9) “It’s my turn to talk.” – Boyz N The Hood (1991)
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As a depiction of life in South Central Los Angeles, the iconic debut of writer-director John Singleton was so well-received that it earned the newcomer two Academy Award nominations – and rightly so, for this is an incredibly well-crafted drama, boasting excellent performances. Among them, is Angela Bassett as single-mother, Reva Styles.
Though the film centres on the relationship between a father – Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) – and his son – Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) – as the younger man tries to navigate his way through a teenage filled with gang violence, prejudice and poverty – Reva Styles still plays an important role. Trying to parent the young Tre (played by Desi Arnez Hines II) alone, she struggles to manage his increasingly aggressive and bullying behavior in their home neighbourhood of Inglewood. Fearing for his future, she sends him to live with his father in the Crenshaw neighbourhood, hoping that he will be better able to guide him. This gives rise to inevitable tensions between Reva and Furious, leading to a coffee shop confrontation.
“Now, It’s my turn to talk. Sure – you took your son – my son – our son – and you taught him how to be a man. I’ll give you that. Most men ain’t man enough to do what you did. But that gives you no right – do you hear me? – no right to tell me that I can’t be a mother to my son. What you did was no different than what mothers have been doing since the pasts of time. It’s just a shame too many brothers can’t do the same. So don’t think you’re special. You may be cute, but not special.”
Bassett certainly brings her signature power and gravitas to this speech, but it is the point she is making that packs the real punch. Tearing down – in one single sentence – the almost mythological reverence with which men are regarded when they actually take responsibility for their own children, Reva sweeps away any attempt made by Furious to perpetuate the unequal view of ‘traditional’ gender roles in parenting, and replaces it with a level playing field. It’s not about mothers as ‘carers’ and fathers as ‘providers,’ it’s about parents being parents in a way that addresses the needs of the child. Caring for his child doesn’t make him ‘special’ because he is also a man – it simply makes him a parent.
10) “Believe Tom Robinson” – To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Harper Lee wrote one of the definitive novels in American literature, the courtroom classic To Kill a Mockingbird. While Atticus Finch is a captivating character on the page, the Oscar-winning performance by Gregory Peck is one of the finest portrayals by an actor in any film. In this speech, which does not need a rush of emotional music or a great deal of editing to manipulate the audience, Peck pleads with the jury to come to their rational senses.
“The defendant is not guilty,” Finch proclaims, “but somebody in this courtroom is.” He is fighting for the rights of an African-American citizen on trial in the intolerant county where he lives. He is not just speaking his case to the jury, but to the community watching the case unfold with a subjective eye. It is hard to stand up for Tom Robinson’s rights, when the rest of the community is firmly seated.
When the American Film Institute had to round up the 50 greatest heroes and villains in American cinema, many viewers expected a swashbuckling adventurer like Indiana Jones to take the top spot. Instead, they got a supreme force for good, a fatherly voice of reason and an impassioned voice of integrity and determination. Mere weeks before Peck died, Finch was selected as the greatest hero in cinema. Few characters in cinema have served as such sterling role models for generations of filmgoers – and attorneys.
To read these passionate, deeply moving closing statements in Lee’s remarkable novel is one thing. To watch Peck pierce the words into the air of the still Alabama courtroom is another.
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