Speaking of Parties...
I saw a fantastic film yesterday - Bastards of the Party, an HBO documentary on the birth and evolution of the LA street gangs. Directed by Cle "Bone" Sloan (most notable from his small part as a Blood in the Jungle in Training Day), the film is insightful both for its examination of the gang as a follow-up to the vacuum left by the Black Panthers and US Organization (the arguement that the Crips started as a social committee was fascinating) that was eventually transformed by 70's "me" culture, the loss of jobs for young black men caused by LA's diminishing industry and the influx of cocaine from Iran-Contra, AND the view from hardcore gangbangers (including Sloan himself). There was an amazing historical tapestry behind the entire life of LA's gangs, examined by everyone from the aforementioned gangbangers to former Panthers to UCLA professors and the US foreign relations liason!
Sloan, as our Virgil on this tour, is both eloquent and vulnerable as he discusses his own time as part of the Athens Park set of the Bloods. His passion for the topic seeps from the screen, and the montage of life in LA remains a factual, historically-minded tone with an understandably slight slant against the LA government and police who have made a bit of sport of harassment in South Central LA.
Though as a sociology student and crime buff, I was a shoe-in to enjoy this film, Becky liked it quite a bit too. Watching this film, I realized that the events depicted in this film have affected my life directly - I grew up with some of these displaced gangsters, and lived through the gang wars, crack, prostitution and fear that plauged my neighborhood when I was young. I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone with an interest in American urban life, true crime, race relations, or just insightful documentaries. I can say with confidence that Bastards of the Party is the best crime documentary I've seen since The Thin Blue Line over 15 years ago.
I saw a fantastic film yesterday - Bastards of the Party, an HBO documentary on the birth and evolution of the LA street gangs. Directed by Cle "Bone" Sloan (most notable from his small part as a Blood in the Jungle in Training Day), the film is insightful both for its examination of the gang as a follow-up to the vacuum left by the Black Panthers and US Organization (the arguement that the Crips started as a social committee was fascinating) that was eventually transformed by 70's "me" culture, the loss of jobs for young black men caused by LA's diminishing industry and the influx of cocaine from Iran-Contra, AND the view from hardcore gangbangers (including Sloan himself). There was an amazing historical tapestry behind the entire life of LA's gangs, examined by everyone from the aforementioned gangbangers to former Panthers to UCLA professors and the US foreign relations liason!
Sloan, as our Virgil on this tour, is both eloquent and vulnerable as he discusses his own time as part of the Athens Park set of the Bloods. His passion for the topic seeps from the screen, and the montage of life in LA remains a factual, historically-minded tone with an understandably slight slant against the LA government and police who have made a bit of sport of harassment in South Central LA.
Though as a sociology student and crime buff, I was a shoe-in to enjoy this film, Becky liked it quite a bit too. Watching this film, I realized that the events depicted in this film have affected my life directly - I grew up with some of these displaced gangsters, and lived through the gang wars, crack, prostitution and fear that plauged my neighborhood when I was young. I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone with an interest in American urban life, true crime, race relations, or just insightful documentaries. I can say with confidence that Bastards of the Party is the best crime documentary I've seen since The Thin Blue Line over 15 years ago.
1 Comments:
Will check this out thank you.
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