Bastards of the Party

This 2005 documentary aired on HBO and played a couple of festivals, but was otherwise overlooked, which is a shame. Directed by former gang banger Cle Sloan, Bastards of the Party presents a decade-by-decade history of South Central L.A.'s African-American street gangs, from their unassuming origins in 1950s, to the aftermath of the Black Panther Party's demise in the 70s, to the unprecedented "black-on-black violence" of the 90s.

Interviews with Sloan himself provide most of the audio track, which -- given his long-standing personal history as a member of the Athens Park Bloods -- humanizes the conflict and lends a shit-ton of credence. He also speaks with black community leaders, OGs (that's original gangsters in layman's terms), and City of Quartz author Mike Davis, whose book inspired Sloan to begin his critical inquiry into the roots of his neighborhood's gangs. (City of Quartz was required reading for one of my intro Anthropology classes in college. Now I kind of wish I'd actually read it.)

What I liked about this documentary (in contrast to the more exploitative "A&E" or "True Hollywood Story"-types of street gang docs) is that it doesn't sensationalize any aspect of the life. It acknowledges the violence, the drugs, the money, the power-- but its core message is one of reform. It's not "Hey, look how hard we are!" but instead, "Look at how fucked up we are. Here's how it's happening and why. Now how can we start to fix it?"

Sloan's inexperience as a filmmaker shows, especially in the frenetic editing, which moves from soundbite to soundbite so quickly that it's often difficult to digest what's being said. But his charisma and ability to talk sense are what makes this film work. The soundtrack is pretty dope, too.