If a Tree Falls?

Looking back on the semester, and having taken a course dedicated to sound I thought that I had to bring up this classic philosophical riddle: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Now while I do not profess to know the answer to this question, I will attempt to analyze it using the attributes of sound I learned this semester.
Now, from a physics stand-point, sound is created by something (whether it be a voice or an action) that disrupts the elastic molecules in the air causing them to part (making the crest of a sound wave) and then springing back together (forming the trough). However, it is my understanding that this does not actually correlate into a specific sound but rather forms the sound wave. From there, the sound wave travels to the ear where the "sound" of the sound is actually created through the inner workings of the ear. Thus, if no one is around to pick-up the sound waves then I am not convinced that there is actually a "sound" but rather just a "sound-wave".

Types of Microphoes and Functions

Omni-directional microphones: These mics will capture incoming sound from all directions. This means that these mics would probably be ideal from such practices as recording ambient sound, sound scapes, backgrounds. They would also most probably be good for recording chorus and vocals because the mic will receive all the information from around the space.

Uni-directional microphones: These will capture sound from only one direction. The most common of these are called cardiods because the pick-up pattern of the mic resembles the shape of a heart. These are most commonly used for foley work and for sound technicians because these mics allow for a very concentrated and specific isolated sound.

Bi-directional microphones: These will capture sound evenly from the two parallel sides and were most commonly used for classic radio journalism where the interviewer would sit on one side of the mic while the interviewee would sit on the other.

A Summary of Michel Chion's "The Three Listening Modes"

There are at least 3 modes of listening each of which address different objects. Causal listening, semantic listening and reduced listening.
Causal listening is most common. When the cause is visible sound can provide supplementary information about it.
We rarely recognize a unique source exclusively on the basis of sound we hear out of context. The human individual is probably the only cause that can produce a sound, the speaking voice, that characterizes that individual alone.
At the same time a source we are closely familiar with can go undefined. We can listen to a radio announcer without knowing any physical attributes or name etc.
Sometimes we do not recognize an individual or unique source but rather a general category such as human, mechanical or animal cause.
Sound often has not just one source but numerous. Eg: writing with a felt pen, the first two sources are the pen and paper. Hand gestures also count as well as the writer himself are also sources. If the sound is recorded the loudspeaker and the audio tape are also sources.
Semantic listening- that which refers to a code or a language to interpret a nessage (often spoken language).
- causal listening to a voice is to listening to it semantically as perception of the handwriting of written text is to reading it.
Reduced listening- focuses on the traits of sounds itself separate from its cause and meaning.
-In reduced listening the descriptive inventory of a sound cannot be compiled in a single hearing.
- an example of reduced listening is loking at the pitch of a sound. It is independent of the sounds cause or meaning.
- reduced listening opens our ears and sharpens our power of hearing.
- These three listening modes overlap and combine in the complex and varied context of the film soundtrack.

The Functions of Sound in the film "Singin in the Rain"

Throughout the course of the cinematic masterpiece entitled “Singin in the Ran”, directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen utilize the cinematic technique of sound in order to help create and shape the emotional arc of the audience, aid in the creating continuity throughout the film as well as to heighten the viewers understanding of the images being projected on the screen. These roles of sound within the film, which have been identified above, are achieved through the culmination of the various characteristics and aspects of sound which result in the creation of a specific effect for the film or affect on the viewer. Through the close-analysis and interpretation of two specific scenes from the film, Don’s back-story and the screening of the “Dueling Cavalier”, the role and function sound plays in the context of the overall film form will become clear.

In the scene depicting Don’s backstory within the film “Singin in the Rain”, directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen present the viewer with a prime example of the true importance which sound plays in the context of film form. In this scene sound is used as a tool responsible for numerous functions including; helping to create continuity between the shots, heightening the mood of the scene and working with other elements of the films formal system in order to create a specific effect or help in conveying a certain affect onto the viewer.

The interconnection between numerous elements of the films formal system working together is present at the beginning of the scene when Don first starts his speech. Two elements of sound, in combination with camera movement and mise-en-scene create the affect of intimacy between the audience and Don, causing one to take what Don is saying at face value. The two elements of sound being employed in this shot are dialogue and music. As the camera tracks in to a close-up shot of Don at the microphone, he begins to recount his backstory, providing the shot with its dialogue. Furthermore, as the camera tracks in, a sappy piece of non-diegtetic violin music is playing and Don is looking almost directly in the camera lens. The music gives the shots a nostalgic mood while the eye contact between the viewer and Don causes the viewer to believe what he is saying. The importance of analyzing this shot in particular is that it perfectly encapsulates the way in which sound interacts with other elements of the film’s formal system in order create a desired effect.

