It seems to me that he made a decent living with his savings and loan business and should have just got the hell out of there to a neighborhood a step up. He was probably the only one on the street that owned the house in a traditional sense instead of Section 8
shareHe didn't want to be afraid of his community. He wanted to be the change, and he wanted to help people buy homes and improve the area themselves. Leaving would've meant to him accepting defeat.
shareIt seems to me that he was very idealistic. The scene when he is in Compton with his son and Rick telling them about gentrification, and the importance of keeping everything Black: in that speech he seems to commend other countries for doing the same. One example was Mexico. Oh, there is no drug related crime in Mexico. The murder rate is 6x greater ( per capita than the U.S. ) and it is Mexican vs Mexican. Too bad he left out Jamaica -- one of the most violent countries in the world, and its all Black against Black. And don't even get into some of the countries in Eastern Africa. Drug related, poverty related, and tribal related. The concept of keeping a region entirely composed of one race does not by a long shot guarantee peace and prosperity. And the idea of the 'they' is ludicrous. Who is 'they' some evil white force who wants to systematically eliminate another race? No its just greedy mother blankers who want money by what ever means they can get it. Whether they be big shot drug dealers, or liquor store owners. Where there is a market for a product: guns, booze, drugs. There were always be someone to make a profit on that demand. Why would they want exterminate what amounts to a healthy portion of their income?? It would be stupid. Its like pharmaceutical companies ( and I know this sounds cynical ) do you really thing they want people to be well? If everyone were healthy they would be out of business. Then if everyone not currently in good health dropped dead tomorrow; they would also be out of business. In the end its all money.
I believe you are correct as if he backed away from what he believed in, he would be ditching his own. But one other part of the story which is just historically inaccurate ( don't get me wrong, I like the film ) but when Furious talks to Tre about going to Vietnam -- not possible. The U.S. involvement in direct combat ended in early 1973. The worst fighting was in 68 and we still sent draftees over up until 1969; but there after it was a steady decline until there was a temporary cease fire which Nixon called Vietnamization, or let them fight for themselves.
The movie was supposed to take place in 1990 or 1991, and repeatedly Furious was only supposed to be 17 years older than his son. So even if he enlisted the day after his son was born, he would never have been sent to Vietnam -- else it was a desk job and you would have to fight for that. Combat arms was essentially over and done with in 1972. 1973 or 1974 forget it. We were not a fighting force anymore.
It doesn't make the movie worse off, but it does steel a piece of Furious' story -- he was ( according to the other statements in the film) too young to have served in combat in the Nam.
Do you honestly think Singleton did any serious research about Vietnam and when it was ?? This clown only wanted to place the blame on the poor state of the black community on other races and justify his own ignorance and anger.
shareNo. Definitely not. Very few directors ( despite their having advisers ) do their homework. Look at the Hurt Locker. You don't have a scope on your gun unless you have a reticule, otherwise you are just looking at something closer yet still have no idea where your aiming at.
Overall it was a decent movie but definitely misguided. At one point Furious says, "We have to keep everything black. Black owned with black money." And then he goes on to say, "Just like the Mexican's and Koreans. " Yeah, Mexico is one of the most violent countries in the world and against their own people. So what is his point? If the 'they' which does not exist. really wanted to take out an entire race. It would be done systematically and rapidly. All poor neighborhoods white or black or whatever are a market place. Anyone who is making money ( legal or illegal ) would not want that market to disappear.
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Regarding Furious living in a crime-ridden area when he could a afford to live in a better neighborhood (and, btw, keeping his son exposed to crime, gangs, violence, and poorer quality schools), I can't help wondering if John Singleton lives in South Central now, or does he live in a neighborhood like Brentwood? Just sayin.
"my girlfriend sucked 37 d*cks!"
"In a row?"
Dude, I have no idea. I have a feeling Singleton was trying to put a message out there. I'm a white boy.
But the dialogue is poor and simply wrong. Furious talks about the black man pushing the rock selling the rock.
Cocaine was huge before and after and still is now. It is not just poor people who push, buy or whatever. It is actually a very expensive drug. And so long as there is a market, their will be a supply.
My girlfriend never sucked my d**k once.
hah.
Stay cool.
duh, furious was a character, not John Singleton
shareI have no idea what you're talking about but Furious wasn't speaking of an anarchy no control countries. He was speaking about the u.s.a where you don't have any other race killing the other more than blacks. A civilized country that has law and order. The drugs that come into this country comes from where? Are they doing their best to stop it? When drugs got big in the black community the police literally did nothing about it until they started getting rich. In fact the govt the federal govt played a huge part in Rick Ross rise from cocaine, look it up. As far as the business part most of these liquor store owners and small lil businesses are not rich. A lot of them are immigrants. Where are they going to go? Setup shop in the burbs? Yea right
shareHe's talking about Mexican AMERICANS and Korean AMERICANS etc. etc. and what he's saying has some truth to it. They help their own so that one day their people can come up in the US.
shareHe probably wanted to stay and make a difference in the community.
Which is commendable and something I really doubt I, or most people, would want to do. Most people would most likely be like "get me the hell away from all the violence!"
I'll be honest, Furious annoyed me with his holier than thou attitude at times. Like when his son's friend is asking him if his business is "homes loans or what", he rudely states back, "'it's not or what, it's what I do!" And insisting all the stuff on SAT's other than math is biased.
BUT, I loved it when he stood up to that angry cop and when he made his speech to the boys with that old man from Sanford and Son in attendance!
i always thought it was an ode to the character lawrence fishburne played in apocalypse now. Although he did die in that one.
shareNo, Furious wasn’t that rich. When the boys visit his workplace, he says, “There is always business. Just not always in here”
He made enough to get by. But he wasn’t rich. Tre’s mother was doing better than him after she finished her studies