Analysis of Sound in John Singletons "Boyz n the Hood"

In John Singleton’s directorial debut entitled “Boyz n the Hood”, both sound and music are employed by the director in order to create moods which both reinforce and help to convey upon the audience the political message of the film, the idea that; fathers needs to raise their children in the hood. Singleton utilizes the cinematic tool of sound in order to establish the setting and the situation unfolding in the hood, as well as to give the audience insight on the life that Tre, the films protagonist, is immersed in and surrounded by. Music is used by the director as a means of representing and describing situations within the film through the use of lyrics and recurring instrumental melodies.

John Singleton, in his film “Boyz n the Hood”, uses sound in order to channel the ambiance of life in the hood to the audience, as well as to highlight some of the reasons as to why fathers need to raise their children in the hood. The exposition of the film is a superb example of Singleton’s use of sound in order to project his political message onto the audience. The exposition is the first scene of the film; the audience is presented with a black screen; dialogue and sound are the only things Singleton includes. The director chooses to do this because he wants society to listen to what he has to say, and to become conscious of what is happening in the hood and a regular basis, therefore he isolates the sense of hearing. In the exposition, two African-American males are talking in Ebonics and the audience comes to learn that they are preparing for a drive-by shooting. Police sirens and helicopters can be heard in the background, recurring sounds Singleton utilizes. A gun is then heard being cocked, followed by the crazed and intense firing of an automatic machine-gun. Following the shooting there are the sounds of chaos; the car burns out; people are screaming; and a young boy is heard weeping over his “brother” who has been shot. Singleton opens his films with these sounds because he wants the audience to become immersed within the culture and the setting of the film. Feelings of despair, shock and the sense of helplessness are cast over the audience as a result of these sounds.

Singleton uses the sounds police sirens as a way to show the audience the on-going, relentless violence occurring in the hood. The sirens also demonstrate how many of the youth, mainly young black males, get involved in illegal activity in the hood because of a lack of guidance. Guidance, as Singleton believes which must come from these youths fathers. An example of this is in the scene when Tre and Furious Styles come back from fishing and discover that Chris and Darin ‘Doughboy’ Baker, who both lack father figures in their lives, have been arrested for stealing from the convenience store. After the Police Officers put the two boys in the back of the police car and are driving off into the distance the police sirens are heard and continue to be heard during the fade out and into the following scene; the barbeque scene directly after the seven year leap. Singleton uses the sound of the police sirens at the end of the scene when Chris and Doughboy are arrested and at the start of the Barbeque scene after the seven year jump in order to show the audience that it generally is not a one time offence for many youth in hood. Rather, that it is a lifelong lifestyle that is adopted because many of them lack the moral judgment, personal strength and independence in order to break the mold, characteristics that Tre learns from his father. The fact that the sirens also continue through into the seven year leap subconsciously registers the understanding with the audience that even though the world has aged seven years, the situation in the hood has remained essentially the same.

Barking dogs is a sound that Singleton uses throughout the film, and is often associated in context with acts of violence and some of the disheartening characteristics of the hood. One interpretation of the barking dogs sounds the director uses is that it represents the black on black violence occurring in the hood and the oppression black youth are putting upon themselves. This is due to the fact that in Ebonics a “dog” is a term often associated and substituted for the word friend. This could be alluding to the fact that African-American youth are turning on each other in the hood, which is precisely what happens through gang association and warfare. Furthermore, if dogs are never constrained and are allowed to live wild in modern society the dog will most probably harm someone as a result of a non-developed system of right and wrong. Subsequently, the same could possibly happen with the African-American males in the hood, if they do not have a father figure to teach them right from wrong and to give them life lessons, they will not be able to function properly in society and will most probably get in trouble with the law.

