The 'Boyz' Of Bloodshed

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By Newsweek Editors

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The end of "Boyz N the Hood," 23-year-old John Singleton's critically acclaimed film about young blacks coming of age in gang-ridden Los Angeles, carries the plea "Increase the Peace." But the movie's nationwide release last week did anything but that. It triggered a spree of largely gang-related violence that left at least one dead and more than 30 wounded at the weekend, prompting some theater owners to pull the film. In suburban Chicago, a man was fatally shot early Saturday after a midnight showing at a drive-in. Five people were wounded in or near the Cineplex Odeon complex in Universal City, Calif. A crowd fleeing a gunshot in a downtown Minneapolis theater came under fire from a passing vehicle; four people were wounded two critically.

"Boyz" is the second film from a young black director this year to have its opening marred by gang violence. In March, gunfire plagued showings of "New Jack City," Mario Van Peebles's story of the rise and fall of a Harlem crack lord. Both films are violent, although neither glorifies gratuitous bloodshed. Still, the mayhem may scare away distributors at a time when Hollywood has dropped historic barriers to black filmmakers--possibly making it tougher for a new generation of gifted directors to bring their visions of African-American life to the public.

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