The music playing
in the background for Furious is soul music, which is associated with
blue-collar, lower class society. Whereas Tre's mother has a piano playing in
the background, which displays her place in upper class society. These two
distinct styles of music illustrate how music separates the two different
classes of people in Boyz N The Hood. The future aspirations of the teenagers in
the movie further divides the characters. Tre and Ricky look to the future in
search of a way to escape the violence in the hood and a way to create a better
life for themselves. At the other end of the spectrum is Doughboy and his
friends who live on the street and choose not to look to the future. When Tre
and Ricky are writing the S.A.T's, a soft instrumental is played which affirms
the positive choices they have made and the hope for their future. The
antithesis to this scene is later when Doughboy and his friends are on the porch
drinking while in the background rap music is being played.
The lyrics of the
rap music describe drugs and violence. This demonstrates the path in life that
these characters have chosen. Doughboy and his friends have chosen to neglect
the inevitability of the future and instead waste their lives. They have been
consumed by the violence and drugs of the society they live in and they don't
know how to escape this lifestyle. Singleton is able to present a different
perception of each character to the viewer through the diverse styles of music
that are used throughout the film. In Boyz N The Hood John Singleton uses music
to accentuate significant situations and to display the contrast present in each
character. By using music in this context, Singleton enables the music itself to
work as a vehicle for the film. Through the use of music Singleton is able to
clearly develop each character and demonstrate apparent similarities and
contrasts between characters. He enables the film to illustrate the problems
that young black men face when they are surrounded by a society that doesn't
allow for them to live the life of the average teenager but instead confronts
them with a life in which violence is everywhere they turn.
