Adulthood (99 mins, 15)
Directed by Noel Clarke; starring Noel Clarke, Scarlett Alice Johnson, Adam Deacon, Ben 'Plan B' Drew, Don Klass
2. Production year: 2008
3. Country: UK
4. Cert (UK): 15
5. Runtime: 99 mins
6. Directors: Noel Clarke
7. Cast: Adam Deacon, Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke, Scarlett Alice Johnson
Menhaj Huda's 2006 film Kidulthood ended with the arrest of the troubled black Londoner Sam Peel for murder. An ambitious attempt to present all the pressures on black teenagers in a single film, it was a scattergun affair and only adequately performed. The sequel,Adulthood, is set six years later. Better acted, it focuses exclusively on the day of Sam's release from jail, and is written and directed by Noel Clarke, who plays Sam in both films. It's a hard-driving thriller, violent and foul-mouthed, about the stupidity of respect and the hollowness of vengeance. Except for one particularly phoney scene (a black dope dealer humiliating a middle-class white customer), it presents a pretty authentic account of life on the streets and in jail for young blacks. The excellent photography is by Brian Tufano.
2. Production year: 2008
3. Country: UK
4. Cert (UK): 15
5. Runtime: 99 mins
6. Directors: Noel Clarke
7. Cast: Adam Deacon, Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke, Scarlett Alice Johnson
A sequel to Kidulthood, which picks up with the west London kids - now proper grownups - six years older, and is every bit as forceful, shoving sex, drugs and stabbings right under our noses. Noel Clarke, who wrote and starred in the earlier film, also directs, keeping pace to a frantic soundtrack of Dizzee Rascal and Plan B (who has a part under his real name, Ben Drew). Hard to believe, but it's an even more depressing film, showing a younger generation up for head-stamping violence. Some of the Kidulthood characters are doing OK: Moony (Femi Oyeniran) is training to be a lawyer, while Alisa (Red Madrell), then a pregnant teenager, is a now a happy mum. The rest are more or less stuck in this narrow patch of postcode - but what's keeping them there, circumstances or themselves? Clarke, to his credit, is careful not to make a call, and questions about responsibility bring out some persuasive drama. Elsewhere, he is guilty of some overblown and heavy-handed storytelling. http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/jun/20/filmandmusic1.filmandmusic31?INTCMP=SRCH 1. Shank
2. Production year: 2008
3. Country: UK
4. Directors: Simon Pearce
5. Cast: Alice Payne, Marc Laurent, Tom Bott, Wayne Virgo
A well-meaning but not always convincing attempt to hoodie-ise the gay coming-of-agedrama. Baseball-capped, gold-chain-adorned teenager Cal (Wayne Virgo) looks like your typical happy-slapping, powder-inhaling gang member, but conceals his same-sex yearnings behind an aggressive facade. In a convoluted narrative, Cal finds love in the arms of a French student being taught by one of Cal's former encounters; Cal's secrets are eventually flushed out by the poisonous Nessa (Alice Payne), the demonic leader of their posse. First-time director Simon Pearce keeps things simple and direct, but can't always disguise his clunking plot shifts, nor acting of distinctly variable quality. The refreshing lack of cynicism, however, shores it all up.
1. Shank
2. Production year: 2010
3. Country: UK
4. Cert (UK): 15
5. Runtime: 90 mins
6. Directors: Mo Ali, Simon Pearce
7. Cast: Adam Deacon, Alice Payne, Ashley Bashy Thomas, Colin Salmon, Jan Uddin, Jennie Jacques, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Marc Laurent, Michael Socha, Tom Bott, Wayne Virgo
This hysterical look at racial gang warfare in south London five years hence is competently made in a music-video way, relentlessly violent and wholly lacking in social insight. A sentimental ending that nods in the direction ofWest Side Story's "There's a place somewhere" possibly explains the surprising decision of the managing director of the Damilola Taylor Trust to give it his imprimatur.
