Crips and Bloods: Made in America 2009
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Baron Davis, Dan Halsted, Stacy Peralta, et al.
Directed by Stacy Peralta
DVD, color, 83 min.
Sr. High - Adult
African American Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Crime, Geography, History, Human Rights, Psychology, Sociology, Urban Studies
Date Entered: 07/31/2009
Reviewed by Nicole Cooke, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJCrips and Bloods: Made in America is a powerful piece that attempts to demystify gang culture, without sugar coating the surrounding issues or downplaying the extreme violence. While certainly about money, power, drugs, gang life, as exemplified by the Bloods and Crips, it is also about family and is rife with psychological, sociological and anthropological issues. And it's a perfect case study for urban and African-American Studies.
Narrated by Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker, the film is often raw and emotional, features coarse language, but is very comprehensive and beautifully produced. Crips and Bloods is of first-rate audio and video quality and contains a variety of special features and a study guide, available on the film’s website. This film is highly recommended and appropriate for any library media collection.