TIME GOAL: 3 hours

START TIME: 12:15

READING LOG #: 5
END TIME: 4:00

BEFORE READING
Write the following information down in this order.
Title of Article: “Black Life On Film”
Based on the title alone, what do you know about the subject matter? I know that by the words “black
life” in the title, the subject is about black culture and communities and the film part is talking about on
movies.
Write down your predictions: What will this article cover? I think this article will cover the depiction
of typical black culture and communities in films in America today. I think the author, Hanif, will claim
that the portrayal of black culture in most movies is incorrect and hates how it is depicted.

Make a list for each.

External Distractions (What is physically distracting you?): My phone, the internet, and snacks.
Internal Distractions (What thoughts are interfering with your concentration?): Thinking of Kobe’s
death, worrying about my grades, and planning what I have to do tomorrow.

DURING READING
Practice annotations using these methods. Check the boxes to confirm which methods you’ve practiced.
 Assign each paragraph a number.
 Complete the following chart, using your own words to fill in each of the columns. (Hit the TAB
button to create more rows.):
Par. What It Says What It Does
EX Example: Many people have Example: Introduces a complication of an
misconceptions about the aftermath of event many people are familiar with.
Hurricane Katrina.
In this column, you will want to use the
functions of a paragraph, or choose a
rhetorical strategy.

1 The speaker “Doughboy” says the hood Presents qualitative evidence as the
is a violent place and the media ignores interview from doughboy shows the hood
or is unaware of it. is as dangerous as countries in war.

2 Hanif didn’t see the danger of the Provide history/background information of

neighborhood he moved to because he the author’s past by showing he grew up in
 was a young kid and was ignorant of it.
Looking back, he sees it’s a dangerous
place and explains hearing gun shots at
night.
3 Many black people across the nation
were shocked and angry because of what
happened to Rodney King and a statistic
shows 1 out 21 black American males
are murdered.
4 Boyz n the Hood in Hanif’s eyes is about
the bonds people have towards one
another in “the hood” rather than
depicting the violence in it.
5 People least deserving of death die no
matter how much other people try to
protect them from the dangers in life.
6 Doughboy was murdered because he
killed the murderer of his brother. Even
though he wanted justice for his brother,
seeking revenge resulted in his death as
well.
7 Kids living in the east coast in the 90s
were allowed to listen to Ice Cube out of
all the west coast rappers and enjoyed his
music but couldn’t really relate to his
lyrics because the differences in their
surroundings.
8 Ice Cube was loved by people on the east
coast too because his style of music was
very similar to east coast rap in the early
90s.
9 A large part of the nation sees Ice Cube
as dangerous and what’s wrong with
society.
10 Ice Cube was aware of the people
typically in a black neighborhood and
expressed this perfectly through Friday.
“the hood” so he is knowledgeable on what
“the hood” is like.
Present quantitative evidence as the
statistic 1 out of 21 black males will be
murdered shows how dangerous it is to be
a black man in America.
Develops a reason for why the film should
be looked at for the bonds in a “hood”
where parents want the best for their
children and the kinship established
between people’s loyalty to one another.
Develops a reason for why the ones least
deserving of death are sometimes the ones
who die, usually because of jealousy.
Discusses causes or effects as seeking
revenge will result in that person receiving
the same or similar outcome.
Compare/contrast two or more topics
between east coast and west coast rap.
Establishes the difference between people
as even though they both grew up in “the
hood,” different locations made music
from the other place unrelatable.
Develops a reason for why music can be
loved by people from different parts of the
nation based on the sound and how
familiar they are with it.
Provides history/background information
for Ice Cube’s character and how he is
seen as a threat to society.
Synthesize evidence as the film and real
life people are very similar from one
another. Shows the relationship between
 two different sources.

11 Although Ice Cube tends to make family
comedy movies now, he tends to have a
movie in between where he perfectly
visualizes black communities and the
people that live in them like he did more
often in the past.
Discusses effects of visualization of “the
hood,” making viewers more aware of the
reality of what “the hood” is like and who
are the people that live in it.

12 Ice Cube is like every other black man in Compare/contrast topics by comparing Ice
Hanif’s eyes, he has his flaws, but he still Cube a famous black man to an everyday
appreciates what he’s done for him. person Hanif sees regularly that is also
black and compares how similar these two
men are.

13 The bond between people is established Develops a reason for why people have a
through the obstacles both people went bond or loyalty with one another especially
through together. This establishes loyalty in “the hood.”
between the two.

14 When someone dies, they should be seen
as more than just a good or bad person.
They need to be humanized by the
people in their community because they
can’t do it themselves anymore.
Discuss a solution for how people should
treat the dead because of the loyal we
should have for one another as we age.