Furthermore, in this same shot, as the camera tracks in towards Don it pans slightly to the left to capture Cosmo Brown’s reaction to Don saying that, “I’ve had one motto that I’ve always lived by; Dignity! Always Dignity!”. The directors consciously decide to show Cosmo’s shocked reaction to Dons opening dialogue because it functions in setting up the disunity between the explicit understanding of Dons backstory being told and the true implied one being shown on screen. In other words, Cosmos reaction is crucial in separating the range of knowledge between the fans listening at the premier and Cosmo, Don and the viewers. This is due to the fact that only Cosmo, Don and the viewers will ever know that Don’s motto of dignity does not, in truth, reflect his life. The voice-over narration, during the flashback sequences, provides the viewer with comic relief because of the fact that what is being said and what is being shown do not correlate with one another.

The humour provided by the disunity between the backstory being told by Don and the backstory being shown to the viewer once again exemplifies the way in which sound and other elements of film interact in order create an specific effect or create a desired affect. Some instances in this scene wherein the cinematography and sound contradict one another, resulting in humour include when: the viewer hears Don say, “We rounded out our apprenticeship at the exclusive Dramatics Academy” when in reality the viewer sees a sign advertizing “Amateur Night” followed by a clown tramp routine by Don and Cosmo which ends with them getting hooked off of the stage. Another instance occurs when Don says “In a few years Cosmo and I were ready to embark on a dance concert tour. We played the finest symphonic halls in the country!” and the viewer sees two images layered on top of one another. On the bottom Cosmo and Don are performing their “Fit as a Fiddle” routine while on top is the montage of the signs of the towns where they are performing, which include: Dead Mans Fang, Arizona and Coyoteville, New Mexico with a population of 36.

Another function of sound employed by Kelly and Donen in this scene is the use of sound as a bridge between shots. The directors use sound as a bridge in this scene in order to help maintain continuity between the seemingly unrelated shots of the flashback sequences. By having either the voice-over narration of Don or other another sound start during on shot, continue through the transition, and finish in the new shot creates a more powerful connection between the two images then just the transition effect alone. An example of sound being used as a bridge between two shots in this scene occurs between the first two flashbacks of young Don and Cosmo. At the end of the Pool Hall shot Dons voice-over is present and continues through the cross-fade and into the shot where they sneak into the theatre. This bride seamlessly creates a smooth transition and obvious connection between the shots.

In this scene sound is also used in order to convey emotional tone and characters emotions. This is presented to the viewer in the flashback sequence when Don introduces himself to Lina Lamont. At first Lina will not interact with him because he is a measly stunt man. As a result, the non-diegetic music is sombre and sad violins. However, following Don’s encounter with Mr. Simpson, the head of the studio, who offers him an acting contract, Lina is all over Don. This change in Lina’s attitude towards Don is correlated through the change in music which is now fluttering flutes as Lina flirts with him. Furthermore, after Don turns her down a low bass bassoon sounding instrument kicks in timed with Don’s footsteps expressing his superiority and when Lina kicks him there is a quick crescendo of the instruments followed by a moment of silence. The effect of this sudden crescendo is that it reflects Lina’s feeling of annoyance whereby the silence that follows is there to draw the viewer’s attention to Don’s reaction. The importance of this shot is that it is a prime example of how sound is used in many films as a way of expressing the emotional tone of a particular shot or scene and as a means of representing the emotions of a character on the screen.

In Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s film “Singin in the Rain”, sound is employed by the directors in order to aid in the overall creation of the films form. The scene of the screening of the “Dueling Cavalier” is an excellent example of how the directors use the acoustic properties of sound to convey the affect of humour upon the viewer. Once again, however, it is the relationship between the sound interacting with other elements of the films formal system that truly allow for the humour to be created.

This is evident during the first shot of the “Dueling Cavalier” where the acoustic properties of volume, pitch and timbre are purposely employed poorly by the directors in order to evoke feelings of humour in the viewer. This occurs when Lina’s character first enters the frame and the volume levels of her footsteps and the pearls she is fondling are much too high. What is more is that these improper volume levels are identified by Mr. Simpson when he asks the director, “What’s that? The thunderstorm outside?”, in relation to the volume of the necklace, to which the director replies: “it’s those pearls Mr. Simpson”. Furthermore, within this opening shot when Lina begins her dialogue the combination of the high pitch and the nasal timbre quality of her voice results in a sound that is both distracting and humorous because of the fact that it does not correlate with the accent of the place and time the film is set.

