StReEt FaMiLiEs

On the News :

-Gang Violence in Sao Paulo

"As boys without bonds to their fathers grow older and more desperate about their masculinity, they are in danger of forming gangs in which they strut their masculinity for one another, often overdo it, and sometimes turn to displays of fierce, macho bravado and even violence."

Links:

-TRIO ThinkQuest

-University of New Mexico

Version: 1.0
(July 19, 2006)

I challenge you today as you go home and are watching your favorite show to scroll through the channels and see how many gangs are betrayed. I also challenge you to look through your movie set and count how many movies encounter with gang violence. How many did you find?

Many movies influence young teenagers to join gangs.
In movies it shows:
ØKilling people
ØTaking territory
ØGaining respect
That energy shows that it's ok to do it. The movie, Colors, was filmed in 1988 in the streets of East L.A. This movie had a lot of gang violence. To some teenagers after watching this movie it might have made them feel like they had to own a gun to protect their family or to keep their reputation high. Another movie is Menace II Society, it was filmed in 1993 in the streets of Watts , CA . It's about a young man who has planned his future but has a friend who involves him in a gang and initiates him into it, now everything is going bad. Some movies can be educational about gangs, for example be careful what kind of friends you make. The reason why media are making movies on gangs and why they are always on the news is because gangs affect our society by killing other people in gangs or tagging on public buildings just to show the other gangs that its there property and the media is attracted to that.
The lyrics in the music also have a strong impact on gangs. Seeing a movie of gangs is different from listening to a song that talks about killing people that get in our way, also derogatory terms referring to females are least important butalso influence gangs. With music, you listen to over and over till you burn a hole through the CD. The singer Snoop Dogg is in a gang and in his music he talks about crips. Another singer, Game, talks about bloods, and young teens are influenced because they wish they could have all the bling Snoop Dogg has or have nice rides. This makes young teens come to the conclusion that if they're in a gang they'll get everything they ever wanted. In the famous world there are many singers that are against the gang “thing”. They build programs for kids to stay off the streets and that's telling our community that there are people that care.
The media and the music is a bad combination, they both talk about violence and gang activity. Watching the same movie over and over can take them to fantasy land but once they get shot it brings them back to reality. Listening to the same song can do the same thing as the movie. But words are stronger then watching the movie, words can stay with a person for a long period of time and watchingthe movie can stay in the mind for an hour after you have watched the movie.