15 Doughboy feels alone in the world after Introduce a complication for seeking
he has lost his brother and he feels like revenge. Even after someone gets the
he lost his mother too because she sees revenge they wanted, it doesn’t help
him as the reason his brother is dead. change anything or fix what happened.

16 Doughboy is told he’s still loved but still Captures the reader’s attention by showing
feels alone deep down. how Doughboy is feeling. The brief love
for a moment can’t change the despair on
the inside.

AFTER READING
Answer the following questions using complete using intext citations for each question.

1. What is the speaker’s purpose for writing this piece? Who is their target audience? Explain
how you know by including an in-text citation, or evidence from the text. (8 complete
sentences +) The speaker’s purpose for writing this piece is to show the bond people have with
 one another in “the hood.” Hanif wants people to see what it is truly like living in the hood. The
biggest reason he was motivated to write this was seeing how Ice Cube portrayed the people in
these neighborhoods. Ice Cube’s movies looking into black people’s lives made them feel like rea
life, “Every character is there with you in the room” (Abdurraqib 145). Ice Cube really
understood what “the hood” was like and so his movies portrayed people actually in these
environments in real life really well. Hanif’s target audience is the people unaware of what “the
hood” is truly like. The essay starts with, “man, either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care
about what’s going on in the hood” (Abdurraqib 141). This is the start of the essay because the
Hanif wants the audience to know how “the hood” truly is and how a lot of media wrongly
portrays it.
2. After careful consideration, what do you think the author’s thesis was? What was the
purpose for writing this piece? (8 complete sentences +) The essay was all about how Ice Cube
correctly displays the bond and loyalty black people have with one another in the communities
they live in. So, the thesis is “either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s
going on in the hood” (Abdurraqib 141). This sentence is the thesis because it makes it clear most
people are unaware of the situations going on in “the hood” and the rest of the essay will show
how they’re wrong. Also, it was at the beginning of the essay, which is where the thesis should
be, so readers know from the start what the essay will be about. The purpose for writing this piece
is to make the audience aware that “the hood” in real life is probably not what they imagine it is
from movies. Movies tend to portray it as violent places and people killing each other senselessly
but it’s more than that. Boyz n the Hood in Hanif’s eyes “is a movie about loyalty that spans
generations” (Abdurraqib 142). With this, Hanif wants people to see movies for the loyalty
people have for each other, not the violence that goes on.
3. Although you may disagree with the argument, or the issue the speaker presents, pretend
that you agree with them, and describe the qualities of the argument that you found most
compelling. Be sure to use direct in-text citations, or evidence to justify your argument. (8
complete sentences +) The speaker argues that the “the hood” is more than just a violent area
that many people only see it as. His best methods is seen through the relatability to Ice Cube’s
movies. Also, the personal experiences Hanif mentions throughout the essay strengthen his
argument. Hanif brings up Friday and Ice Cube writing the script for it, “making it a script by
someone who truly knew and understood his people, the full scope of our neighborhoods and the
characters within” (Abdurraqib 145). The characters in the movie resembling people typically in a
black neighborhood humanizes these people rather than only the violence media portrays them as.
With movies like this, people will begin seeing that “the hood” is filled with people loyal to one
 another and not just a dangerous place. Another example is Hanif showing this amount of loyal
between his people when comparing his barber to Ice Cube. Hanif describes Ice Cube as he sees
him, “Like many of the black men who helped raise me, Ice Cube is complicated, sometimes
problematic, and still often endearing” (Abdurraqib 145). This shows how Hanif sees other
people when he grew up in “the hood,” strengthens his argument as readers see the endearing
relationships they have with one another.
4. Although you may agree with the speaker’s stance on the issue, write a counterargument
explaining why you disagree. Again, you will need to use direct evidence to make your
case(8 complete sentences +) Hanif Abdurraqib sees “the hood” for the emotions and loyalty in
it, however this is not how it should be viewed. “The hood” is dangerous, being the most violent
areas in a city, and the media correctly portrays the violence in it. Abdurraqib wants “the hood” to
been seen for the loyalty the people have for one another, which is true that loyalty is there, but
the more important aspect to look at it is for the danger in it. Watching Boyz n the Hood, it’s “a
movie about death, or about visualizing the ghetto as a living, breathing entity” (Abdurraqib 142).
Boyz n the Hood shows “the hood” as the danger it truly is. People see the bond had for one
another in this movie, but the movie is there to show the audience how dangerous “the hood” is
and how much it needs to change. Hanif is correct that the people in these neighborhoods should
be humanized, but that does not call for ignoring the dangers in these neighborhoods. Unless
something is done about it, “the hood” will always be a dangerous place and that is first and
foremost how it should be seen as.