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You
won't find ``Concrete Hell'' or other gang documentaries
at the local Blockbuster. The $20 films are only for
sale in swap meets, mom and pop record stores and Web
sites such as streetgangs.com and gangstadvd.com.
Shot
and edited using cheap equipment and pressed onto DVDs
at home, ``hood films'' are the visual manifestation
of gangsta rap: raw and sometimes violent snapshots
of America's gang-plagued ghettos shot by those boasting
a closeness to the life, or in some cases by gang members
themselves. And like the hip-hop genre that made mainstream
stars of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre in the 1980s, the documentaries
have drawn criticism from those who say the films glorify
a criminal lifestyle.
Formal
sales figured are not available since most DVDs are
self-produced and distributed. But some filmmakers say
they have sold thousands of copies, and sellers say
the number of titles has spiked in recent years. Robert
W. Lewis III said he has sold 18,000 copies of his film
``Rep Yo' Set,'' a broad look at many Los Angeles gangs,
since he released it in early October.
``I
think it's the same reason why movies like `Scarface'
and `Goodfellas' are celebrated,'' said Alex Alonso,
a gang researcher who sells the DVDs on streetgangs.com.
``Only some of these documentaries are real-life stories.''
Many
of the filmmakers, however, bypass traditional documentary
storytelling for raw footage of gangsters rapping about
their lives, brandishing guns and, in some instances,
fighting. A sub-genre known as ``fight films,'' such
as ``Ghetto Fights,'' cuts straight to bloody battles
between rival gangs.
Kyle
``Shazz Loc'' Jackson, 36, said he consciously avoided
showing actual violence in his documentary ``Concrete
Hell.'' Instead, his friends and family gang connections
helped him give a voice to normally camera-shy members
of the Crips and Bloods. The film's dominant message
is a warning for poseurs and enemy gangs to stay away
from certain neighborhoods.
Lewis
also chose not to include fighting or extensive drug
use in ``Rep Yo' Set,'' which features members of 27
different Los Angeles gangs. He also didn't include
any footage of gangsters insulting rivals.
``I
didn't want to use that life to show black people at
their worst,'' he said. ``I wanted to show people in
the communities that wanted a way out. That want an
opportunity ... Clearly the message we're giving is
you don't want to mess with this.''
His
film does show members of the 27 featured gangs brandishing
heavy artillery, flashing gang signs and rapping gang
anthems that promise violence to rivals.
Though
a longtime rap producer who has recorded gangsta rap
albums, Lewis has no direct ties to the gangs he filmed.
He used money and food to help gain access, he said.
``Nobody
asked that we pay for anything,'' Lewis said. ``But
we most definitely showed our appreciation for letting
us in.''
Kevin
Epps, 36, behind the lens in the 2003 documentary ``Straight
Outta Hunters Point'' and considered a pioneer of the
genre, said the films offer a view ignored by mainstream
media.
``This
is something the news can't get and Hollywood can't
get,'' said the San Francisco-based filmmaker. ``I would
like to believe that (the films) are benefiting mankind,
I would like to believe by telling the truth about the
conditions, all the poverty and the fights, it makes
us take a look at ourselves and see all is not good.''
Others
compare the films to snuff films that exploit real violence
for entertainment. UCLA professor Jorja Leap, who serves
as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's gang policy
adviser, said her students buy the gang documentaries
for the same reason they purchase the ``Bum Fight''
DVDs featuring homeless men fighting: Pure titillation.
``I
don't think people need to see it graphically for them
to see how much of a problem it is,'' she said. ``What's
next? Rape? Pedophilia?''
Alonso,
the gang researcher, said some of the DVDs he sells
do have educational value _ but those aren't the titles
that are moving the fastest. The most popular are DVDs
that feature dog fights, fights between women and gang
rumbles.
``I
can't extract any values from any of those,'' said Alonso,
who said he wouldn't restock the titles once he sold
out.
Federal
prosecutors plan to use footage from one of the rawest
films _ the 2005 documentary ``Hood 2 Hood'' _ in their
case against Jonathan Leon Toliver, an alleged member
of a Las Vegas gang charged in a 2004 shooting.
In
the video, a man authorities believe to be Toliver brandishes
a semiautomatic handgun and warns: ``They come around
here, this is what they gonna get.''
To
some degree, gang filmmakers have embraced the controversy
surrounding their products _ the same selling point
that helped gangsta rap find mainstream success. The
cover of ``Rep Yo' Set''
shows a man holding an assault-style rifle in the air.
Like the record industry, these documentary filmmakers
intend to plant seeds of gangster authenticity in the
urban street market to entice a larger white, suburban
customer base.
``I
went to the hoods and shook hands and met people, went
into the barbershops and beauty shops, went to the schools,
went to the malls, went to the record stores in the
communities,'' Lewis said about his campaign to widen
his audience. ``I even caught people leaving church
on Sundays.''
Michael
``Murdock'' Halcromb, 34, a member of the Piru Street
Bloods who helped direct a music video featured in ``Concrete
Hell,'' said he is bemused by the interest in the violence
around him.
Standing
in a cul-de-sac where his cousin and friends were shot
a few days before, Halcromb said he expects his neighborhood's
stories to eventually reach a mainstream audience.
``They
need to hear our stories,'' he said. ``I guess they're
fascinated by it. Like it's some fascinating fairy tale.
But this s--- is real. If you look around, you can see
some bullet holes and bloodstains.''
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