OK. i respect Singleton's work in Boyz in the Hood and Poetic Justice.i was greatly disappointed with Baby Boy. i think we could start with the terribly racist and sexist roles represented by the main actors. some might applaud the work for showing "the way things are" but every perspective has a bias. his perspective is mirrored by racist and sexist thinking from the Moynihan report in the 60s suggesting that black males are children, and should be sent to war. his film echoes sexist sentiments that black women are the cause of black men's plight.<br /><br />the film did not challenge racism or white supremacy at any level, in fact conversely it coaxed the men to live up to the "American dream" of individualism. it just showed a few idiots trying to gain ground without a cent of integrity, strategy, or intelligence. it fed into stereotypes of black men and women as sexually overactive and temperamental. surrounding that theme was an animal-like, consumerist, macho-ism that speaks to black men as irrational, hormone-driven, dangerous and brutish. i must say the worst scene was the "rape" incident. for one thing this girl played the nagging role, another stereotype for black women, who actually never communicated with her partner. they yelled and had sex, but that was about it. why can't there be a movie where black people actually have a real conversation and understand one another instead of a dog-eat-dog fight? the longest conversation they had was about who had sex who when. which reminds me, the worst scene was when Jody hits his girlfriend, and then goes down on her. what was that about? mixing domestic violence with sex glamorizes and condones it. the girlfriend did not defend herself against her rapist. in fact she only cared about her child watching,not her own safety. instead of kicking him out, she complains to Jody in an effort to induce pity in him. bad acting, and a weak acting role combined.i don't believe that this portrays urban youth culture. the most pressing decision of these young people's lives was to find out who to have sex with, and if the person they cared about was cheating on them. it also portrays people driven by base desires who live within a fantasy exemplary in the neighborhood without cops, garbage in the streets, druggies or prostitutes, only and fresh lawns with plush green grass, and gardens. i think Singleton can do better.