Humour is once again created by the sound and certain elements of the mise-en-scene working together when Don’s character first enters the frame. As a result of the fact that Don is not accustomed to having his every movement and action heard his props, costume, acting style and stage movements produce, once again, uneven volume levels which result in humour. When Don enters the screen the rubbing together of his pant legs is picked up by the microphone; which is traditionally not a sound one hears in real life thus meaning the fidelity of the sound is off. Another volume level that is much too high occurs when Don throws his cane and its lands off screen with a loud, high pitch, bang. Before the invention of the talkie film, however, this action on its own would not be humorous. This is because without the sound to accompany the action the throwing of the cane would visually be seen as dramatic. Furthermore before the invention of the talkie film, actors used grandiose movements and facial expressions to convey feelings and emotion onto the viewer. However once the sound is added to the film, that very same action becomes cheesy and humorous because the viewers attention is now drawn towards the unnecessary action of the thrown cane which accomplishes nothing other then disturbing the sound of the scene.

The mise-en-scene element of acting in combination with the sound of dialogue once again creates humour for the viewer later in the scene. This occurs when Don and Lina are first interacting with one another. Because neither actor is used to speaking towards a microphone the volume of the dialogue is very uneven during this sequence. This is because when they are reciting the dialogue they are accustomed to making grandiose movements and not speaking directly to the other person. Because of this, every time Lina turns he head away from the microphone the volume levels drop substantially and when Don move away from the microphone and speaks towards the camera his volume levels are nearly inaudible because he is both facing away from the microphone and is, in terms of space, far away. Neverthless, as Don moves around Lina the sound of his rubbing pants is the only sound whose levels are constant throughout the shot; this, of course, further distracts the viewer.

Another example of how the sound in this scene creates humour for the viewer occurs when Lina hits Don on the shoulder with her fan. Traditionally it is understood by the viewer that this action should hardly make a sound at all, however in this shot the fidelity of this sound is askew. Nevertheless the sound produced by the fan hitting the shoulder is one of large amplitude with reverb and echo causing his shoulder to sound hollow.

One final instance wherein the directors use sound in this scene for humorous affect is when they have the reel skip during the screening of the film which causes the sound to become asynchronous. The resulting humour lies in the fact that when Lina is captured by Rouge Noir and forces himself on her because the dialogue is out-of-sync it makes it seem as though Lina is speaking for Rouge Noir and vice-versa. After the in-depth analysis of two scenes from the film “Signin in the Rain”, it is now evident that directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen utilize the cinematic technique of sound as a means through which to achieve numerous functions such as creating a specific effect for the film or affect on the viewer. Despite the fact that one could write much more on this topic it is clear that sound plays a crucial role in the development of this films form.

Brief Word on "The 400 Blows"

The film entitled "The 400 Blows", directed by Francois Truffaut, like most new-wave French films, attempts to create a strong sense of reality. One of the ways in which the accomplished this was through the use of a prominently diegetic sound track. Take for example the scene right near the beginning of the film as the students are passing the provocative calendar photo around the class and the teacher catches the films protagonist, Antoine, with it. In a Classic Hollywood Narrative version of the film there would have been, most likely, some non-diegetic sounds of tense music in this scene as the students are passing the provocative calendar photo around the class and when Antoine is caught with it. Nevertheless, since this film is a prime example of the European art cinema style the use of diegetic, natural sound is favored heavily over the use of music or other added sounds. The effect that solely the use of diegetic sound has on the viewer is quite powerful because it truly captures the reality of the school classroom when the students are working individually on an assignment. In truth, throughout the course of the film there are only a few select parts where Truffaut inserts music into his film. Had The 400 Blows been produced in Hollywood there would have been music added in numerous scenes throughout the film where there is currently only diegetic sound when important events occur, such as when: Antoine takes the typewriter from his Father’s desk at work, when Antoine brings the typewriter back and gets caught by the security guard, when Antoine and Rene are skipping school and he sees his Mother and finally when Antoine is escaping from the corrections facility and running away from the soccer field.

Playing with the Diegesis

The state of the diegesis of sound within film is, for the most part, pretty much straight forward leaving little, to no, discrepancies between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Nevertheless, occasionally directors will play with the diegesis of sound within a film. The is most commonly employed and effective in comedy films, wherein this playing with the diegesis adds to the humor of the film.
A prime example of this is occurs in Tom Brady's, "The Hot Chick". When Jessica and her friends go into the voodoo store to check it out, once she picks up the magical earring box a loud, drowning ominous throbbing drum bass comes in. This is a fairly well known meme for most people because the understand that sound is used, in this case, as a means of influencing the audiences understanding and emotional reception of the subject matter. Usually, the viewer understands that this sound is non-diegetic and is just employed as a cinematique tool. However, in this scene, while one might believe that the sound is non-diegetic at first, we come to find out that it is infact coming from a Bongo playing character in the store, played by Adam Sandler.
Another instance in which the diegesis of sound in film is played with for comedic purposes occurs in the film "Theres Something about Mary". Throughout the course of this film, the majority of the music is played by a musical duo who are situated outside of the scenes, yet inside of the world of the film, usually up in trees playing there instruments.
This is the link to the clip in "The Hot Chick", referred to above:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiGki-_iD3I

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.