|
Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA Just a short distance away from the haute contour fashions on Rodeo Drive and the opulent estates of Bel Air remains the longest running domestic war in the United States. Within Los Angeles—the “richest city, in the richest state”—a 39-year war between the Crips and the Bloods thrives amidst echoing sirens and neighboring ostentation in South Central LA. Crips and Bloods: Made in America is an introspective analysis of these two African-American gangs inbred within the U.S. borders. Lush with blaring statistics and potent archival footage, the documentary merges interviews with former gang members and current neighborhood residents with a comprehensive history lesson of the group’s origins with surprising links to American history. Directed by Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants) and narrated by Academy Award-winner Forrest Whitaker, Crips and Bloods descends into America’s past shame and ambitiously makes sound connections between slavery, the industrialized era, black migration, the prison-for-profit system to the present-day urban violence. Peralta makes his case by rehashing discomforting footage and highlighting bigoted laws, such as the 1940s real-estate restrictions enclosing blacks and other “undesired” minorities. He also spends a significant amount of time exploring two renowned race riots—in 1965 and 1992—that occurred in the same region. By the late sixties, black youths joined empowerment-political-activist groups, such as the Black Panther Party, but eventually many iconic black leaders were, according to the film, incarcerated or killed. With the void of community leadership, a new rise of anger bred the Crips (in the late ‘60s), which motivated a rival group to form, calling themselves the Bloods. For almost four decades, the Crips and the Bloods have carved South Los Angeles into translucent territories. When the opposing code color (blue for Crips and red for Bloods) infiltrates the other’s neighborhood, the unlucky assailant’s days are numbered. Playing by the rules is subjective in the game of fierce looks and bravado. And for residents, being in the wrong place at the wrong time costs life—no matter what time it is. Often times while watching Crips and Bloods, reminisces of a National Geographic Lisa Ling special came to mind more so than a feature-length documentary. By no means is that an insult but a kudo—a testament to Peralta’s vigorous thoroughness and the film’s accessibility, with interviews as raw and candid as you would expect them to be.
The documentary’s special features offer a revelatory
look at the making of the film with interviews with
director Peralta, West Coast rapper and ex-gang member Snoop Dogg, and Lil Wayne. As a Los Angeles native, Peralta reveals his reasons for
making the film and explains the government and public’s “out of sight,
out of mind” mentality when regarding South Central LA. A glimpse of the DVD
extras is worth a view for the unprecedented participation between
ex-gang members who had never been in the same room without altercation
for the last several decades. Marcell Minaya
|
