Baby Boy

Baby Boy is an African-American film themed on ghetto lifestyle. The plot revolves around Jody, a young protagonist nesting in his mother's ‘crib' while engaging in a complex social life. Jody's character is a reflection of a typical African-American man growing up in a violent environment. The paper analyzes sociological aspects revealed in John Singleton's movie through interpretation of social terms (NYT).

Status positions and Status Sets

The movie is dotted with numerous status sets and positions. For instance, Jody has an ascribed status as a son. He also holds an achieved status as a father to a daughter and a son because he chose to establish a relationship with two different women. On the other hand, Jody's mother is a girlfriend to an ex-con, Melvin, who moves in to live with Jody and his mother. Melvin's master status position is shaped by his life as a gangster often finding himself on the wrong side of the law.

 The positions and status sets in Baby Boy are interrelated because all are linkable to a family social system. For instance, Jody has a biological mother that often establishes different relationships with violent men with an aim of forming a functional family. According to her, Jody needs a father figure for guidance. However, the social relationship is often dysfunctional as Jody fails to accept her mother's boyfriend as his father. In fact, Jody is later forced to leave his family because of constant conflict with Rhames.

Roles in the Social Environment

Jody becomes defensive of her mother's (Juanita) property when Rhames try to move in because he feels he has the right to do so. He believes he has the right to inherit the property. This results in frequent battles over supremacy with Juanita's new boyfriend. Eventually, he bows out and exits the premises because he can't keep up with the piling pressure and increasing responsibilities.  Jody is an unemployed, selfish, young and immature man that establishes random relationships with young women. The social relationship and sexual encounters result in kids hence an added paternal responsibility. Therefore, Jody has an obligation to provide for son and daughter from different relationships.

Role conflict exists where Jody is expected to take care of his son from a relationship with Yvette and a daughter from a sexual relationship with a new interest. This is becoming increasingly hard because he has no job and is still lives with his mother. On the other hand, Jody's mother if faced with a role conflict because she has to choose between stabilizing a relationship with his son and committing to strengthening ties with her new boyfriend (IMDb).

There is a role strain in Jody's relationship with Yvette as the relationship fails to work. While Jody sleeps with several women including co-workers, Yvette expects him to become a responsible father of her son. It gets worse when Rodney, a former boyfriend of Yvette, is released from the prison. As he returns to the neighborhood, Rodney aims at normalizing the relations with his former girlfriend.

Role exit is seen in Yvette's longing for Jody as his boyfriend instead of Rodney. This happens as Rodney tries to rape her in front of his son. However, the rape attempt was unsuccessful. Eventually, Rodney is forced to exit his role as Yvette's temporary boyfriend as Jody regains his former status.

Group Formation

There are several group formations in the movie. First, the movie concerns a black neighborhood in Los Angeles. There is a depiction of a social categorization as people of the same ethnic and racial origin group together in a specified neighborhood. Violence is rampant in the neighborhood because of poor provision of social amenities including security. Secondly, as the movie nears its end, Jody becomes a mature man. He sees the need of grouping with his family and providing for the needs of Yvette and his children. His family is a primary group sealed by a marriage. A similar grouping is seen in a cemented relationship between his mother and Melvin.

Interactive Processes

 In the film, there is a competition between Rodney and Jody for a relationship with Yvette. At one time, both have been boyfriends to Yvette. Eventually, Jody succeeds to tie a knot with the woman. Cooperation, though uncommon, is clear when Jody becomes mature and decides to work hand-in-hand with Yvette in providing for the needs of their children. In addition, Jody cooperates with his mother by allowing her to establish a relationship with her new boyfriend Melvin. Jody agrees to compromise his relationships with other women to settle with Yvette and her children. On the other hand, Yvette compromises her relationship with Rodney to move in with the father of her son.  Initially, there were conflicts between Jody, Juanita and Melvin regarding the latter getting in between Jody and his mother. However, scores are settled eventually when Jody matures and forms a family of his own (IMDb).

Culture of the Social Environment

The film is set in a black Los Angeles neighborhood. Besides, all actors are from the same ethnic background to avoid distortion of the message intended to be passed across. Insecurity, violence and rapes mostly characterize poor black neighborhoods. It is no different in the film: several characters including Jody, Rodney and Melvin are engaged in violent activities on numerous occasions. In fact, Sweetpea kills Rodney in cold blood. Rodney unsuccessfully tries to rape Yvette. Actors like Tyrese and Snoop Dogg were brought up in a similar neighborhood, thus they are well aware on how they should portray the real image of violence and unfaithfulness in ghettos.

Works Cited

 IMDb. Baby Boy (2001). 2015. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255819/plotsummary. Accessed November 13, 2015.

Nytimes.com (NYT). Movie Review - Baby Boy - FILM REVIEW; Be a Man? But Where Are the Role Models? - NYTimes.com. 2015. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D06E7D61130F934A15755C0A9679C8B63. Accessed November 13, 2015.