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.

As a young man who was born and raised in Los Angeles - "bourgie" but close enough to gang culture to understand the nuances of daily life for gangbangers - I can say with confidence that this was an incredible look into a culture that many people know of but don't really know much about.Gang culture is the result of early, quite innocent militarism for the purposes of self-defense allowed to go completely astray. This film gives an inside look into the history and development of the violence gang culture of Los Angeles, a Roman-style tangle of syndicalism and family ties, full of the good-ole Southern ignorance, self-righteousness and hypocrisy.Some commenters considered the left-wing editorialising that goes on throughout the film to weaken it's credentials as an authentic documentary, but I do not agree. The leftism of the historians used as sources of information in the film are coincidental to the informative value that those historians provide. It can be overlooked, and should be, as director Cle Sloan himself admits that he is not as smitten with the gang culture as he is expected to be.The film also places the seemingly unrelated Black Power Movement in the proper context and providing the inspirational link between this Movement and the gangbanging culture. It is fascinating to ponder, and provides a great lesson on human nature and human frailty, especially the frailty of young men who grow up in communities where the grown men of wisdom are systematically removed.Home video footage of gangster funerals, cruising, and sign language was riveting to watch.The overall product I think is satisfyingly dispassionate and non-judgemental until the very end, I think. Cle Sloan admits that gangs contribute to the destruction of these communities and need to change. That is the true value of this fantastic film, I believe: it humanizes the gang culture and helps the viewer understand the psycho-spiritual conditions that lead to the kind of violence that the Bloods and Crips practice on a regular basis. Cle Sloan believes the gangs can be changed for good, and, as I tend to agree. The Bloods and Crips do not just consist of "niggas with attitudes" - they are lost men who need direction and self-respect.Highly recommended.

I was truly gripped by Bastards of The Party as it aired on HBO yesterday evening (2/25/07) and I recommend it highly to those seeking substantive cultural information on the modern history of gangs, inner-city black life, the history of modern los angeles or the role of government and police in all three venues.The greatest thing that can be said about this film from me is that it brought me one or two degrees closer to a non-pejorative, non-dismissive and non-judgemental understanding of a pocket of human life that I would - in fear and racial difference - never want to understand.Even though myself and 190 million other white Americans may never be tainted with the cruelty and death that has gone on in Los Angeles, this film instructs us that the basic concept of American "justice for all" has gone mad here. And perhaps begin to reveal light about how it's gone mad in the overall....certainly at odds with all the nice inscriptions and beatific monuments found in Washington DC.Time does not allow me to categorize some artistic nuances missed (perhaps a follow up later here) but this is a good cinematic jumping-off point for further consideration of the issue.

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.