The sound of barking dogs is heard in many scenes, one of these is these scenes is presented to the audience following the scene when Tre and Ricky are in his car, and Tre confesses that he is still and virgin and expresses his fears about becoming a father. It is the scene when Doughboy and Chris’s crew are drinking a hanging out in front of a house on the sidewalk, another black male approaches the crew from behind and then proceeds to steals the chain off of Dooky’s neck. By the way in which the robber presents himself; the audience identifies him as a possible drug-addict. The crew then proceeds to chase down the addict and beat him up. During the part of the scene when the beating of the addict is occurring, the sound of the dogs barking is present. This scene depicts both violence and consequences of drug abuse, there is: an attempted robbery, a gang assault on a man (black on black violence) and a desperate drug-addict presented in this scene. Another example of the barking dogs is presented in the scene when an intruder breaks into Furious Styles home in the middle of the night and Furious wakes up. After Furious shoots his gun twice at the intruder, the sound of dogs barking is once again heard very clearly. This scene demonstrates once again an unfortunate consequence of the hood, which is robbery. In the scene when Doughboy and his crew are drinking and hanging out on his porch, the night that the recruiter from USC is coming to have an interview with Ricky, a shady looking unrecognized vehicle approaches Doughboy’s house slowly causing the gang to become alert to a possible drive-by shooting which could be about to unfold. During this scene, as soon as Doughboys notices the vehicle, the sound off barking dogs is heard. This barking represents the constant threat of meaningless violence in the hood. Finally, before the pivotal scene where Ricky is shot, and following the scene where Ricky and Doughboy get into a fight and Tre and Ricky go to the convenience store to pick up corn milk, there is a scene when Tre spots the gang that Ricky had a run-in with at the Crenshaw car races, in their red car. When Tre and Ricky are attempting to run away from, and allude, the Crenshaw gang there is a shot where they are running on top of a concrete wall and in one of the backyards there are two dogs that are barking and attempt to jump up to where Ricky and Tre are. This is the first and only time in the film, following the seven year leap, which dogs are shown on screen, what’s more is that they are barking and try to attack Ricky and Tre. This shot represents that fact that black on black violence is coming shortly and that the feud between two “dogs” in terms of the two African-American crews has reached its boiling point. Furthermore, Singleton is outlining the fact that it is likely that the members of Doughboy’s gang and the Crenshaw gang did not have fathers to raise them in the hood, and as a result live like a wild “dog’s”, with constant meaningless violence as a result of an absence of a proper moral code.

The sound of police helicopters is used by Singleton in order to create a mood of authenticity and allow the audience to truly live within the hood for the duration of the film. What is more is the fact that the sound of police helicopters patrolling is very common for people living within the hood, but very unusual and foreign to much of the audience. The hood, as depicted in the film, is comparable to a military zone where people, in this case the African-Americans, are kept in, to quarantine and essentially kill themselves, as Furious points out in the films when he, Tre and Ricky travel to Compton. The way in which the helicopters constantly patrol the hood in the film, it is as if Singleton is attempting to display the possibility that they are making sure the people of the hood stay in the hood and do not attempt an “escape”. Singleton is suggesting that without the help and guidance of a father who has experience and wisdom, it is very easy to become trapped, turn into a prisoner within your own home and fall into a self-destructive life, rather then break through the constraints of the hood, and live a meaningful life in the world. This idea is represented in the scene where the recruiter from USC comes to Ricky’s home for his interview. After Ricky and the recruiter get settled on Ricky’s couch, a helicopter flies overhead just before Ricky shows the man his recruitment tape of his high school football highlights. The recruiter’s reaction to the helicopter flying overhead is that of a little uneasiness. Ricky does not even seem to notice the noise, because he is used to it, whereas the recruiter looks up at the ceiling showing the audience that this sound is foreign where he lives. The importance of this scene is the fact that the recruiter is an African-American male who has broke free from the constraints of the hood and if living a productive life in the outside world. Singleton also utilizes the sounds of police helicopter in the scene in where Tre goes over to Brandi’s house, following the run-in Ricky and Tre have with the police when Tre gets hand-gun held to his face by the self-hating black police officer. In this scene, Tre arrives at Brandi’s house and is an emotional mess. He expresses how he is fed up with the hood and life in it. Throughout this scene a helicopter is constantly flying back and forth over Brandi’s house. The meaning of this particular scene is that it signifies the impact that the pressures and the negative aspects of the hood have on the black males. Tre is a strong character who is given guidance and the opportunity to break out of the hood, because of the influence and presence of his father. Nevertheless the hardships of life in the hood weigh down on him and attempt to make him conform to the constraints of that hood, like Doughboy and many other young black males. Singleton uses the sound of the helicopters to reinforce Tre’s feelings in this scene. He wants to break out of the hood, but it is very difficult for him to see this through because of all the negative influences and aspects of life in the hood. Hence it is hard for him to break out of the prison, which is the hood.

