Boyz N The Hood Theory

Introduction The film “Boyz in the Hood” takes a closer look at the lives of black American individuals living in South Central Los Angeles. We can see how racism and violence influence the coming of age of Doughboy, Ricky, and Trey. These three black males are raised in a deviant community and throughout the movie these characters had many opportunities to engage in deviant behavior, as some did while others did not. Deviance is defined as behavior that goes against what is socially acceptable. It is when a person disregards what is normal in a society. Their behavior can be explained by these theories: social control theory, conflict theory, and the labeling theory. These three theories are strong because no theory is perfect; therefore …show more content…
Theory Travis Hirschi's formulation and evaluation of control theory focuses on an individual’s personality as a source of criminality, he focused on social relationships which he termed social bonds. According to Hirschi’s theory no motivational factors are necessary for one to become deviant; the only requirement was the absence of social control. There are four variables as to why individuals conform; according to Hirschi lack of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief (Hirschi 1969) are the variable that leads to an individual performing deviant acts. The reason why many individuals do not participate in deviant acts is because of the social bonds that keep them regulated; Even though according to Hirschi we are all born with the ability to commit deviant acts. However, “most of us don’t take advantage of this ability because of strong bonds to society that are formed during adolescence” (Blum, …show more content…
However, in the “hood” society being labeled a murdered, drug dealer, and so forth earns the individual “street credit” with the individuals in that neighborhood. “..Society considers young black men to be dangerous, interchangeable, expendable, and guilty until proven innocent” (Robinson, paragraph 2). The fact of the matter is that the negative stereotype of African American males seems to have become a staple, a fact, in the mind of society. Black males in this society are seen as criminals, lazy, and aggressive, and albeit it might be a fact for some, it does not apply to the rest of the population, in fact, this statement can be said about any other culture, and yet that is the stereotype most African American Males are automatically assumed to be. This is why so many young black males accept the labels and act upon them. They are being oppressed, told they should stick to sports instead of furthering their education. Society does not look at the African American scientist or the African American doctor; they only see the African American man who committed a crime. An example of labeling theory is in the movie is Doughboy and Ricky’s mother Brenda. Brenda says to Doughboy “you ain’t shit, you don’t do shit and all you gonna