10 Thoughts on Baby Boy After Rewatching the Film as an Adult
Melvin kinda fine.
That post-abortion scene where he’s going down on Yvette is so confusing to me now. No shame, but logistically I just can't picture her while bleeding, and likely in some pain or discomfort being like “ahh, you know what would be great right now? If this trifling man of mine gives me head.”
Peanut was an integral part of my queer awakening.
As an adult I understand that Yvette represents so much more than just Jodi’s baby mom. She is the perfect example of the result of societies that have, and continue to, benefit from misogynoir. This expectation of Black women as inherent “ride or dies” cannot be discussed without mentioning that we, as Black women, live in a world where we are constantly expected to give without receiving anything in return, and that Black women’s role in the struggle love trope is directly linked to cultural and systemic norms of devaluing, dismissing, and not protecting Black women. Black women disproportionately showing up in struggle love relationships makes complete sense. It aligns, quite perfectly, with North American “values” and “traditions” dating back to colonial interference. Devaluing Black women is a key ingredient- if not, the key ingredient to the development of the Western world.
Jodi fighting for his life on the living room floor after getting thrown through the glass coffee table by Melvin, while Melvin is just walking around the room giving a soliloquy about how hard he’s trying not to kill Jodi is the perfect metaphor for adulthood; sometimes you kicking life’s ass and sometimes it’s throwing you full force through glass tables then taunting you about it.
That scene when Melvin chokes Jodi out then asks if he wants anything from the store seconds after used to scare the shit out of me as a kid, but as an adult this scene is peak comedy.
Miss Juanita was an integral part of my queer awakening.
We all know a Pea. I didn’t get it then, but I totally get it now. We all know a nigga that stays in his girlfriends mama’s house, doesn’t contribute anything to the household, and always has an attitude.
I actually find it quite poetic when Jodi says: “I lie 'cause I do love you. Being honest would mean I don't give a fuck. Out on the street, I tell the hoes the truth. I lie to you because I care about your feelings.”
When I watched the film as a teenager, I saw Jody choosing Yvette. When he would knock on her door pathetically after majorly fucking up, or pick her up from work (in her car, but that’s besides the point). Growing up all I wanted was to be on someone's mind enough that they would keep coming back to me, and that’s what I saw, and was fixated on, in their love story. Reanalyzing this relationship as an adult, after having relationship experience of my own, I understand now that what Yvette really taught me is love just isn’t enough, and although her and Jodi are together in the end having a picnic with their son and a baby on the way, happily playing cards and bonding as a family while the credits roll, there is no award for staying in relationships that are long past their expiration date.
Illustration by: Chance Mutuku