2. Production year: 2010
3. Country: UK
4. Cert (UK): 15
5. Runtime: 90 mins
6. Directors: Mo Ali, Simon Pearce
7. Cast: Adam Deacon, Alice Payne, Ashley Bashy Thomas, Colin Salmon, Jan Uddin, Jennie Jacques, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Marc Laurent, Michael Socha, Tom Bott, Wayne Virgo
Just when you thought grimy gang drama had run out of steam, along comes this dystopian variation, set in a recession-ravaged London 2015. Punching above its budget, there is something grimly credible in Shank's city of shanty slums, scavengers and out of control violence. Fourteen-year-old Junior, (played brilliantly by newcomer Kedar Williams-Stirling) is on the run from a rival crew and out for revenge after they kill one of his. But after an explosive opening, it soon slips into the familiar formula of Kidulthood et al: 24 hours of mephedrone-paced escalating violence. And like its predecessors, Shank (teen slang for knifing) gives teenagers a lot of what they want – sex, booze, video game graphics, beatings – before administering an earnest, last-minute dose of morality, which, weirdly, is enough to get the film the endorsement of the Damilola Taylor Trust.
Alley-oops: new Brit-flick Shank, which saw filming relocated after complaints from Kentish Town residents.
Question: if you peaked out your window, and noticed a ragtag gang of knife-wielding teens storming past, what would you do? Call the police, of course. That's exactly what residents of the Heygate Estate in Elephant & Castle did, only to find their estate was actually the film set of dystopian thriller Shank, where knife-wielding gangs roam free, starring Kaya Scodelario (Effy from Skins), Kidulthood's Adam Deacon, and oddly, Tim Westwood. "I can see," offered the director Mo Ali, "how residents might get the wrong impression".
Long gone, of course, are the days of parking your entire film in the MGM lot and making do with a plastic tree and the contents of the fire bucket to make Elvis look like he's in Hawaii. But with the credit crunch, more places than ever are eager to take the film companies' dollar. David Boice – who runs BeforeTheTrailer.com, a fansite that tracks location shoots – points out that previously unlikely locations are now tripping over themselves to give generous tax breaks and entice film crews, with Michigan leading the way. The result? "In the past year the city of Detroit has filled in for Washington [for Red Dawn]. Rather than filming 'on location', they just film where there's the best incentives."
Last April, the LA Times reported that LA-based location shoots had fallen to their lowest level since records began. Put another way: everywhere is anywhere now. But with more locations, come more problems. The films that have been protested about because of the nature of the film are too numerous to mention – from Brick Lane due to perceived prejudice against the Bangladeshi community to Basic Instinct, which, well, take your pick – anti-woman and anti-gay were the main ones.
But, like Shank, what about the effect on the locals? And what, more importantly, about the house prices? You can forgive the residents of London's Kentish Town (Zone 2, tube, nice pubs), for instance, for being concerned when filming commenced on Nick Love's hooligan film The Firm, as they prepared for a brawl scene involving 140 actors, stuntmen, extras, and with dire warnings of "noise and swearing". That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. With Timmy listening! The locals protested, and filming was soon moved to Hackney. "Residents of Hackney were happy for the fighting to take place on their streets," reported a London freesheet, who declined to mention if the residents actually noticed the difference.
Gangs have evolved into a massive community problem. This problem requires a multifaceted
and comprehensive response by every sector of the greater community. Gangs
have been documented in every state in the United States. The California Department
of Justice estimates there are as many as 300,000 gang members in California alone.
The following are some startling facts that prove the need for awareness, prevention,
intervention, and suppression programs regarding gangs.
v According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), in 2002 California had 6,120 street
gangs with approximately 300,000 members
v DOJ research shows that of the 300,000 gang members in California, 60 percent
are Hispanic, 30 percent African-American, 6 percent Asian, and 4 percent White
v Research concludes that the typical age range of gang members is approximately
14-24 years of age although there are reports of gang members as young as 8 and
as old as 30
v Research estimates that 75-80 percent of gang members are actually adults
v Conservative estimate is that there are over 23,000 youth gangs with almost
665,000 members (National Institute of Justice, 1998).
v Gang members can come from any socio-economic or ethnic background
v Gang migration has resulted in the representation of gangs in foreign countries
v Gang members are now using more sophisticated weapons
v There is an influence of prison gangs on street gang activity
v Gang involvement is happening at younger ages and for longer periods
v Tagger crews have become more violent over the years
v There is greater organization among street gangs than previously thought
v Although females are committing more violent crimes, they only represent between
four to ten percent of the gang membership population
Although there is no nationally accepted definition of what a gang is, California Penal
Code 186.22 defines street gangs as “a group of three or more individuals having a
common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually
or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal activity.”
