{ "id": "epb3hyft1y", "slug": "boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y", "title": "Boyz n the Hood", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films", "label": "Coming-of-age films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films.coming-of-age-films-released-before-2000", "label": "Coming-of-age films released before 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films.coming-of-age-films-released-before-2000" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Coming-of-age films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films", "label": "Coming-of-age films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton, following three young men coming of age in South Central Los Angeles.", "snippet": "Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton, following three young men coming of age in South Central Los Angeles.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.coming-of-age-films.coming-of-age-films-released-before-2000", "markdown": "# Boyz n the Hood\n\n**Boyz n the Hood** is a 1991 American drama film written and directed by [John Singleton](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-singleton) in his feature debut, following three young men coming of age amid gang violence in South Central Los Angeles. Produced and distributed by [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures), it stars [Cuba Gooding Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/cuba-gooding-jr) as Tre Styles, Ice Cube as Doughboy, Morris Chestnut as Ricky Baker, and Laurence Fishburne as Tre's father Furious Styles.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/boyznthehood)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | July 12, 1991 (theatrical, United States); rated R, runtime 1 hour 52 minutes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) |\n| Director/writer | John Singleton, who wrote and directed it at age 23, drawing on his upbringing in South Central Los Angeles[3](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991) |\n| Budget and gross | A $6 million budget from Columbia Pictures; the film earned over $60 million, with Rotten Tomatoes listing a gross USA of $55.1 million[4](https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Boyz%20n%20the%20Hood%20Notes.pdf) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) |\n| Academy Awards | Nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay; Singleton was the youngest person and first African American nominated for Best Director to that date[5](https://time.com/5579850/john-singleton-obituary/) |\n| Critical scores | 93% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (139 reviews); Metascore 76 on Metacritic (20 critic reviews)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/boyz-n-the-hood/) |\n| Preservation | Selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant[3](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and characters\n\nThe story opens in 1984, when ten-year-old Tre is sent to live with his father, Furious Styles, in South Central Los Angeles, and falls in with a group of local kids. Seven years later the teenage Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is trying to find his own path: Ricky ([Morris Chestnut](https://www.edgepedia.org/morris-chestnut)) hopes for a football scholarship and is a college-bound teenage father, while Ricky's half-brother Doughboy (Ice Cube) drifts toward gang life and drug dealing. Tre's girlfriend Brandi ([Nia Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/nia-long)) is devout, and his father's steady discipline keeps him on a different track from his friends.[7](https://www.timeout.com/movies/boyz-n-the-hood) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/boyznthehood)\n\nThe film's dramatic turn comes when Ricky is killed and Doughboy responds violently, leaving Tre to weigh whether violence is the only recourse. Doughboy's closing line, delivered after his brother's death, became the film's most quoted statement: \"Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood.\"[8](https://www.revolt.tv/article/how-boyz-n-the-hood-was-made-and-why-it-still-matters)\n\n## Production\n\nSingleton, born in 1968 and raised in South Central Los Angeles, wrote the script while in the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california)'s Filmic Writing Program. He said his motivation was that \"none of the movies we saw growing up had any characters who were like us.\"[4](https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Boyz%20n%20the%20Hood%20Notes.pdf) His childhood as the son of a mortgage broker and a pharmaceutical sales executive who shared joint custody provided the story's spine, and Columbia Pictures picked up the script for development.[9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218015/boyz-n-the-hood)\n\n**A studio gamble.** In an unusual move for a major studio, Columbia allowed the 23-year-old film student, who had not yet made even a student film, to direct his own script, with a budget of about $6 million.[4](https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Boyz%20n%20the%20Hood%20Notes.pdf) • [9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218015/boyz-n-the-hood) Producer Stephanie Allain, then a creative executive at Columbia, championed the project; she recalled that Singleton insisted no one else would read the script, and that after reading it she found its voice and authenticity overwhelming.[10](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-25-years-later-producer-stephanie-allain-reflects-on-boyz-n-the-hood/) The film was shot in various Los Angeles neighborhoods in the winter before its release.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-07-ca-2857-story.html)\n\nThe cast launched several screen careers. Ice Cube had never acted before, and the ensemble also included [Angela Bassett](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bassett) as Reva Styles, Regina King, Nia Long, and Morris Chestnut.[12](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-john-singleton-appreciation-boyz-n-the-hood-20190429-story.html)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe film screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 20-minute standing ovation.[5](https://time.com/5579850/john-singleton-obituary/) When it opened in 1991, reviewers responded with great enthusiasm, lauding in particular how assured Singleton's work was, the acting, and the movie's power both emotionally and politically.