Customer Reviews

Crips and Bloods: Made in America

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was skeptical. What does a blonde (now grey) former professional skateboarder (now film maker) from the other side of town know about gang wars in LA? And then there's me: a white guy from the suburbs in Ohio who was raised by a gun collector who is still pretty open about his use of the"N" word. When I hear about gang violence: I just shrug: "It's probably a fight over something stupid." Still, this film remained in my queue and wasn't working its way up very quickly.

I elevated this movie to #1 when Michael Vick was signed by the Eagles. In one week: I heard two accounts from completely different lifestyles: Prissy ESPN sports talk show host Mike Greenberg declared that he had never heard of the subculture known as dog fighting until the Vick case made the news. Vick stated that dog fighting in his childhood neighborhood was so common that police would stop to see a fight and then drive away. Dog fighting was the norm. It was then when I knew I had to check out Peralta's newest movie as I'd loved the Dog Town and Z Boys documentary.

The first 25-30 minutes of the movie covers pre-1970 race riots in LA and other cities. How invisible lines created "hoods" by police who would commonly question straying pedestrians about "why don't you go back to your neighborhood?" Then abruptly, the movie takes a sharp turn when vocal black leaders like MLK, Malcom X and others are thrown in jail or murdered. Suddenly, all the icons were gone. Think of the Living Colour song: Cult of Personality - "When that leader speaks, that leader dies."

For the rest of the movie I was hooked. I couldn't grasp what was happening. The Crips and Bloods seemed to come out of nowhere. Peralta seemed to have skipped something important. But he didn't. I didn't understand how there were suddenly two gangs. I didn't understand why they were divided and bent on killing each other based on territories, red or blue bandanas, or other reasons.

Before the movie ended, I got it. Young black men without fathers, mentors or real leadership took a downward turn. Image, status and bravado became a common theme in neighborhoods where there is no hope. I will admit that I'm a Republican with strong beliefs that everybody should pull their weight and not rely on handouts. In a world where police often respond by use of strong force, there's little reason to NOT question authority. I have no solutions. The oppressed respond to violence, with violence.

Jim Brown has a couple of short appearances (he's not in the film enough in my opinion) and he is quoted by someone in the extras: "If the police have not resolved the problem in 40 years, they never will resolve the problem." It's about oppression, not the gangs themselves. Stacey says the an outtake that he wanted to make this movie because he didn't understand why there is no gang violence in suburban or upscale neighborhoods. Why are people arming themselves and having gun battles with former childhood friends in impoverished communities?

This movie is a must see for anyone even mildly afraid to drive thru certain neighborhoods or better yet, the generation of kids from the suburbs who were raised on hip hop, MTV and anything that glorified the gangsta lifestyle. In the extras, Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne each give a heartfelt, unscripted point of view that really was impressive.

I just saw this movie last night and will be returning again to see it. It was very powerful, much more so than I would have ever imagined.

The film traces back through history, detailing the "roots of rage", so to speak, for the black man in Los Angeles. The film is never boring, utilizing archival film clips from the past, interspersed with interviews from past gang members who are incredibly articulate and erudite. Kumasi's barely controlled ire is tempered with measured intelligent speech. I was enthralled.

The only surprise for me was the lack of mention of the influence of rap music vis a vis the gangs, although there is plenty to be had on the soundtrack throughout.

Simply some of the most powerful footage and commentary on race in America I've ever seen. Powerful Powerful stuff. Something every American should sit down and pay very close attention to. The section on the Watts Riots gave me chills....just incredibly well done. The explication of the economic foundation of LA's ghettoization is succinct and 100% on target. The way the film traces the roots of today's problems so clearly to Slavery, Jim Crow, and the marginalization of the American black in the most prosperous period after WWII is pitch perfect. It's hard to comprehend how someone can grow up in LA and never have seen the Pacific Ocean...but that insular world of crips and bloods is an epidemic America is going to have to confront sooner or later.

Buy this dvd and watch this film...

The documentary lays down the socio-political context that defines much of the contemporary African-American experience in the US of A. Broken families, bad schools, no jobs, rampant violence that often has no visible cause. A society in disintegration where joining a "gang" means joining a family. It is clear to even the casual viewer that building more prisons is not going to solve the problems faced by those communities. Nor will giving more tax breaks and unearned bonuses to vampire squids.

The film is based on interviews with current and former gang members, and a few dedicated and caring activists who see the kids in gangs as human beings who have an inalienable right to a decent, safe and happy life. What struck me was the eloquence of the interviewees as well as the raw pain speaking - the pain of loss, the pain of the child, the pain of the outsider. Pain that needs to be kept under the tough guy facade 'because only the strong survive'. The beauty and heart-shattering grief of women experiencing the loss of their kids, nephews and grandchildren. The raw, human power that is squandered by keeping those young people ghettoed in.