A Hispanic Gang Representation
Since the time we begin our adolescent years we start projecting an image that we will be known by. Whether it is a good image or a bad one, we choose it. People choose a certain image to distinguish themselves from others. When we first see a person we make judgments based on their appearances. Many different groups use their appearance be different from everyone else. A groups' appearance becomes a representation of their beliefs and their traditions. Groups obtain their image through clothing, body art, make up, or material things. Although Hispanic gangs have been around for a long time, their appearance has not changed and neither has their beliefs. Hispanic gangs are a group that represent their beliefs through their clothing, tattoos, activities, and cars.
Through the years Hispanic gangs have been known because of their clothing. Dickies, Ben Advise, and Levi's are some of the brands they wear. The gang members from the old times wore the same brands and wearing the same brand now symbolizes tradition. When Hispanic gang members wear their pants, they wear them as baggy as they can. They wear baggy pants as a symbol of their manhood because to them only homosexuals wear tight pants. Hispanic gang members wear white T-shirts with a white tank top under. Their clothes are always well ironed, with creases that stay on the whole day. The well ironed pants and shirts shows how important their appearance is to them. Bandannas of their gang colors like blue, red, black, or gray, are also part of their appearance. The bandannas are a symbol of what gang that person might belong to. Wearing a bandanna of a certain color lets everyone else know what gang a person belongs to and he/she is proud to display it. Hispanic gangs are not only about guy members, they have girl members too. Some girl members dress with baggy pants and baggy shirts, just like the guys. Dressing like the guys shows that they are as tough as the guys. In other words their clothing is a symbol of how rough and tough they can be. Some girl gang members wear baggy pants and a very small top. The baggy pants symbolize their toughness, but at the same time they want to be feminine too, so they wear the small top to emphasize their femininity.
Besides clothing, Hispanic gangs use tattoos as part of their image. Usually a gang member will have a tattoo with it's gang name on his body. The tattoo is symbol of his what a person is willing to do for his/her gang. Tattoos with names like Coyotes or 18th Street, can very painful and are permanent. The tattoo is also a symbol of a persons permanent membership to a gang. Having a tattoo with a gang name is like showing everyone where a person belongs. The tattoo is a form of pride for the gang as well as for the person with the tattoo. A gangs name is not the only thing they tattoo on their body. They sometimes get tattoos of Aztecs, their national flag, or Jesus. All the different tattoos are a symbol of their culture. They are very proud of their culture and they display it on their body with great pride.
In addition to their appearance Hispanic gangs are known because of their violent activities. At the beginning of an individual's initiation the violence starts. When a person gets initiated to a gang he/she gets " jumped in." The definition of getting "jumped in" is that about five to ten guys from the same gang fight with the person getting initiated at the same time for about three or five minutes. The point of the beating is to see how strong that person is. The beating is also a symbol of what he is willing to do for the gang. The initiation process is only the beginning of the violent life that a waits him. A gang members loyalty is constantly being tested. The only way they know how to prove their loyalty is through violence. Another example of their violent activities is when some rival gangs step into their neighborhoods. If a rival gang member is on their territory, it is for sure that their is owing to be fight. Gang members feel it is a sign of disrespect to step into someone else's territory. Sometimes gangs go beyond a exchanging punches to exchanging bullets. When a rival gang has killed one the gang members, they revenge the death by killing one of rivals members. The gang feels that they owe their loyalty to their past member and by shooting the one that killed him their duty is fulfilled.
Another thing that represent Hispanic gangs is their cars. What the cars mean to gang members is illustrated in " Signs of the Street: A Conversation," when asked the question " What are the cars?" Hank's response was " Cadillacs, Regals, Impalas, older cars" and Luis's response was " In the old days they used to drive old cars. Now they're trying to keep the tradition of those old cars. All you could see is pure raza, just driving the old cars so they look good (Maasik and Solomon 600) ." The gangs see their cars as a symbol of tradition. A lot of the times gang members drive their cars very slow and with loud gangster rap music through the neighborhoods. Gangs want peopleto notice them. They want people to know that they are not like everyone else that they are different.
Consequently because of the gangs violent and dangerous behavior they have come to be perceived as a negative group. When any violent crime is committed, cops and other people almost always blame gangs for it. Due to their past behavior, what can a person expect? It is nice to belong to a group because it gives one a sense of belonging, but at the same time one wants to known as an individual not part of a group. When creating an image one must think how is the image going to effect his/her everyday life? When a person first sees a gang member his/her reaction is probably to stay away because he might be dangerous. Having such a negative image deprives gangs from getting to know many other people and from letting people know them.
