Having grown up in LA and actually knowing gang members I feel that the sentiment was well conveyed. This film was not going for the blood and gore of gang life, but in fact was trying to communicate a message more in tune with what it is like growing up in these neighborhoods. Escape is not easy. You either join a gang or it is difficult to survive. I happen to live 3 miles from these streets that are shown in this movie, and have seen just what goes on out there. Survival is the pretext of this movie. The need to do whatever it takes to survive, and one of those things being breaking the law if necessary. If a person draws down on you and you're not strapped then you're dead. Joining a gang is just something these kids do so they can survive. There is power in numbers, and if confronted it is always good to know that your homeboys have your back. I feel this documentary truly covered exactly what it is like growing up with gangs, and in the hood. Joachim Schroeder and Tommy Sowards did a great job in getting the message across.
Review of Slippin': Ten Years with the Bloods