John Singleton employs the use of certain sounds throughout the film, such as police sirens, barking dogs and police helicopters as not only a channel through which to present the audience with a realistic representation of the atmosphere inside of the hood but also as a way to illustrate the constant struggle that black males face in their attempt to break free from the hood. Singleton also demonstrates the impact and influence that a father can have in aiding there child in the fight for survival, as well as the consequences that the absence of a father can have on a child in the hood.

In “Boyz n the Hood”, John Singleton uses music as cinematic instrument to reinforce the message of the film. This is done by associating certain recurring melodies with situations and aspects of the hood. Singleton also employs the use of songs as a way to convey the emotions and events which are unfolding on the screen to the audience, through the lyrics and genre of the song.

The director uses a soft, soothing instrumental track each time, without exception, that Tre is receiving a life lesson from his father. This music does not have any lyrics, and generates positive feelings of warmth, relaxation and love. This instrumental track is only ever employed by Singleton is scenes where Tre is being given wisdom and advice, usually from his father. By only selecting to use this music when Tre is receiving parenting, the audience understands, both consciously and subconsciously, that the advice and presence of Furious in Tre’s life is having a large impact on shaping his future. The first scene where this music is present, after receiving parenting from his Father, is the scene of the inciting incident, when Tre moves in with his Father. After his Mother leaves, Tre is alone with his Father, with the exception of Chris and Doughboy hanging around. Furious then gives Tre the chore of raking up all of the leaves on the front yard and putting them into plastic garbage bags. Tre reluctantly gets to work on his chore and Chris and Doughboy express how Furious is harsh in giving him chores, and then compare Tre to Kunta Kinte. The significance of this scene is that Tre is learning that nothing in life is free and that it takes hard work to succeed. It is apparent the neither Chris nor Doughboy has a father to teach them this, since they are not used to doing chores or the idea of work. The reference that Doughboy makes to Kunta Kinte represents the struggle to survive in the hood, and the sacrifice it takes to make it out, just as Kunta Kinte suffered after being taken away from Africa, and dreamed of freeing himself from enslavement. Singleton uses the instrumental background music in moments where Furious’s involvements in Tre’s future are genuine acts of love. This is present in the scene after Tre has finished doing his yard work and is inside of the house. Furious and Tre are lifting weights and Furious is asking Tre to recite the chores which are his responsibility within the house; cleaning the bathroom, clean his room and water the lawn. Tre then learns that being a responsible adult and father are very difficult jobs. Throughout this scene the music is playing. This scene reiterates Singleton’s message once again, that fathers need to raise there children in the hood, Tre is learning the responsibilities of life and fatherhood. Furious is attempting to mold Tre into a responsible young man in the hood, as shown in the scenes where the music is playing. Another of these scenes is when Furious takes Tre fishing, before they go home to find out the Doughboy and Chris have been arrested. In this scene Tre states how he is a leader, and he recites the three rules of life in hood and finally Furious discusses sex with Tre and tells him that “any fool with a dick can make a baby, but only a real man can raise his children”. The importance of this scene is that it once again demonstrates the advice and wisdom Tre is receiving from his father, unlike many of the youth in the hood. Furthermore, as the audience sees later on in the film, it is these sessions of parenting, heightened by the recurring instrumental music, that truly separate Tre from his peers. This scene is presented to the audience before the climax of the film, it is the when Tre wants revenge for Ricky’s death and goes into his house to retrieve his father’s gun. Furious then is able to stop his son from performing an unforgivable and life changing mistake, murder. If Furious was not taking an active role in Tre’s life, or helping to shape his future, he would not have been at the front door. If is was not for Furious and his fulfillment of being a father, no one would have stopped Tre and he would have ended up like most of the young black males in the hood, he would have ended up like Doughboy.

