The Storytellers

Jalaysia Turner Dr. Harris African American Literature 23 April 2026 • Overview - Black films have been used to express the experience of Black lives. The films will be used to discuss the community that is built within these movies and how they are used as storytellers. The films, Boyz N the Hood, Crooklyn, and The Hate U give are going to explore the various concepts of identity, culture, and resilience that goes into portraying the accuracy of Black experiences. • Boyz N the Hood (identity) - The group of boys displayed in this film were all dealing with the paths that their environment impacted them to take; some prevailed and others became products of their environment. Throughout the film, the individuals were trying to figure out who they were or wanted to be given the nature of their situation. There were aspiring football players, college goers, and some boys that wanted to live a street life. They all faced many struggles trying to stay on the right path and not choose an identity that would be the downfall of their lives. The film is beneficial to idea of storytelling because it gives watchers an inside look to the way a large part of the Black community deals with trying to decide who to be to thrive in a society that is positioned to be a threat to success. • Crooklyn (culture) - The main aspect of the film was a family going through everyday life and dealing with things that come along with that, good and bad. They had to deal with death, job loss, and poverty. There were points in the film that showed great examples of building culture within their community. Kids in the film would engage in activities considered as ring games, or they would express the way it grew up in the black household, with the rules and family dynamics were presented. Another example was when the topic of hair was portrayed; the main character, Troy, was used to getting her done in braids, but after visiting with her aunt, she had to get her hair straightened. This was not favorable among her or her mother due that being a big part of Black culture. Overall, this movie did a great job at showing the way that culture is developed within Black families. • The Hate U Give (resilience) - The film was an accurate depiction of the battles that Black individuals face with police brutality, especially in areas that are considered the “hood.” During the movie, the people of the Garden Heights community were subjected to lifestyles such as, drug use, death, and gang violence. The community built throughout this film showed the resilience that was necessary to have the ability to continue living. For instance, the main character, Starr, had to things like code-switching and go to more developed schools at the beginning of the film to learning that she had to stand up for the people in her community to help build the narrative that they are people too and not that everyone are involved in the downfall of their community. The message behind this story was to share the adversities we have to overcome in the world, in spite of having to also deal with the normal problems that are bound to occur. • Connection to “The People Could Fly” - This text is composed of various folktales with the purpose of portraying stories. The stories that are told in these folktales are used to teach morals, maintain history, and to entertain. Within this specific concept, all the films discussed accompany those characteristics; more specifically, the folktale possessed aspects like discussing myths throughout, providing slave trade history, along with this one and other stories throughout the book teaching important lessons or being able to shine a light on the things that life forces us to learn.