[3](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) called it \"a knockdown assault on the senses, a joltingly sad story told with power, dignity and humor,\" noting that Singleton grew up in South Central; the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) praised its maturity and refusal of cheap dramatic payoffs.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/boyz-n-the-hood/) On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 93% Tomatometer from 139 reviews, with a critics consensus describing it as \"well-acted and thematically rich\"; Metacritic assigns a metascore of 76.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/boyz-n-the-hood/)\n\n**Controversy at release.** When the film reached theaters in the summer of 1991 and 1992, real violence occurred at a handful of showings, and news coverage amplified fears of gang violence at screenings, tying the film to anxieties about gangsta rap. Commentators have since argued that the coverage obscured the film's actual content, which does not glamorize drug dealing or gang life.[13](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/controversy-surrounding-boyz-n-the-hood-release-made-me-want-to-see-it-wasnt-what-i-expected)\n\n## Awards and recognition\n\nThe film received two Academy Award nominations, for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. At age 24, Singleton was the youngest Best Director nominee to that date and the first African American in the category.[4](https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Boyz%20n%20the%20Hood%20Notes.pdf) • [5](https://time.com/5579850/john-singleton-obituary/) The Library of Congress later selected the film for the [National Film Registry](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-registry), and it is routinely taught and cited as a landmark of American and African American cinema.[3](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991)\n\n## Legacy\n\nTogether with [Mario Van Peebles](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-van-peebles)'s *New Jack City* (1991), Ernest Dickerson's *[Juice](https://www.edgepedia.org/juice-1992-film)* (1992), and the Hughes Brothers' *Menace II Society* (1993), the movie's achievement aided in unlocking studio funding both for the wave of hood films and for a cohort of 1990s Black directors.[3](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991) • [9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218015/boyz-n-the-hood) It created a model for the coming-of-age drama: tied to a specific place, infused with hip-hop culture, and focused on Black men surviving, and later works about South Central and Black boyhood are often seen to reflect its influence.[3](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991)\n\nThe film has also drawn critique. Writers have argued that most of its Black women fall into familiar tropes, either quick-tempered or morally restrained, and that motherhood is portrayed mainly through grief or dysfunction; Singleton later acknowledged he was learning to direct as the film progressed.[8](https://www.revolt.tv/article/how-boyz-n-the-hood-was-made-and-why-it-still-matters)\n\nSingleton followed the film with *Poetic Justice* (1993), *Higher Learning* (1995), *Rosewood* (1997), and *[Shaft](https://www.edgepedia.org/shaft-2000-film)* (2000), and was a creator of the FX series *[Snowfall](https://www.edgepedia.org/snowfall-tv-series)*. He died in 2019 at age 51 after a stroke.[5](https://time.com/5579850/john-singleton-obituary/) • [14](https://time.com/5578646/john-singleton-life-support/) The film remains in circulation on streaming and home video, including a Criterion Collection edition and 4K Ultra HD release.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/boyznthehood)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Boyz N the Hood, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyz_n_the_hood)\n2. [Boyz N the Hood, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/boyznthehood)\n3. [Boyz n the Hood (1991): analysis, influences and similar films, Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/650/boyz-n-the-hood-1991)\n4. [Treasures from the Yale Film Archive: Boyz n the Hood notes](https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Boyz%20n%20the%20Hood%20Notes.pdf)\n5. [John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood Was Just the Start of a Fearless, Trailblazing Career, Time](https://time.com/5579850/john-singleton-obituary/)\n6. [Boyz n the Hood Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/boyz-n-the-hood/)\n7. [Boyz N the Hood review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/boyz-n-the-hood)\n8. [How 'Boyz n the Hood' was made and why it still matters, REVOLT](https://www.revolt.tv/article/how-boyz-n-the-hood-was-made-and-why-it-still-matters)\n9. [Boyz N the Hood, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218015/boyz-n-the-hood)\n10. [25 Years Later Producer Stephanie Allain Reflects On 'Boyz n the Hood', Blackfilm.com](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-25-years-later-producer-stephanie-allain-reflects-on-boyz-n-the-hood/)\n11. [His New 'Hood Is Hollywood, Los Angeles Times (1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-07-ca-2857-story.html)\n12. [With John Singleton's brilliant 'Boyz N the Hood,' the filmmaker found his voice from the start, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-john-singleton-appreciation-boyz-n-the-hood-20190429-story.html)\n13. [The Controversy Surrounding Boyz N The Hood's Release, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/controversy-surrounding-boyz-n-the-hood-release-made-me-want-to-see-it-wasnt-what-i-expected)\n14. [Boyz n the Hood Director John Singleton Dies at Age 51 After Stroke, Time](https://time.com/5578646/john-singleton-life-support/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Coming-of-age films › Coming-of-age films released before 2000*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Boyz n the Hood\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Boyz n the Hood](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Boyz n the Hood\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-n-the-hood-epb3hyft1y. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton, following three young men coming of age in South Central Los Angeles." }