American Me
American Me
My artistic source is a film called American Me. The film illustrates thirty years of Chicano street gang life starting in 1959 in East Los Angeles. American Me came to theaters on March 13, 1992. This marked the directorial debut of Edward James Olmos. The protagonist is Montoya Santana whose character is based on Rodolfo Cadena and played by Edward James Olmos.
Santana along with his childhood friends J.D. and Munda founded one of the most powerful street gangs in Los Angeles. Montoya Santana ran the Mexican Mafia commonly referred to as La Eme inside a California prison where he controlled the sale of drugs, pornography, prostitution, extortion, and hired assassins. My argument is that in most situations a person’s environment has a lot to do with who they become in life and that prison time changes a person’s mentality. Santana’s mother was raped by multiple white sailors and impregnated during one of the infamous Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. “When you were born, I tried to love you. But every time I looked at you, I wondered who your real father was. I wondered which sailor's blood you carried inside of you.”- Pedro Santana.
Since birth Santana’s mother and father emotionally abandoned him. Santana grew up poor, lived in a dangerous neighborhood, and his father was an avid gang member. Youth living in bad neighborhoods are susceptible to participate in gang violence and street crime.
Santana wanted to feel as if he belonged and had a family so he started his own “familia” with the Klika. J.D., Munda, and Santana were arrested after they broke into a bar to hide from a rival gang.
After being taken to serve at a California Juvenile Detention Center, Santana was raped by an inmate one night. The teen cut young Santana’s face with a shank and He embraced the respect he received from inmates after killing the teen that raped him and extended his prison sentence in the process. He figured making the inmates fear and respect him would ensure his
My artistic source is a film called American Me. The film illustrates thirty years of Chicano street gang life starting in 1959 in East Los Angeles. American Me came to theaters on March 13, 1992. This marked the directorial debut of Edward James Olmos. The protagonist is Montoya Santana whose character is based on Rodolfo Cadena and played by Edward James Olmos.
Santana along with his childhood friends J.D. and Munda founded one of the most powerful street gangs in Los Angeles. Montoya Santana ran the Mexican Mafia commonly referred to as La Eme inside a California prison where he controlled the sale of drugs, pornography, prostitution, extortion, and hired assassins. My argument is that in most situations a person’s environment has a lot to do with who they become in life and that prison time changes a person’s mentality. Santana’s mother was raped by multiple white sailors and impregnated during one of the infamous Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. “When you were born, I tried to love you. But every time I looked at you, I wondered who your real father was. I wondered which sailor's blood you carried inside of you.”- Pedro Santana.
Since birth Santana’s mother and father emotionally abandoned him. Santana grew up poor, lived in a dangerous neighborhood, and his father was an avid gang member. Youth living in bad neighborhoods are susceptible to participate in gang violence and street crime.
Santana wanted to feel as if he belonged and had a family so he started his own “familia” with the Klika. J.D., Munda, and Santana were arrested after they broke into a bar to hide from a rival gang.
After being taken to serve at a California Juvenile Detention Center, Santana was raped by an inmate one night. The teen cut young Santana’s face with a shank and He embraced the respect he received from inmates after killing the teen that raped him and extended his prison sentence in the process. He figured making the inmates fear and respect him would ensure his