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.

Having worked with both Bloods and Crips as a volunteer in Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles, I found Bastards of the Party to be a gripping and extremely important work -- setting down the historical record about the rise of gangs in South Central L.A. This should be required viewing in all Juvenile Halls and prisons. And important viewing for anyone who lives in Los Angeles as well!What struck me about the movie is its relevance to the current foreign policy of the United States. The policies of the LAPD and the laws in California, such as "Three Strikes," which fill our prisons to overflowing with black and Latino young men, are in place because they are politically expedient: saying that you are tough on crime is the easiest way to get elected in this city and in this state. I personally know a kid who got a 50 year prison sentence because he was in a car when another kid shot a gun at two rival gang members -- and missed. It was his first felony. Ask yourself, does that punishment fit the crime?There is no more ironclad way to get elected in America than by saying you are "tough on defense." George W. Bush gets criticized for lots of things, but when he says that "Islamist extremists" are out to destroy our children for no other reason than that they hate us, no one contradicts him. Middle eastern Muslims have become the preferred "other" to demonize and dehumanize and fear. I don't mean to minimize the point of this film -- that if L.A. gang members become more self aware about their situation, maybe they can start to move past this cycle of violence that they did not initially create.But I'm just saying that it's happening again now on the world stage. The American government is using the same propaganda techniques, the same agent provocateurs in the Middle East. Do you really think it was an Sunni Arab who blew up the Golden Mosque of Samarra and unleashed this huge civil war? Get real. Now, Iraqis are slaughtering each other by the hundreds of thousands, just like gang members have murdered each other here in Los Angeles for decades. And yes, there is growing movement in this country for us to get our troops out of Iraq. But no one talks about the Iraqi-on-Iraqi carnage that we have been party to.In any case, I congratulate Cle on his work, I hope it increases the peace here in L.A. For every single retaliation that it stops, it saves dozens of lives down the line.

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.

Of all the films I saw at the Hollywood Black Film Festival here in Los Angeles 2006 The Documentary I watched by Director Cle "Bone" Sloan was thee best and MOST relevant. In spite of what he thought; Cle was an eloquent, passionate and articulate speaker in re: to his craft as a filmmaker as well as a "member" - the twist i found responsible and refreshing; was that his intent is not to leave his brothers behind just because he found the light, rather he was trying to figure out away to organize and unite the Bloods and Crips in a organized and purposeful way. By starting at the beginning, Documenting the genesis of why the gangs started in the first place.Cle'Slone is more than just an excellent filmmaker - he has the tools, passion, heart and drive to make a really big dent in the history of our culture as a Leader.~sylvia v. hillman~ ~writer~