“One out of 21 black American males will be murdered in their lifetime. Most will die at the hands of another black male.”
Opening graphic in Boyz n the Hood
”Before I could do long division, I mastered which neighborhoods and housing projects to never step foot in. I can easily remember running full speed from the bullets indiscriminately spraying out of a red IROC-Z Camaro; and the face of the man who put a gun to my temple in high school is forever seared into my brain.”
Gerrick D. Kennedy/ L.A. Times
“How John Singleton’s ‘Boyz n the Hood’ shaped the life of one boy from the hood”
John Singleton received Oscar nominations for both writing and directing Boyz n the Hood (1991) and it was one of those rare films that taps into the zeitgeist of the times. My last post was on the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace which was filmed in 1972 at The New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts—which just happens to be located in the heart of South Central L.A. where the story of Boyz n the Hood takes place.
One of the reasons Boyz n the Hood hit me particularly hard when I saw it was just a few years before the movie I spent some time in South Central L.A. as a photographer. While I was going to film school in the early and mid-80s I worked for Yary Photography which at the time was located in Cerritos, California. They are best know for doing team sports photography throughout Southern California.
I remember clearly the cultural close-up I got driving and working in South Central L.A. Once my car broke down in the Lynwood (just north of Compton). This was the days before cell phones so I had to walk on foot to find a mechanic who could help. I was very well aware that I was an outsider in a land known for drive-by shootings. I eventually found a mechanic and my car got fixed with no incident, but I will never forget that walk.
Another time I was doing a photo shoot at Los Angeles Southwest College on Imperial Highway (where the 110 and 105 now meet) and I was taking photos of a football player and asked him if he wanted to take off something that didn’t match his uniform (I think it was a wrist band or bracelet) and his coach said he couldn’t because it was gang related. The player wasn’t in a gang, but he had to wear it for safety.
This was 1983-1986 and I remember thinking there are some stories to be told from here. John Singleton started his career with one of those stories and went on to have a long and successful career working on film and Tv projects.
That same year Lawrence Kasden‘s Grand Canyon touched on some of the same themes as Boyz n the Hood coming at it from a different angle.
Two Years later Menace II Society came out.
And in 2001 Training Day hit theaters.
And though Straight Outta Compton came out in 2015 it is a story set in South Central in the mid-’80s.
P.S. While I was planning on releasing my screenwriting book in April, the death of my mother last week took up much time. Look for it being released in May.
Related post: Filmmaking Quote #41 (John Singleton)
Screenwriting from Iowa 