers will still be Greasers and Socs will still be Socs,” a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only way for boys on the east side to protect themselves from Socs is to assimilate to the Greaser community and participate in the fights against the Socs. Boyz n the Hood depicts Tre’s struggle to assimilate to hood culture where women are treated poorly and used for sex. Tre affects a “hood” vernacular and regales his father with tales of his sexual adventures, despite being a virgin, with a woman named Tisha. Despite knowing his father’s stance on the contraception, Tre claims not to have used protection inciting his father’s disappointment and anger on purpose. The film emphasizes the struggle between Tre’s background and his environment by blocking the two characters in a tight frame with Tre backed up against a refrigerator and Furious invading Tre’s intimate space, symbolic of education

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