Leaving the nest speech
Throughout life, there will always be obstacles approaching you as you grow up. Whether its self-esteem, relationships or procrastination in school. (So what is leaving the nest? Is it a young bird flying away from its nest? Not precisely, but ‘metaphorically'. The concept leaving the nest refers to the transitioning into a new world of an individual, where it can be difficult as one struggles with their changing identity and understanding of where they belong. The film Boyz N The Hood directed by John Singleton in 1991 is a significant and powerful film relating to the concept of leaving the nest as the protagonist, Tre Styles, who illustrates the transitioning of surpassing the obstacles and approaching the new phases of life.
In the beginning of the film, Tre gets involved in a school conflict with a classmate, therefore defying the ‘contract’ that he had with his mother in order to behave. Because of that, Tre’s mother (Reva Devereaux) feels that it is time for him to move in with his father (Furious Styles) to educate him about respect, responsibilities and how to restrain himself during violent encounters due to the violent and drug abused area; hence the recurring motifs of the flying helicopters. His mother realises that only his father can teach him to become a man. ‘One out of every 21 Black American males will be murdered.’ Most will die at the hands of another Black male’. This significant quote is exposed throughout the film. From what I have learnt about leaving the nest from the characters is that revenge is not the answer, as it can become an ongoing matter if an individual continues this situation. This is shown in a mise-en-scene where some gang members shoot Ricky, which then slow-motion is elaborated which is used to capture the dramatic details of the scene. It is shown in a point of view shot for the audience to see how futile it is to kill a person of their own kind. Tre, Doughboy and his friends plan to take revenge. However, Tre gains an epiphany that taking revenge could affect his future in which he refuses to continue this futile matter. He would not have been able to make this difficult decision if he didn’t have his father’s morals infused in him from a young age. This is when he begins to understand who he is and where he belongs.
Similarly , the novel ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ by Melina Marchetta also exemplifies the concept of leaving the nest, where the protagonist, Josephine Alibrandi, feels that her illegitimacy and her ethnicity were a burden and prevented her from belonging to a society that she yearns to belong to where “the world of sleek