EitoMan The Good: This was an informative, compellingly structured documentary on the genesis and evolution of LA gangs. The story is told via an oral history by first generation gang members and then proceeds to unfold with more contemporary members (and ex-members). The film contains a high degree of advocacy (especially in the final 30 minutes) that seems reasonable.The Not so Good: The director clearly lays the blame for gangs and gang violence on Caucasians. Although there is no disputing that institutionalized racism of slavery on up to the end of segregation definitely created gross economic and social injustices, the director fails to make a compelling case that whites directly caused inner city blacks to wage war on each other for decades. The director touches on some of the more salient factors, such as factory jobs (i.e. unskilled labor) opportunities disappearing, but fails to identify that as a root cause. Instead, we are presented with numerous examples of institutional and individual racism--including conspiracy theories involving Iran-Contra, J. Edgar Hoover, LAPD, et.al. Nowhere within this otherwise excellent documentary does the director touch on individual responsibility, personal morals, etc. Gang members (including murderers) are presented as victims of society. The director focuses much attention on the Black Panther and US movement of the 60s and 70s however this narrative is presented mostly to advance a conspiracy theory of how the FBI sought to destroy the groups, ultimately resulting in a lack of political power and community disarray. He goes on to try and blame the influx of drugs into the community as an orchestrated effort by Washington to fund the Contras.This film is good and worth a viewing. It provides an interesting insight into the evolution of LA gangs as well as how some African Americans perceive history. Unfortunately the director focuses too much time on trying to shift blame away from the violent trigger-pullers who admittedly were, and are, his friends. He is trying to shape history in a way that absolves his community of responsibility for the violence in order to empower them to find a way out of that lifestyle. This film presents that case well (although not compelling to me); hopefully it will help the next generation steer clear of joining gangs.

cdoelle Bastards of the Party is a new documentary running on HBO that examines the rise of gangs in the Los Angeles area. It starts out a little slow and seems to be making excuses for the members - the same tired ones you have heard over and over - but it quickly turns into a fascinating historical piece.From the early days when Compton was an all-white area, through the civil rights movement and rise of the US Party and Black Panther Party - it is compelling stuff. The real eye-opening stuff involves the actual demise of the BPP and USP orchestrated by Hoover's FBI. The information about the FBI's CoIntelPro and their efforts to undermine these groups is now public record, what surprised me was the details about how the program started these groups fighting each other.The legacy of the FBI's destruction of the black cohesiveness still survives with the black-on-black crime that is still rampant between these gangs nearly 40 years later. The only downside of the film other than the apologetic start is the left-wing politico-speak that summarizes the film. It is a good history that does an excellent job of giving the facts, when it slips into this type of preaching, it loses a lot of credibility.The final point about gang names versus given names is especially poignant. Good stuff.

Shelia Johnson This documentary was excellent and added a new, complex visual interpretation of a very old story - gang violence in L.A.The documentary was historically correct adding insight to the creation of L.A. gangs and the positive movement they grew out of, hence the title. From the description of the first decade, the documentary artistically and accurately illustrates the complexities of an additional 4 decades of gang violence incorporating the historical, political, sociological, environmental, economical, and personal factors amazingly well giving it all equal time in such a relevant, meaningful way. As a result, you get drawn into this tragic, sub-cultural story.In reality, most of this history is captured orally and typically held within the African-American community. The director/narrator, Cle Shaheed Sloan, did an excellent job at capturing these stories and placing them in this factual, visual format.One of the most captivating parts of the piece were the solutions that these current and ex-bangers shared with Cle near the end of the documentary. The solutions shared were simple yet extremely thoughtful. One solution was don't allow your children to be labeled with your gang name, i.e. if your gang name is Killa, don't label your son Li'l Killa. You want to give him a chance to grow up with his given name, i.e. Anthony Perkins, which would take him out of the box of his father's gansta lifestyle and the pressure of having to live up to that image/lifestyle. It seems so simple, but it does indeed effect so much.It is a fact that significant human behavioral change only occurs when humans experience tragic, life altering events. This fact is captured perfectly in this documentary. Bangers operate in the business of death not life and so they are constantly surrounded by and involved in tragic life experiences. So, it was amazing that when these loyal, cradle to the grave, hard-core bangers were forcibly faced with life - their own children - it provoked them to critically think about and problem-solve their current situation motivated by new found hope that their children could have better lives. Another solution stated called for African-Americans to stop calling each other 'nigga'. In the documentary, Cle explained that saying let's go kill those niggas was as easy as saying let's go kill those animals, those spiders, and so on because it de-personalized your actions and the victims of your actions. But, if you were to say, let's go kill those brothas, it would make you pause and think, "Does it make sense that I would want to kill my brotha?" To take it a step further, if you were to say, let's go kill Anthony, you would not only personalize it and make it real but you would be acknowledging what you were doing which would be planning to murder someone.Of course, the final conclusion was that gang life was based on destruction and the only way out was jail or death, and that overall banging should be avoided at all costs.Finally, I have to comment that Cle himself added to the complexity of the gang life as well. Cle's own human characteristics were shown throughout the documentary as he was both partial and impartial as an interviewer and a 'character'. He was impartial when speaking to governmental officials and professors, strictly gathering facts via interview but partial when talking to his homeboys because it is his neighborhood, he himself is an ex-Blood member, and he is very loyal to his neighborhood. He cares very deeply. At one point, someone close to him dies, killed by Crip gang members. At one point he says that he would do something to his slain friend's killer if he were face to face with him, but at another point he says he would not have any interaction with him at all. This is real and illustrates how dynamic human behavior really is and can be.Overall, this documentary resonated deeply within me and I feel that everyone should view it and discuss it. It really gives you an honest insight to this sub-culture of L.A. gang life and you are able to walk away thinking about how to make changes in your own world/sub-culture.

tblake-choice After viewing the movie, it took me back because I know quite a few of the people in the movie, as well the director. When I went to see the movie, I did not think that I would be receiving a history about gangs. The history is what made the movie quite interesting. When we went outside after viewing the movie, I told Bone, "The youngsters really need to see this movie so that they can see they are doing to their generation." As I am a "bastard" of a civil rights activist, she always says, "Your generation just kills and fights for no cause." Now, I can really understand what the meaning behind her phrase pertains to. The following day after I viewed the movie, I went home and told my mom about it and that she may be interested in the movie. At that particular time, she did not know anything about the movie, but after she went the African Market Place, she came home and new all about the movie as some of her old activist friends told her about it. Now, she is ready to see it, along with a group of her friends.I am very proud of Bone and his accomplishments. It takes a strong person to want to change themselves after believing certain things for so many years.