Father Figures in Boyz and American History X

15 Pages 3836 Words

iously. Parents, siblings, teachers, celebrities, and even fictional characters can be emulated and regarded as more than just a role model, but a significant authority – a father figure. Tre and Danny are no different. Each has many authority figures, influence, and role models to which they could look up, and sometimes they do. But each director has chosen only one or (in Danny’s case) two characters for each child to truly look up to. By examining each filmmaker’s shot selection and especially camera angles and placement, we are able to see who it is each director defines as the child’s ultimate authority – the paternal figure.

When we first see Tre in an interaction with an authority figure, he is seated in his classroom making jokes to his seemingly naïve white teacher. When the teacher responds by challenging him to teach the class himself, he replies with “okay, I can do that.” He stands and is captured in the frame on equal level with his teacher. This standing and putting himself on the same plane (even slightly higher) as his authority figure shows the audience from the very beginning of the movie that Tre will not respect or obey just any authority. When he returns home, he is immediately shot very small and insignificant to his mother who seems, at first, to be his successful parental figure. While Tre continues to be captured as smaller and lower than his mother, literally looking up at her from his seat on the couch, we find out that she will not be Tre’s authoritative figure. She is sending him to his father’s house because “only a man can raise a man.” It is through this pair of scenes of outright disobedience to his teacher and the hopelessness of being raised by his mother, even if (as we saw) she is a respected power and influence over him, that Singleton shows the audience the true unique nature of the boy’s ultimate paternal influence. The audience now understands that Tre’...