Search - Gangland: The Complete Season Two on DVD

The best of the 4 seasons...

Jazzin Knight | Bay Area | 05/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's been over 10 years since I've witnessed firsthand the destruction that gangs have on the fragile thread that ties American society together. In reality, I've had friends who were gang members and this was a time where I learned about being careful about the friends I choose and watching my back for potential enemies.



Gangland is a series that not only revives those memories of my past vividly, but also informs everyone that the gang problem in the United States is a bigger problem than anyone could have imagined.



This a 3 disc set that includes information that is broad in its spectrum, covering history and current events of all various types of gangs from the bloods and crips of Los Angeles, Biker gangs such as the Mongol Nation, and even asian gangs such as the Chinese Triad in San Francisco.



What I found interesting about all the episodes in season 2, and the entire series in general, is that this program does an excellent job of denoting each gang's history, their rise to fame, the key players of each gang, how each gang finances their activities, and accounts from either current or former gang members. For example, this documentary did a great job in describing who Tookie Williams and Raymond Washington were and their significance in how the Crips came to power in South Central Los Angeles. In addition, the Bloods, who are outnumbered by 2-1, came to existence to protect other gangs who were not enticed to join True Blue. Chicago's history was well covered with the Vice Lords and especially the Gangster Disciples AKA GD6 who continue to terrorize the midwest. After watching this season, I kinda felt that this season should have actually been season 1 since the Bloods and Crips are known to anyone.



Although the episodes are very informative, I did find some information that was left out. For example, although information was discussed about how the word Crip came about, the narrator did not mention that CRIP actually stood for Community Revolution In Progress. Also, as someone who grew up in San Francisco, the coverage of the Asian Triad was nice, but neither this season 2 nor any season in Gangland provide history about other gangs in San Francisco, namely the turf war that continues to exist in the Hunter's Point/Bay View area, which included members of the infamous RBL Posse rap group (Mistah C, Big Cee).



Despite these minor setbacks, this is an excellent series for anyone interested in not only the history of gangs, but how the gang problem is something all of us should be aware of."