Would the Bloods have still killed Ricky? Also, was what Regina King's character said about Ferris supposed to have significance? How did she know he couldn't fight? P.S. One of the best out of many realistic scenes.
shareWhen dealing with someone like Ferris it wouldn't have mattered. Ignorance: ?, a need to prove how "hard" he was: ?, and a feeling of disrespect: ?. Three ingredients for disaster in the hood. Even though Ferris started it he felt that he had to prove something to his crew. The thing that gets me is the fact that he didn't even kill Ricky. He was a coward that got someone else to do his dirty work for him. That's how it usually is though.
Growing up in Little Rock, AR at the time that this was made, I can say that it was a pretty good portrayal of how things were. Not only in L.A., but other places as well. There were many nights that I ducked bullets from drive-bys. I also have friends that have been in prison since the early 1990's for murder. I even have friends that are dead. One was killed by two boys who rode up on bikes while he was sitting on his porch. It may seem like it's unrealistic, but I guarantee that those who think that didn't grow up in this type of environment. They watch the movies and feel that they have a real understanding of what went on and what's still going on. It's truly laughable.
Another way of looking at it is if Ricky and Tre never go to Crenshaw that night, they're never targeted by Doughboy's rivals. I would have to guess that this is what Singleton is trying to establish. It was Ricky's idea to go to Crenshaw, not Tre's. Tre's solid upbringing just doesn't leave for high risk social plans, even having sex is a huge step. Ricky, having a not so good upbringing by a mother who gets her life together a little too late into motherhood, flounders and meanders and tends to find trouble. The scene where he is killed, he's trying to finish off his lottery ticket. Notice that Tre is aware of the grave danger and running like a GI through a jungle. Ricky is aloof. He just had no clear understanding of when it was time to get serious in life, whether it was the SAT's, where he didn't come with a no. 2 pencil and was scoping out the girls in the room when everyone else was sweating out the test they'd studied hard for, or the life threatening situation in the end that he succumbs to.
shareYeah, Ricky was not the brightest guy. Ferris was known by the others as a guy who always liked to start beef. He had just tried to pick a fight with Ricky and then unloaded an automatic weapon in the air not too long after that. He drove around in a red car and was with a group that wore all red, you don't need to be a gang expert to figure out that he's a Blood.
And yet Ricky is convinced that they weren't gonna do anything. The guy carried around an automatic weapon for crying out loud!
It was actually Tre's idea to go to Crenshaw though. Tre asked where Doughboy was and Ricky told him "at Crenshaw with the rest of them fools".
Tre says "let's go" and Ricky says "cool".