Interviews with Gangbangers

I watched my first cultural attraction in Brooklyn last night, catching a feature documentary called Made in America at the Sundance Program at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. BAM has a beautiful screening center called the Rose Cinemas, and it looks like they split their programming between normal commercial releases (e.g., Indie Jones) and independent film. We even got to meet the filmmaker--world skateboarding champion-turned-filmmaker Stacy Peralta--after the screening, which was a real treat.

To sum it up: Made in America chronicles the violent history and current realities of Los Angeles' most notorious African-American gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. Using footage of contemporary interviews with present and former gang members, the film weaves the history of black oppression with the deeply personal experiences of those who cannot escape the confines of South Central, elucidating the social drivers behind the rise of a gang war that has lasted over forty years and claimed nearly 15,000 lives and maimed over 100,000 people. A commentary on American society's failure to take action against what is, in effect, an unending civil war in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, the film gives an unprecedented, humanizing glimpse of "gangbangers" and the violent toll years of marginalization have taken on these communities.

Given it was selected by Sundance as part of its official programming, it comes as no surprise the film kicks some serious ass, but allow me to add my own personal endorsement: this film was amazing. How often are real gang members captured on film sharing the intimate details of their lives and their desperate--albeit deeply buried--hopes for something better? Peralta said it's not yet been signed for release in theaters (woe for him, the company that was to buy the film after Sundance has gone bankrupt) but even if that doesn't happen, it'll be airing on cable and have a DVD release, hopefully very soon.