5 Trademarks of John Singleton Films

One of Los Angeles’ finest filmmakers has shifted the culture across the globe. Let’s explore five trademarks of a John Singleton film.

1. John Singleton’s Evergreen Soundtrack

John Singleton loathed letting his directorial style be defined by whatever was hot at the moment, despite his career spanning from 1991 to 2019. While his films always have a thoroughly contemporary feel, reflecting a finger-on-the-pulse sensibility, the director’s love for Funk and Soul Oldies shines through in some of his most potent cinematic moments.

In 2005’s Four Brothers (one of my personal “desert island” movies), The Temptations’ classic “I Wish It Would Rain” underscores the mourning of Evelyn Mercer’s (Fionnula Flanagan) murder. Not only is this a nod to Mama Mercer’s heyday in the ’60s, but it also serves as a tribute to the cross-generational theme of tragic loss.

On one hand, Singleton could have chosen a more current song with the explicit theme of death, not this breakup ballad. But the atmospheric tune is almost singular in its ability to create a safe space for the four strong-willed Mercer brothers to honor Evelyn’s memory with their tears.

Similarly, the ending of 2001’s Baby Boy comes to mind. GQ’s “I Do Love You” croons in the background as the audience settles on protagonist Jody and his quasi-stepfather’s dutiful acceptance of what real love requires of them both. Jody’s playful quip, “What you know about that, Melvin?” signals a rite of passage as the older man’s newly-minted equal.

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2. John Singleton and His Musical Muses

Ice Cube. Janet Jackson. Tupac Shakur. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges.  Tyrese Gibson. Andre 3000. Marky Mark. John Singleton had a penchant for highlighting the multihyphenate. And I don’t just mean a simple cameo.

1993’s Poetic Justice saw pop phenomenon Janet Jackson cast opposite Tupac, one of the most influential rappers of all time, in a dark romantic dramedy. Only a true artistic heavyweight could see the vision, let alone make it one of the most iconic urban films of all time. Box braids would never be the same again. Singleton laser-focused on showcasing these performers as true multi-talents, rather than leaning gimmicky and requiring musical performances just to milk the brand, as other filmmakers might do.

Arguably, Ice Cube was discovered by Singleton as an actor when he was cast as Doughboy in the 1991 Southland gang gothic, Boyz n the Hood, a film named after his smash hit jam with NWA. Cube would go on to star in the widely popular Friday trilogy, which cemented his reputation as a serious and prolific film professional with credits in acting, writing, producing, and more. R&B star Tyrese experienced a similar trajectory. His role in Baby Boy transitioned a few TV guest appearances into a blockbuster-based career.

3. Remember Family Matters

Singleton’s philosophy on family is his biggest contribution to my film education and personal ethos. Perhaps I played my Four Brothers DVD at least 35 times because I was mesmerized by how four characters most folks wouldn’t expect to see together at a restaurant synchronized seamlessly as a family unit. This taught me something priceless about the world.

In another way, so did his sobering 1997 historical crime thriller Rosewood, which is about a Florida Ku Klux Klan massacre. The Carrier family at the center of this narrative is burned in my mind. Images of their fight for survival and their right to personhood were some of the first to illustrate to my young mind what was initially nebulous information about my people’s history.

Their complexity as a household was relatable and culturally resonant to me even as a child—so much so that I was able to process the segregation era more clearly and personally by viewing this film than by a February full of contextless Martin Luther King Jr. clips.

By highlighting these familial ties, the narrative repositions the Carriers and the rest of the community as the norm, while showing their tormentors to be subhuman in their acts.

Read More: How Julie Dash Became the First Black Woman to Helm a Theatrically Distributed Movie

4. The Single(ton) Mothers

Some would say that films like Boyz n the Hood have displayed a skew in their depictions of Black women, especially in the framework of motherhood. Singleton’s works exhibit a common theme that might explain where the disconnect comes in, despite the presence of compelling and nuanced arguments.

In his later works, it becomes clear that maybe he didn’t intend these depictions as indictments but rather raised a question: How does one prepare a child for the cruelty of the world without the resources to mitigate it?

Angela Bassett’s role in Boyz has been lampooned to hell and back. Perhaps those critiques are born of the social necessity to make home a soft refuge for the jagged edges of the world—which she likely did for the first sixteen years of the protagonist’s life, leaving his father only the last two.

In Four Brothers, it is more than implied that Evelyn had her hands full with her sons—especially the problem child eldest, Bobby (Mark Wahlberg). From beyond the grave, her spirit chides and guides the men, demonstrating that they need her stern hand as she can no longer prevent them from pursuing the path they seek, albeit to avenge her. Regardless of the obvious demographic differences, Evelyn shares something in common with all the Singleton Single Moms: knowing that there is no easy way to raise gun-savvy sons who are bigger than you.

Read More: 3 Well-Written Female Characters You Can Learn From

5. The Search for “More”

Whether we’re talking about a fresh start after a tragic loss or establishing financial independence, Singleton’s characters always seek to better themselves in the traditional sense of the phrase.

Higher Learning (1995) takes this theme by the reins and leaves us questioning who gets to define what “better” means in this way. As one of his most powerful films, Higher Learning takes the pervasiveness of violence out of “the hood” and reveals it to be a factor wherever people seek to oppress one another, even in spaces meant to represent liberation, like a university. This search comes at a cost that might outweigh the price of staying put. It’s giving dramatic irony.

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You can’t go wrong with any entry in this filmography. Long live the G.O.A.T.

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