Homeboys (set of 3) No. 6510D Qty:   Read/Write Review Email a Friend Print this page

From Academy Award-winning director Donna Dewey
In the first 2 videos of this series, African American gang members speak openly about their lives. By interviewing the same young men 8 years apart, the videos make clear the tragic long-term consequences of violence and paternal neglect. In the third video, a former gang member describes his former life and the dramatic moment that made him decide to change.

Set of 3 videos includes:

• "Homeboys: Life and Death in the Hood" - Features young members of the Crips and the Bloods describing—with chilling frankness—why they joined, life in the gang, friends who have died, and the lure of dealing drugs. (26 min.)
• "Homeboys: My Daddy's in Jail" - Filmed eight years after "Life and Death in the Hood," "My Daddy's in Jail" presents the same men—all but one now in jail. The video gives equal time to the prisoners and their children, with both groups discussing the painful effects of growing up without a father's love. (26 min.)
• "Street Fighters: Breaking the Cycle" - A former drug dealer offers hope as he describes in grim detail his violent life as a criminal, the horrors of prison, and the dramatic moment when he decided to turn his life around. The Rev. Leon Kelly now devotes his time to preventing youth from following the same violent path. (16 min.)

 

Product review from Today's Librarian, October 2000
Though the price tag may seem high for this series (which includes two additional titles, My Daddy's in Jail and Streetfighters: Breaking the Cycle), public and school libraries need to seriously consider adding all three to their collections. The series interviews real gang-bangers—current and former—who relate real stories. There are no theatrics, no special effects, and certainly no glorifying the vicious and destructive possibilities associated with gang life. From an educational standpoint, it's pleasing to note that while the kids' chilling stories are brutally honest, there is no profanity in the series at all and only the barest minimum of violence, which is used illustratively. Each video is straightforward and unflinching, and can be effectively used as intervention/prevention tools. The series clearly shows not only the terrible things that can happen to gang members and their friends and family, but the positive choices youth can make before it is too late.

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