Through the lyrics of songs, Singleton is able to capture the essence and meaning of certain scenes and is able to impact and shape the audiences feeling and emotions on the events and situation projected on the screen. A superb example of this comes following the scene where Tre and Furious are fishing. It is the scene when they are on their way home and Furious turns on the radio to hear The Five Stairsteps song “Ooh Child”. As the song is being played Tre and Furious arrive home and see Chris and Doughboy being arrested and taken away by the police. The chorus of the song, “things are going to get easier”, encompasses the hopes and dreams of Furious for both his son, and all of the youth in the hood. Furious is trying to keep Tre on a straight path of success, and wants to keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately Tre’s peers are already beginning to fall inline with the lifestyle of the hood. Singleton’s use of relevant lyrics within a song is, once again, depicted in the scene at the Crenshaw street races. This is the scene where Doughboy and his crew and hanging out in his car and Tre and Ricky come to join them. The song “Every Single Weekend”, by Kam, is being played before the run-in Ricky has with the leader of the Crenshaw gang. The lyrics that the audience can hear include: “But believe you me, between now and then, a gang of motherfuckers lives gon' end, but yo, if they lucky they will know how to get away. Then they'll live to punk out another day”. These lyrics depict the situation unfolding within the hood. Singleton includes this rap in his film during this particular scene because it is during this scene where the friction between young black youth is highlighted. What is more is that this quote from the song describes what happens in the film and how the violence is ongoing. Ricky is killed one day, Doughboy then kills the people that killed Ricky later on, then a few days later someone kills Doughboy. Singleton, through this song, is once again telling the audience how the black on black violence in the hood between young black males is a never ending meaningless cycle.

In conclusion, it is now evident that John Singleton, in his film “Boyz n the Hood”, employs the cinematic techniques of sound and music in order to reinforce and help to convey his political message onto the audience. Singleton uses sounds such as: sirens, barking dogs and patrolling helicopters, to help establish the setting and give the audience a first person perspective and experience in the hood. Furthermore, music is used by the director as a means of further developing, representing, identifying, and describing critical events and situations presented on the screen. Finally, after reading this essay, it can be agreed that the audience truly heard John Singleton’s political message throughout the course of the film.

"Some Like it Hot" Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR0vlqarFD4

Sound in "Some Like it Hot"

Sound, in "Some Like it Hot" is presented as another means of creating verisimilitude in a film, through helping to evoke moods and emotions in certain scenes, alerting the viewer about an important part in the film and helping editing in joining together clips, even is they are seemingly unrelated. In terms of heightening certain situations and events within the film Wilder uses a Jazzy non-diegetic soundtrack. This is evident in scenes such as when Joe and Jerry are escaping out of the Fire Escape from the Club and are at risk of being seen by the police. It is also present in numerous scenes with Sugar, to relate to the sexiness of her character and her overall sex-appeal. One of those scenes is when Sugar makes her first appearance in the film, walking down the along the train. It also reoccurs when Joe and Jerry stubble across her in the bathroom and she is pulling her flask out from underneath her stockings. Another scene which utilizes this sexy Jazz music for Sugar is when she sneaks out of her bunk on the train and into Jerry’s. Sound is also used, in turn, with editing as a means of linking shots together, such as when the film transitions from on the train to in Florida. Once in Florida the audience can hear the, in this case diegetic, sound of numerous girls singing together, thus alluding to the fact that they are in the bus making its way to the front of the hotel. This technique is also used in the scene where the girls are in the water and Joe is dressed up as Junior and the non-diegetcic music links the two shots together revealing that the girls and Joe are on the same beach at the same time.