Why Denzel Washington Stopped Watching ‘Life in the Hood’ Movies Like ‘Menace II Society’
Actor Denzel Washington considered himself a huge fan of Ice Cube’s classic Boyz n the Hood film. However, Washington would later change his mind on that type of film genre over time.
Denzel Washington grew exhausted with ‘hood’ movies
Washington has been candid about his desire to see Black movies succeed. He’s helped challenge the once popular belief that African American films couldn’t do well overseas, for instance, with his own hit movies. Because of this, he took great pride in his contemporaries and himself defying expectations.
“I hear everything, and what I hear keeps changing. Because they used to say it didn’t sell over here, then it does. Then they said it doesn’t sell in the south. Then it does. It doesn’t sell in Europe. Then it does,” he once said on 60 Minutes. “So, I just keep pushing. Well, what an opportunity I have to prove them wrong.”
Another subgenre of film that usually boasted a majority Black cast spawned movies like Boyz n the Hood. These types of coming-of-age stories that focused on underprivileged youths growing up in harsh urban environments showed their capacity for great success in the 90s. The late John Singleton pioneered the subgenre with his 1991 hit, which was both critically acclaimed and profitable.
Other cult classics like Tupac Shakur’s Juice, Menace II Society, and New Jack City further demonstrated the power of the subgenre. However, although Washington enjoyed those types of movies in the beginning, he eventually felt that they were becoming a bit stale. So much so that he no longer wanted to pay any money or time to a genre he believed was becoming over-saturated.
“I don’t pay to see ‘life in the hood’ movies anymore. That story’s been told. If someone has something to spill from their heart, God bless ’em, they should…but if someone’s just saying, ‘Oh I’m gonna keep doing this ’cause it makes money,’ I’ll be the first person in line to punch that person in the head,” Washington once told Time.
How Denzel Washington felt about the state of Black films today compared to in past years
It’s unclear if Washington still holds the same opinion about movies like Boyz n the Hood nowadays that he did back then. But African American cinema has evolved a lot since, and it’s a growth Washington has contributed to himself. He’s helped tell Black stories as a filmmaker with movies like Antwone Fisher and The Great Debaters.
In a 2016 interview with Sirius XM, Washington reflected on another project he did called Fences. Fences was based on the 1985 August Wilson play of the same name, featuring a majority African-American cast. During the interview, he was asked about his opinion on the state of Black movies and actors today.
“It’s much better, now. There were no roles like [Fences],” Washington said.
“I’ve been in the game for 35, 40 years,” he added. “It obviously wasn’t like that when I started. If you got a role at all. Which is why I thought I’d be doing theater for the rest of my life. I really didn’t aspire to be a quote unquote movie star because I didn’t see anybody who looked like me, anyway. So, I didn’t tell jokes, and I wasn’t gonna be that third what’s his name in the back. I got too much ego for that. But it is much better.”
Washington also reminded that it was important for African American creatives to tell their stories if they felt unrepresented in cinema. It was a better alternative than simply waiting for their stories to be told by someone else.
“If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage,” Washington said. “So, you gotta write it. You can’t sit back afterwards and go, ‘Well, it’s his fault, because I ain’t got it.’”
