You ever watched a TV show or Movie at a younger age & not understand the storyline & subliminal or hidden messages they give until you grow with a more developed mind to realize it later?

Yeah me too.

This one movie in particular, “Boyz n the Hood”, a 90’s classic. It appeals more to an African American audience, but it can definitely appeal to anyone. If you haven’t seen it, you should & then come back to this.

But to those that have, or just like the spoils, remember Jason (a.k.a. Furious) Styles?

Yep, the Father of Tre played by Lawrence Fishburne.

Growing up, I’ve watched this movie a few times, but never sat & had some serious thoughts about it.

At the start of the movie, Tre lived with his mother. That was, until his mother could no longer deal with his tendency of lashing out at students in school & getting into fights. It was his last strike. And as a result of that, he was sent to live with his father.

Yet, the prime reason of sending him away was to also have his father teach him how to be a man.

What I noticed was, he had the characteristics of his friend, Doughboy, who was the hot & hardheaded one that became a gang-banger after being released from prison. Had his mother not send him off, he could’ve possibly became just like him. And thats what she feared.

But then, by sending him to live with his father, he grew much more like Ricky, Doughboy’s brother & also his opposite, who was more into his education & future despite even being a young parent. He & Ricky both went to high school together so their relationship was more tighter than with his brother.

Furious was a remarkable man & father teaching his son how to be responsible, how to live a healthy life, & how to avoid falling into the trap society placed upon African Americans hence his reveal of gentrification. And most importantly, giving his son a father’s love no matter what.

Tre was much like the middle man between Ricky & Doughboy as a result to having a father as guidance. Which the two brothers did not. He would try to settle disputes between them since they were so divided as Doughboy was always jealous that they’re mother favored Ricky more. As she did after all, take care of him while he was locked up all his childhood years.

And also prior to his father revealing to him & others on gentrification & issues amongst the black community, he was given a wake up call after being stopped & roughed up by a police officer who assumed him to be part of a gang & a menace to society. It all made him realize that this was the path he was to avoid just as his father said regardless of how much he was exposed to it with the people he hung with.

When Ricky was unexpectedly murdered before his eyes after getting caught up in gang rivalry with his brother, his sudden burst of sadness & rage made him briefly forget everything his father taught him just for an act of revenge against those that murdered his dear friend.

This ties back with when he was a child so well. When someone pissed him off in class, he was ready to fight without thinking about the consequences afterwards. Now he was truly enraged towards the people that took his friend’s life, & he was ready to kill without thinking about the consequences.

It led to a very touching confrontation between father & son before he was able to walk out the door with a gun. Furious blocked his path demanding him to settle down & give him the gun so he wouldn’t do the exact thing he talked about before everything happened.

Though, even after handing over the gun, his rage still carried him to sneak out the house in an attempt to still get the revenge he wanted with Doughboy & his gang. But, it was cut short as halfway through the search for the people responsible, he said “let me out”.

It felt like there was a spiritual connection between him & his father as he sat in the car. Furious was indeed furious by believing that his son rejected all of what he said to him just for the one moment that would ruin him for the rest of his life. And thats when Tre realized the consequences afterwards if he fully went through with this act.

It was like the words of his father kept being repeated in his mind. He understood that even after they’d avenge Ricky, it would not bring him back. It would forever taint his soul, & his life will ultimately be trapped in the black on black crime until the death of him.

Unlike Tre, Doughboy had no mercy. He was lost ever since he was sent to prison. He had no real love from anyone, not even from his mother. And its crazy because you would have expected him to be the first to be gone because of his characteristics & lifestyle.

After he succeeded in avenging his brother, it was the after effect that was touching to me. Tre realized the consequences before even coming close to finding the people & bailed, while Doughboy realized the consequences afterwards & that he was forever trapped as it didn’t change a thing. And he was killed not too long after.

Furious was the reason why Tre survived out of the three. His words, guidance, love, care, & support throughout his life were all crucial to his decision making & survival through the hood. Without his father, he would’ve fell long ago to the slightest things. With his father, he almost fell to the worst things, but came back up to be the better man like his father taught him to be.

A father’s love for his son is truly a powerful thing.

I know i know, they’re all just characters in a movie set to be that way. But its incredible to realize something like this so vivid when you get older. And then to realize how much it can connect with your life.

I consider my own father to be a “Furious Styles” within. And I mean that literally.

For a son to learn how to be a man, it should always come from his father. He could’ve been turned his back on me like the typical black fathers. He could’ve not gave a damn about raising a child. Even after the separation between him & my mother, not once was he never there to teach me how to become a man. Showed me the ropes on how to carry myself responsibly, how to stay healthy, how to be a leader, how to build character, how to stand firm when the world seems against you, how to be disciplined to know right from wrong, & to understand that every action has a reaction. He carried a burning desire to make sure his only son was placed on the right path in this corrupted world.

Not once did I ever not feel his love for me. And his presence in my life has kept me from making foolish mistakes & falling into traps set for the black man.

I really wish there were more of “Furious” within some of the fathers out here. Not just for black children, but for children of all races. But I mean, a person shouldn’t be motivated to be a certain type of way just because of a character that was set to be that way. Or should they? It would be a good motivation.