I'd be interested in seeing how the reviewers croaking about "personal responsibility" on these pages felt if they were harassed by the police every time they crossed a certain street (into a neighborhood where they were not 'supposed' to be). If they had been kept away from progress, growth, respect, education, equal opportunity by the lack of access and institutionalized neglect. I find it amazing that the film does not make you sad or make you want to help, but rather compels you to display your own disconnectedness and lack of humaneness. It is that same disconnectedness that made you vote for a guy who wasted a trillion dollars in Iraq - instead of spending it on inner city schools. It is the same lack of humaneness which makes you vote to give million dollar bonuses to fat cat bankers instead of building new highways. Or kindergartens. Or jobs. The youngsters interviewed in the film are your fellow citizen - and you don;t care. That, my friends, is despicable and morally, ethically and spiritually reprehensible.

The film is well made, with good & noble intentions while sparse on the moralizing front. It does not preach. It simply documents peoples' lives and fates through faces, sounds and images. I hope it will touch you as it touched me. And I hope things will change and those young people get to experience hope. And freedom.

Outstanding!!! Everyone should see this film. An honest effort to reveal some hidden truths.

Tears cascade down the faces of family members holding pictures of loved ones murdered by gangs in the streets of their communities. Los Angeles, California has a history of destructive social unrest beginning in the early 1940's that created the environment from which, two of the world's most notorious street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods was born. Crips and Bloods: Made in America is a hard-hitting emotional documentary that is gripping and compelling. Debuting as an Original Selection at the Sundance film festival in 2007, this film has been regarded as one of the best documentaries created in years.
Crips and Bloods: Made in America is Directed by Stacey Peralta and Narrated by Emmy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker. Produced for DVD release by Ducudrama Films in 2009, this unrated documentary is a comprehensive and emotional film that keeps on giving. This film is a historical chronicle on the development of the Crips and Bloods street gangs.
The plot of the movie is to identify the causative factors of gang activity and offers solutions to the problem using history and individuals involved in gang activity. University professors, interventionists, active gang members and community leaders discuss gang life and its impacts on individuals, families and society as a whole during in-depth personal interviews. Historical events are presented in a storytelling format supported by newspaper articles and graphic video footage. The interviews and stories are intermixed throughout the film resulting in a complete work on Crips and Bloods that leaves no topic untouched.
I think that the personal nature of the interviews coupled with the historical backdrop is one of the most interesting features of Crips and Bloods: Made in America. The viewer gets a sense of realness and humanity from the interviewees. Ex-gang members reflect on their past and discuss how and why they changed their ways. Active gang members show frustration and a desire for their lives to be different. One of the most emotional parts of the film is the interviews of family members who have been killed in gang violence. They share the stories of their loved ones and exhibit deep sorrow while explaining different coping mechanisms they use to get by on a daily basis. The way in which the interviews are presented can have the viewer heartily laughing or shedding tears.
I highly recommend this movie. Anyone interested in gangs would enjoy this movie. Law Enforcement could gain benefit from the movie in training sessions as it gives historical perspective and shows gang members as being human beings with feelings. Educators from junior high school through college could use this film for classes ranging from gang prevention/intervention to American history to Administration of Justice. Families should share this movie with their children at an age them deem appropriate as a parenting tool.
There is usage of graphic language and images of violence that some viewers may find objectionable. I think that the movie presents all of that in context and to omit such would defeat the purpose of the move and detract from the overall message. A unique feature of this project is that it is ongoing and viewers are encouraged and shown how that they can get involved in its efforts. I give Crips and Bloods: Made in America five out of five stars.

I lived my entire life in the Greater Los Angeles area, and NEVER was I even aware of what was going on thirty miles away. The incredible power of this film makes it an absolute Must Watch -- especially for us "ignorant white folks" who see South Central as just a gang problem.

Excellent Effort - Well Done.

Considering how broad the subject matter is, and pervasively deep, it must have been extremely difficult choosing clips for the final cut, and keeping the film at an affordable/doable/reasonable length.

Conversely, the prevailing Condition, and ongoing Cycle, could not be adequately covered in a 10 hour film.

Watching the film for the first time, putting other reviews aside, I applied this context.

Anyone who is interested in knowing WHY the crips and bloods gangs exist needs to see this. I watched it many times with my son and I feel we both got a much needed history lesson and insight into one of the problems that face Americans Descended from Africa. The first part of the documentary gave insight to the "Black Power" movement of the 70's and how all the black leaders were crushed by the American establishment. After that the Gangs were the only outlet for the young black men of southern California which ran unchecked for years as long as they stayed in their own areas, not affecting white America. This documentary should be necessary viewing for ALL of America.

I could never have amagine what some of our youth go through when they are approached by gang members. But I could never amagine being a gang member either. This movie was so moving that I had to show it to my high school students. They were amazed at the progression of gangs. Most of them do not know the history of gangs or how they came about. I would recommend this movie to all levels with parental approval.