I chose a very influential show called "Gangland." The episode that I chose was called "Kill or be killed." Filmed from the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. The show is seen on the History Channel network. I like watching "Gangland" because you really never know how bad a part of the country is until you witness it for your self or see it on television. This is the story of two rival gangs called "LMG" which stands for "Love Murdering Gangsters." The rival gang "GD" stands for "Gangster Disciples." These two rival gangs were gaining popularity in the early 1990’s
One of the main terms that was used from this show is "On the Mississippi Delta is kill or be killed." The show is set in the lower part of Memphis, Tennessee. There are many characters that have many amazing stories to tell about the life of a gangster in Memphis, Tennessee. A "LMG" gangster called Deangelo Bills is depicted by many gangsters as "Wild" because he got shot 17 times and is still alive. In this show he tells how he was shot in the head, stomach and several arteries. Another "LMG" gangster named Corrino Pruit was a leader in the gang at the time. He committed heinous crimes that most people would not think of. Curtis Crump "LMG" gangster was initiated when he was 10 years old. He said, "I was into church and the bible, but there was a lot of drugs around and that is how I got involved." Curtis was also shot 7 times in 1999 over a game of shooting dice in the streets. The main leader of this notorious gang was George Hewitt, "AKA" G-Train. By 1993, G-Train was in charge of the whole gang.
“Love Murdering Gangsters” came from a place called Lamoyne Housing Projects in the early 90's. The gang changed their name to Love Murdering Gangsters because there was a new gang called "Gangster Disciples" that came from Chicago, Illinois trying to steal the turf of the "LMG's." That is why they changed their name. Now, that a new gang came in and is trying to control the turf from the "LMG's" is causing the two rival gangs to kill or be killed. The streets of Memphis, Tennessee is a very poor city, so there is two things that go together drugs and poverty.
As time goes by, there is two leaders controlling the streets named "G-train" and rival gang leader of Gangster Disciples named Darryl Jordan "AKA" Cowboy. These two have been trying to control the streets for many years. Until, Cowboy has changed his direction and tried to rob some "LMG's." There is going to be war and people are going to die. One night "Cowboy" was smoking weed out on the streets and "G-train" pulled up and started talking to Cowboy and then that is when things got scary. People jumped out of G-train's car and shot "Cowboy" 12 times. After the LMG's shot Cowboy, they fled the scene and the cops were called and saw that Cowboy was still a live and Cowboy's last words were "Train shot me."
Now that the Police have an eyewitness who shot Cowboy, they could hold it against G-train. When the case went to court, no one had any eyewitnesses or did not want to come forward because they were scared. A former LMG gangster named "Wild" said, "Who ever was in their way, they would be took'en care of." That is scary to hear from a real hard-core gangster. If I witness something at that time, I would just keep on walking. Now, that the prosecution did not have any eyewitnesses, the court did not find enough evidence to put "G-train" away at the time. After he was acquitted, he gained superior power.
In 1997, the gang LMG's were unstoppable according to the "Shelby County Crimes Unit." G-train gain enormous popularity that he was not convicted of his crime. His gang began to get stronger and stronger until the point that G-Train thought he was invincible. He said, "I have nine lives, no one can stop me." Well one day his 9 lives came to an abrupt end. On the corner of his business, two rival gangsters used assault rifles to shoot G-train multiple times. G-train did not die easily, he got in his car and started driving across the street and the rival gangsters shot him in the neck. Then he died and there were no apparent witnesses that came forward in court after the shooting. His best friend "LMG" Alvin Johnson was in prison at the time, but he got the word that G-train has been assassinated. He was devastated when he heard the news. Till this day there are no witnesses and the case is closed.
The colors in the show were mostly dark colors such as black, grey, red, and blue. When the directors are doing a dramatization in the scenes, they are using black and grey. It was very well done in my opinion. It shows the inside real life of a place that has two rival gangs showing who is the leader. It takes you a step closer to see how violent gangs are and what they would do to people if they got in their way. Gangsters in the show did not have any morals and most of them did not have family, so that is why they were introduced to gangs. Gangs are like a “family” and they will do anything to support their “family.” Most of the gangsters that were depicted from this show are either locked up for crimes they committed in the past, or are deceased. Many LMG's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gdWEiXU9TM
Remember to write for publication, not in the style of a class assignment. In particular, avoid “the episode I chose” kinds of phrasing. However, the text you selected is extremely interesting, and the big challenge that you have is making sense of its complexity in a short post such as this assignment. You well succeed at providing a good summary of the basic plot points of the program, but there are a couple of further descriptive elements that I think are worthy of note. One is the narrator’s voice. How does he speak, and what might that add to our understanding of this text? Also, think about the mix of shots edited into the program: we have interview/confessionals, drive-by pans, and then these shots of violence that I take to be staged. What visual elements help us distinguish these categories? In those cases where the program uses a static shot, what do the producers often do to liven things up?
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