Project 2

In the early 1990′s there was a growing interest by the film industry in the gang culture of Los Angeles. Movies like American Me, Blood in Blood out, and Boyz N the Hood were all released within three years of each other. These three films were preceeded by Colors which was released in 1988. One thing that all of this films tried to achieve was to depict the lifestyles of urban adolescent gangsters. Although, the films are either about Latino and Black gangs, they are very similar, and almost copies of each other. Perhaps the movies did show the world how dangerous the less glamorous parts of Los Angeles could be, but they certainly glorified the gang lifestyle and prison culture. In addition, these movies have made gangs and prison somewhat cliche. So, for this project I have decided that my film festival will feature the gang/ prison movies.