In 1991, Boyz N the Hood made history as an important film text and the impetus for a critical national conversation about American urban life in African American communities, especially for young urban black males. Boyz N the Hood: Shifting Hollywood Terrain is an interdisciplinary examination of this iconic film. Beyond the two historic Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Director for John Singleton, the first African American male nominee and the youngest nominee ever in the category, Boyz N the Hood’s induction into the Library of Congress National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board, speaks to the film’s iconic and meaningful impact in film history and American culture. This interdisciplinary approach to the film provides an in-depth critical perspective of Boyz N the Hood, as the embodiment of the blues—how Boyz intimates a world beyond the symbolic world Singleton posits, its fictive stance pivots to a constituent truth in the real world. This book is as much about the filmmaker as it is about the film. It explores John Singleton’s cinematic voice and helps explicate his propensity for folk elements in his work (the oral tradition and lore). In addition, the text features critical perspectives from the filmmaker himself and other central figures attached to the production, including a first-hand account of the behind the scenes during production by Steve Nicoladies, Boyz’s producer, and an intimate conversation with Shelia Morgan Ward, Singleton’s Chief Executive/Business Manager and mother. The text is a critical resource guide and includes Singleton’s original screenplay and a range of critical articles and initial movie reviews.

"This wise and pioneering book is the first serious and substantive treatment of John Singleton’s classic film! This film and book speak with great courage and insight into the plight and predicament of young black men. Don’t miss this book!!"

—Cornel West, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair, Union Theological Seminary; Professor Emeritus, Princeton University

"At long last comes a book we have all been waiting for: Joi Carr’s masterful examination of John Singleton’s classic Boyz in the Hood. This book is an accomplished, enlightening piece of work, a great companion to Singleton’s film. Highly recommended!"

—Donald Bogle, Film Historian/Author; University of Pennsylvania; New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts