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Reviews
The Interrupters (2011)
A hopeful and ideal look at Chicago
Déja Spikes UPP 101
The director Steve James of The Interrupters takes viewers on a journey through the brutal streets of Southside Chicago and the efforts to curb the violence plaguing these streets and their residents. In The Interrupters, three violence interrupters each dwell on their past incidents with the street violence they once employed to attempt to steer young people on the right track. The documentary's primary focus is the urban violence epidemic that was running rampant on Chicago's streets during the development of the documentary. With Chicago being heavily portrayed in the media, specifically the Englewood neighborhood which was shown in the documentary, it is apparent that violence was and continues to be an issue of popular concern. Upset citizens as well as unfamiliar outsiders often express their concerns about the violent behavior, exclaiming that "something needs to be done about the crime in Chicago." The Interrupters explores the efforts of people genuinely oriented with curtailing the violence that puts Chicago's citizens, explicitly youth, at risk.
In 2011, The Interrupters' release year, Englewood had more murders than any other police district in the city (Moore 1). Englewood's crime problem is expanded because of other urban woes troubling the neighborhood. Unemployment in and around Englewood is an extraordinary 35 percent. Consequently, it is one of the poorest enclaves in Chicago (Moore 7). The documentary uses the stories of Caprysha, a teenage parolee who lives in a halfway house, "Lil' Mikey", who is recently released from prison and wanting to provide a better example for his siblings, and Flamo, a young man who is enraged by the arrest of his mother and brother and yearns for his own form of violent justice, to explore the struggles caused by crime and violence that are employed on the citizens of Chicago.
The most prominent argument of the documentary seems to be that transformation from the distorted cultural norms of crime and violence is actually conceivable through the testimonies of the three violence interrupters. This argument appears to be based on theoretical speculation, only supported by the personal accounts of the three interrupters. There was no formal research done. The individual experiences and lifestyles of the three violence interrupters serves as the formalized foundation for this philosophy. The documentary portrays the notion that although one may fall victim to the misconduct and brutality that afflicts the community, it is possible to overcome infectious obstacles with guidance and support. This argument is supported by the first interrupter, Ameena Matthews, who is a former gang member the daughter of the founder of the Black P. Stones gang. After being shot, she left the gang life and transformed into a spiritual Muslim. During The Interrupters, Matthews uses her experience and street credibility, to serve as a grief counselor for the family of Derrion Albert, a teenager whose horrific beating death made national headlines. Additionally, Matthews mentors and counsels Caprysha, providing her with tough love in the hopes of getting her to obey the terms of her parole while eventually getting her life on the right track. The argument of potential transformation is further exemplified through the second interrupter, Cobe Williams. Williams, a product of gangs, homicide and narcotics, served twelve years in prison for attempted murder and drug trafficking. Williams transformed into a devout family man and devoted his life to making sure his son had a better life than he did. Williams works with two brothers who cannot keep the peace between each other. He also mentors Flamo and "schools" him with learned knowledge to protect him from the dangers of seeking street revenge. The final illustration of the "about-face" argument is through the third interrupter, Eddie Bocanegra. Bocanegra spent fourteen years in jail for killing a rival gang member. After his release, he threw himself into community work and began teaching art classes. Bocanegra works closely with "Lil Mikey" and even takes him to the barber shop he robbed to make a heartfelt apology and further demonstrate that troublemakers do have the potential to "do the right thing". With Bocanegra's efforts to change and better himself, he wished to apologize to his victim's unforgiving family. However, through Bocanegra's work, he was ready to forgive himself. The turnaround concept seems to read true in the film. Preceding the guidance and consultancy from Cobe Williams, Flamo was able to impede his desire for pugnacious revenge and was last seen in uniform at a security job. This strengthens the theory because although Flamo spent more than half of his 32 years in prison, he was able to turn his life around with the help from someone once in his shoes. The concept also reads true regarding "Lil Mikey" who, obtained a job as a gardener and put his violent past behind him. However, this theory hits a bump in the road, Caprysha ends up back at a juvenile detention center for violation of her parole. This yields that all interventions will not be successful. In order to provide a more realistic approach as well as clearer insight into the issue of urban violence, The Interrupters should have deepened their argument by researching how often at-risk youth and young adults transform their delinquent behavior and how long this change actually lasts. The interviews with gang members and families of victims as well as graphic scenes of heightened violence seemed repetitive in its solid mindset of anger and frustration. The documentary failed to display citizens who actually are not upset with the community they live in or dispute that troublemakers will ever change their ways. A part two of the documentary would be immensely helpful to see if the interrupters' efforts were successful in the long run in regards to their interventions and to evaluate if their efforts have bettered the city of Chicago and its ills as a whole.
Bibliography
Moore, Natalie. "Chicago's highest murder rate in Englewood." WBEZ 91.5, 5 Jan. 2012.
"The Interrupters." Frontline. PBS. 29 July 2011.