Made in America

Saw the film tonight at the LA Film Festival and really enjoyed it. It provides a history of LA gang culture from a social perspective, then jumps all the way back to slavery. It's not New Jack City or a history of crack. It's the story of a marginalized community right smack in the middle of the American dream machine. Although the stories are bleak and depressing, the film is one of the most positive efforts I've seen in years. Very different from Peralta's previous docs. He even refused to answer skateboarding questions from audience members and brought a lot of the main characters up on stage to take questions from the audience. I hope this doc gets the attention it deserves.

This was a superior movie. All gang members should watch it and see that what they're fighting for is nothing. This movie was an eyeopener and was very educational. It is sad that people are killing in and destroying their own neighborhoods. All of the years of fighting should have proved by now that nothing is gained with these deaths. The only hope is that the mothers only give birth to girls from here on and the females in these environments wise up and straighten things up. This fighting is not for honor or family. It is a testosterone battle that on one is winning. It is so sad that it takes the accidental murder of innocent children to open the gangs eyes, if only for a while. The government needs to implement something that will give these young men some pride and something to work toward besides daily survival. I was very moved by this movie.

Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Director Stacy Peralta does a very good job covering the brutal and deadly battle between rival L.A. gangs the Crips and the Bloods. This documentary looks at why the two sides took off in popularity and what is being done to try and stop the violence.

I thought this was an extremely well-balanced documentary that gave an open and honest look at the subject. We're given quite a bit of history on racism and how South Central L.A. ended up turning into a ghetto when you've got so much rich things surrounding it. The documentary did a great job at covering the rise of the two gangs as well as all the violence that would follow. The issue of poverty and what that plays into is also reviewed.

We get some great interviews with members of both gangs as well as family members who have had loved ones lost to the violence. Forest Whitaker does a very good job with the narration and adds a classy touch to the entire thing.

When I saw that Stacy Peralta had another documentary at this year's Sundance, I put it at the top of my list. Both Riding Giants (surfing) and Dogtown and Z-Boys (skateboarding) were extraordinary peeks into unique and fascinating American cultures. Made in America shifts it's focus to another less romantic section of Southern California, and promised a more somber experience, taking a penetrating look at the gangs of South Central Los Angeles, one of the most deadly areas in the United States.

Like his other docs, this one takes a historical perspective. How did these gangs start? What cultural forces propagated their beginnings and fueled their growth? Who are these people? What are they really like, and why do they do what they do? I think Peralta's gift is that he manages to really connect with his subjects and gain their trust, which turns out to be absolutely critical in the South Central neighborhoods. He also manages to tell a story with interest and compassion, but primarily through the perspective of those that have lived and shaped the experience.

Financed by South Central native and Golden State Warriors star Baron Davis, as well as an anonymous interested party in Hollywood, Made in America tells a story about a part of America we have chosen to ignore, despite the small-scale war that rages there every day. Seeing this movie will make you think a little differently about gang warfare, change your perspective, maybe add a little empathy to your world view. And for a filmmaker, that's perhaps the highest form of the art.

Sundance Moment: I saw this movie at the last day of Sundance down in Salt Lake City, far away from the glitz and glamor and stars in Park City. I heard Stacy Peralta was sick and probably wouldn't make it. But he did come, and not just for the introduction, but stayed for the Q&A as well, and talked with passion about how make this movie had changed him, and how important it is that we realize that teenagers are killing each other, something that would absolutely not be tolerated by society in any suburban area of our country, but goes virtually unnoticed in South Central.

I watched this documentary as part of the Independent Lens series on PBS, and thought it was great. The film covers a lot of topics related to the gang of South Central Los Angeles, from their earliest history to the socio-economic causes to the effect it has on real families. And it ends with a sense of hope that the people of that community can in fact put an end to the cycle.

It would be easy to do a documentary on this topic that reeks of white guilt or points fingers or cozies up to the gang members. But instead, this film takes a very neutral viewpoint. That's part of what makes it great. Plus, it's very well done technically. The soundtrack is outstanding, the narration is good, and the audio is unusually good for a documentary.

I give it an 8/10.