I went to the one in Hollywood and I really enjoyed the film and the panel. It was great to include not only the film maker but someone who has direct experience working with youth and gangs and Jeff Carr to share the city strategy. Several people mentioned it would have been great to have a young person on the panel, someone from the film would be great- for a future panel. I didn't get to ask my question but I feel like Stacy summed it up in one of his comments near the end of the panel. Young people growing up in these conditions are locked out of jobs, or often stuck in low-wage part time jobs, and they, just like us, don't want to work in McDonalds the rest of their lives.

More jobs are not enough. Any job is not enough to undercut the problem, they want and deserve the opportunity to have careers, they are entitled to upward mobility for themselves and their children. I am always discouraged when the only response to the jobs question from the city is a summer jobs program, which are too often temporary, low wage, part time jobs- not careers. And are restricted to youth or at risk youth, which in a vulnerable community does not reward the youth that turn away from gangs.

While we obviously need violence prevention and intervention, there is too little talk or goals around economic intervention in these communities on the scale that's needed. The movie compares PTSD in young people in Baghdad to South LA, we should also compare the economic opportunities. Poverty and racism breed violence, that is what I got from the movie. We cannot address this problem on a personal or family level alone.

I also attended the screening in Hollywood and enjoyed the film – though, truth be told it was very disturbing and carried a powerful impact.

I have a personal interest in this subject for I am the mother of a child who came from this area. He was born addicted to drugs, and was taken away from his birth mother at nine months. He has siblings (all from different fathers and mothers) who ALL are in maximum security prisons throughout the country. He has beat the odds. His father and mother are dead from heroin O.D.'s and the one friend that is still alive from his foster home is in prison. My child is attending college and has a full time job in an excellent (as in solid) company. He has left the hood behind but it hasn't left him. When he gets angry, he slips into a language I cannot understand. He can read looks, faces, attitudes and clothing better than the most experienced profiler. When we walk into a restaurant, he knows all the exits before we even sit down. These are a few examples of how his early life experiences are ingrained into his very being. He did not want to go to the film because he felt it would be too difficult for him to watch. After seeing it, I agree with him.

I waited for the women to appear in this film, and when they did, the director's use of their imagery was quite powerful – I don't want to say more for I felt this was an excellent use of film and thoroughly unexpected.

What I missed and I hope will be addressed in a future film are the following points: The Crips and Bloods have become organized businesses with solid profits. How did this evolution occur? Because of the possibility of making so much money, the lure of “staying in” is great. How do we as a culture/society/community combat that? What impact do drugs have on this community? Babies (children) are born and raised in families that are under serious drug influence. The children born in these situations are impaired – physically (motor control issues as one example), emotionally (deficient in non-verbal skills, anger/rage control as two examples), and mentally (lack of at-home educational support as in homework, lack of appropriate role models – as in parents who read and continue independent education and early childhood stimulation and appropriate support for development – as examples). It is impossible to imagine that any child born to drug addicted parents would not have myriad problems. Because of the lack of support, medical issues and other attendant problems, they grow up totally unable to compete in “the real world” and as a result, find gang life both a comfort and the only known reality/possibility for the future.

While the film explains the anger and rage the Black community felt and experienced at the overt racism of the times and how the gang system was born from this, it did not address how the system became organized into a for-profit underground business. It did not discuss the recruitment process, the independent language (including sign language and writing) and the completely separate culture that has evolved over time. This further isolates the community, making it an impossible feat for integration. On either side.

I realize this film only scratched the surface and will hopefully open the door for further dialogue and study. If any other viewers have recommendations for books or research papers that more fully delve into my questions, I would welcome your input.