Essay Questions

How does Ricky die?

Ricky and Tre were being chased down by another crew in the hood, and they managed to get away. But, after Ricky takes a leak he tells Tre they should split up which Tre agrees to. Ricky is absorbed in a scratch off ticket when the car rolls up on him and he doesn't have time to get away and is shot and killed in the alley by a sawed off shotgun in the hands of one of the other crew members. This is only feet from where Tre is standing.

What's the significance of the game of dominoes with Doughboy and Dooky?

Doughboy has just won a game of dominoes against three of his boys including Dooky. They then switch to spades as they talk about getting with the women at the party. The conversation turns to Dooky who we find out has been getting oral sex from the crackheads, and he tells the guys he doesn't have sex with them so he won't catch anything. But to his shock, they tell him you can still get AIDS from oral sex. This sends him into an internal tailspin of fear. The significance of the game is that it symbolizes Dooky playing a game with his life by getting with these women on the side.

What is gentrification and why is it relevant to this film?

The definition of gentrification is: "the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste". Gentrification is essentially a "legal" process by which outside groups purchase land in poor neighborhoods and cause the people of that community to begin to move out, and once they do they raise the price of the land and sell it for a profit. It is relevant to this film because that is exactly what is happening in the neighborhood. We listen as Furious Styles explains that outside ownership of their community will lead to them having no place to call home as they will be forced out so others can profit off of their leaving. This is a reality for the black community and it is a serious threat to their life in their home.