John Singleton, acclaimed director of Boyz N the Hood rose to fame in 1991 as the Academy Awards nominated him for his achievement in direction. He was the youngest ever to be nominated in the category and to this day he still holds that record. I enjoyed BNTH so much that I watched Baby Boy, a later film of Singleton's.
The film centers around Jody (Tyrese Gibson), a boyish thug desperately trying to make a living in the Los Angeles ghetto. His father left him before he was born, so he grew up without the guidance of a father figure. In an attempt to rid herself of lonesome, Jody's mother starts dating Melvin (Ving Rhames), a handsome and muscular former prisoner trying to find peace in his life. Jody dissaproves of his mother's decision to date an ex-convict. Rhames grows furious and yells, "You know what your problem is, baby boy? You got shit all twisted. You got an Oedipus complex. You want your mamma to be your womanm but this is my woman. MY woman!"
Do you side more with Jody trying to protect his mother, or do you side more with Melvin, who isn't forcing himself into Jody's life, rather he is merely acting on Jody's mother's free will to date him?
I love that movie and Baby Boy too! But to answer your question, Jody is right. I would not want my mother dating an ex-con either. No one really knows what he is capable of doing to her. But he should really look at whether or not his mom is happy before he tries to ruin her relationship. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter if the man is an ex-con or not, all that matters is his mom's happiness.
ReplyDeleteBy Chantell Bell