Teaching Race and Gang Violence Using the Documentary Crips & Bloods: Made in America (Peralta 2008)

Abstract

In this class activity, students wrestle with the causes and consequences of gang violence through a series of activities including lectures and assignments organized around the documentary Crips & Bloods: Made in America (Peralta 2008). The film describes the rise of gang warfare in South-Central Los Angeles through a historical lens,...

Download this resource to see full details. Download this resource to see full details.

Details

Subject Area(s):

Criminology/Delinquency, Deviant Behavior/Social Disorganization, Law and Society, Public Policy, Race, Class and Gender, Racial and Ethnic Relations, Urban Sociology

Resource Type(s):

Assignment, Class Activity, Essay, Film List

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

In-class Activities

• 
  
• Prior to screening the film, prime students to analyze social phenomena historically by lecturing on causality, especially the difference between primary causes and secondary causes.
  
  • 
    
  • A fairly intuitive example for most students is the relationship between “sad...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. 1. understand the social sources of gang violence;
2. 2. apply and critique ecological theories of crime* to the origination of the Crips and Bloods;
3. 3. demonstrate increased sensitivity to why people and communities might adapt to difficult situations in deviant ways;
4. 4. imagine policy initiatives that strive to address social causes of gang violence.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. • Reflection assignment:
   o 1. What did you believe to be the primary cause of inner-city gang violence before watching the documentary?
   o 2. Now that you’ve seen the film, reflect on your initial answer. Does the factor (or factors) identified represent the primary reason for the emergence of gang violence in South Central Los Angeles? Or was it...
2. • Essay assignment:
   o In a one to two-page short essay, describe what is meant by the film's sub-title "Made in America" using specific examples from the film. (I.e., how can/do circumstantial factors outside the control of individuals within a community contribute to the rise of violent delinquent subcultures?). Apply and critique at least three...