Film Language - Boyz in the Hood

For film language we studied the opening scene of the 1991 film Boyz in the Hood.

In the beginning part of the film, the only visual image is a grey screen. Diegetic off-screen dialogue can be heard right from the start. The dialogue is of american accent and the enunciation of words is quite poor. The characters talking swear an excessive amount and use racial slurs to describe another gang they saw. Whilst the characters are swearing, the overall atmosphere is quite calm and the characters voices are low and calm. It is only when the characters are in the car and car tyres squeal and a character says "Hey Punk",  is when the scene picks up pace.  Multiple gun shots are fired and the characters begin shouting and bystanders begin screaming is when the atmosphere begins to become panicked. A police officer voice breaks through the panic with a calm voice saying that back up is required for a potential murder. After a sense of calm is spread through the atmosphere, a young boys voice starts. The boy is sobbing and repeating " They shot my brother". The viewer feels extremely sympathetic for the boy because he sounds so distraught and so young. 

The image then quickly snaps to an image with the sound of a gunshot emphasising the change in scene. The new image shows a sunny day and in the center of the screen is a big red stop sign.  The red represents the blood spilled from the shooting and danger. The lighting of the image is natural and light, shows innocence of the world. The camera zooms into the sign until an extreme close up shot of the word STOP. This could be seen as a message to the viewer to stop violence in the world. 

The scene then cuts to a black child standing on the corner of a street. The street is covered in rubbish and stray dogs roam the street. The child is wearing a green jumper with a shirt underneath, black trousers and trainers. The boy looks to be about 10 years old.  The camera shows a long shot of the scene, shows the entire body and the street he is standing in. The lighting is natural and the sounds are diagetic with on screen dogs barking and the child banging the stick. 

The boy is then joined by another young boy and two girls. They all appear to be of the same age, the other boy is dressed in a tracksuit and a cap turned backwards. The two girls are both wearing skirt and jackets and have their hair up either in a bun or a plait. 

The children begin to talk about the shooting that happened last night (referring to the scene that was heard at the start of the opening sequence) . The conversation flows naturally and casually. This highlights that it is a regular occurrence and they are used to it. The boy in the tracksuit says "I ain't afraid to get shot, both my brothers got shot and they still alive". Further proves that the children are used to violence and shootings in their neighbourhood. All the children have american accents and have average enunciation of words. 

The street the group of children are walking down is covered in litter and the walls and gates are covered in graffiti, which shows the neighbourhood residents are not that respectful to the property. The weather is sunny and the lighting is natural. The children are walking to school so it shows that the time of day is in the morning probably at around 8 o'clock.
The boy in the tracksuit and hat says to the others "Y'all wanna see something". When the other children turn round to discuss whether they want to, non-diegetic low music begins. This creates the start of a slightly tense atmosphere. At this point the camera shows a close up shot of the children to show the indecision on their faces clearly.
With a key change in the music, the scene changes to show a signpost with the words ONE WAY on it. This could show that if the children take this path there is no way out and that there is only one way their future will go. There is also a big red sign saying WRONG WAY. This again shows that the children are in potential danger and there are subtle signs saying the children should stop what they are doing. There are background of police sirens and dogs barking and non-diegetic music still playing.
The scene then shows rapid fire images of a ripped Ronald Regan poster. Each new shot is accompanied by a loud gunshot and the images zoom in and goes from a mid shot to an extreme close up of the poster and how the poster is ripped from bullets. The pace of the scene also speeds up which creates a tenser atmosphere.
The children are standing on the other side of the yellow police tape, the camera is showing a mid-shot of the children and the background noises are police sirens and dogs barking.
The two boys cross the police line first, and the boys kick through newspapers that are on the floor. The camera then shows a close up shot of the newspapers on the floor and they are covered in blood. The non-diegetic music gets louder. The camera zooms out to show the walls covered in bullet holes and blood. Diegetic noises such as the flies buzzing becomes more pronounced. One of the girls asks if that is blood on the floor and a boy calls her stupid. In response to this the girl says "At least I can tell my times tables, this highlights her innocence and her immaturity to the situation. It also highlights how young the children are and how violent the scene is and how they are used to this extreme type of violence.