Nihilism in Thug Films by Katie Kunik
As far as black thug movies go Boyz N the Hood is not as nihilistic as others. Being the first real black youth culture movie to hit the big screen, the sense of immorality is less prominent than others such as Menace II Society. Kitwana describes that since Boyz N the Hood was the first landmark film in this genre, the others may have misinterpreted its meaning of nihilism while trying to out do it (127). It is easy to see the “human� sides of some of the characters such as Tre, Ricky, and Furious. Furious is a well respected business man who cares very much for his son not unlike Ricky. Here it is obvious to the viewer that both of these characters have a sense of morality because of how they show that they care for their families. Tre shows the audience that he is not nihilistic when he chooses not to go along with Doughboy and the others to get revenge for Ricky’s death. For characters like Doughboy it is difficult to see that he exists more than to just be a thug. Early in the movie he is arrested for stealing, and when he returns he seems unchanged from the seven years spent in prison. Then once the viewer is left thinking that Doughboy is just a heartless thug, in the end of the movie Doughboy surprises the audience by telling Tre that he is not satisfied with how he avenged his brother’s death showing that the movie is really not as nihilistic as the reviewers credit it as.
The underlying feelings of the characters are not so explicit, and could be interpreted as nihilism. An example is when Doughboy and Ricky make fun of Tre for being smart, when they really admire and respect his intelligence. This may be hard, however for the audience to interpret. I think examples like this may have contributed to the negative attitude placed on hip-hop culture by society today. By misinterpreting thug films, such as Boyz N the Hood, young black Americans start following the idea of the thug genre of "young, black, and don't give a fuck" (Kitwana, 130). In turn, then society sees how prominent the young black culture in America is becoming, and tags it with a negative connotation because of all the violence and immorality that comes along with it, which is almost the opposite of the point Singleton is trying to get across with Boyz N the Hood.