John Singleton Made Me Feel Seen

It was the summer of 1991, and I was 14, on the cusp of 15, laden with teenage acne, raging hormones, body awkwardness, and a regular social misfit. Images both on television, and on the big screen, were of the blond haired, blue eyed variety. Yes, we had the Cosby Show, but my mother and father weren’t doctors and lawyers. My mother had a factory job, where she barely made over minimum wage, and I had only laid eyes on my dad once in my entire 14, almost 15 years of life.

There was a movie, Boyz in the Hood by this guy, John Singleton, who was nine years my senior, who was a first time filmmaker. The movie was rated-R, and starred relative unknowns, but it was rated-R, so I would probably never see it, or at least I thought. My mother felt guilty about the amount of time that she was spending with me, so she decided to take me to see film, probably against her better parental judgment, and from there, my entire life was transformed. For those two hours in the theater, I felt seen, inspired, and my life was transformed.

I identified with each character. Trey, portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr, was the squeaky clean guy, who wasn’t the cool kid, but was smart enough, to be intellectual, not in a nerdy way, but good enough to get into college, and still be suave with the ladies. Ricky, portrayed by Morris Chestnutt, was the athlete who I always wished to be, but my adolescent clumsiness…