In 1991 Boyz N the Hood made history as an important film text and the impetus for a critical
national conversation about American urban life in African American communities especially for
young urban black males. Boyz N the Hood: Shifting Hollywood Terrain is an interdisciplinary
examination of this iconic film and its impact in cinematic history and American culture. This
interdisciplinary approach provides an in-depth critical perspective of Boyz N the Hood as the
embodiment of the blues: how Boyz intimates a world beyond the symbolic world Singleton posits
how its fictive stance pivots to a constituent truth in the real world. Boyz speaks from the
first person perspective on the state of being invisible. Through a subjective narrative point
of view Singleton interrogates the veracity of this claim regarding invisibility and provides
deep insight into this social reality. This book is as much about the filmmaker as it is about
the film. It explores John Singleton¿s cinematic voice and helps explicate his propensity for a
type of folk element in his work (the oral tradition and lore). In addition this text features
critical perspectives from the filmmaker himself and other central figures attached to the
production including a first-hand account of production behind the scenes by Steve Nicolaides
Boyz¿s producer. The text includes Singleton¿s original screenplay and a range of critical
articles and initial movie reviews.
