Research For my Critical Investigation

The critical investigation that my group and I intent to produce will be a title sequence and the opening scene of a documentary which explores to what extent teenage delinquants have been influenced by the gangster hip-hop sub-genre.

Below is a list of 3 documentaries which I feel are similar in content to the critical investigation that my group and I intend to produce:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2020029531334253002#

Here's a documentary that I was able to find on the effects the hip-hop gangster genre has on teenager delinquants in the United States of America. The documentary re-enforces the stereotype that the gangster hip-hop genre has a negative effect onteenagers. It was a documentary initially aired by the American broadcasting network PBS on a programme entitled Independent lense. The audience the documentary was aimed at was in particular men and predominantely of African American ethnicity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYaD7v-0N-8

Here's another documentary that I was able to find on the effects the hip-hop gangster genre has on teenagers in the United States if America. However, this particular documentary challenged the stereotype that the hip-hop gangster genre has a negative effect on teenagers. The documentary did not deny the fact that it felt that the hip-hop gangster genre has a negative effect on teenagers, however it argued that 50% of African American teenagers listening to the gangster hip-hop music genre were aware of the negative effects that the genre has teenagers and insisted that something be done about the lyrical content and the music videos of the gangster hip-hop music genre. This particular documentary was distributed by Youth Speak Out. an organization who participate in social based projects regarding teenagers within the Palm Beach County area of the American state of Florida.

A documentary that I feel is most similar to the critical investigation that my group and I intent to produce is the BAFTA award winning documentary series Ross Kemp on Gangs which is distributed by Sky1. This documentary series follows Ross Kemp travelling around the world conserving with gang members, locals who have been affected by gang violence and the authorities who are attempting to combat the problem. The primary target audience the show appeals to would most probably be teenage males who are considering to be gang members and would hope to discourage them to take that path. The secondary target audience the show would appeal to would be anyone.

The representation of gang members portrayed by the show tries to remain netrual but more often than none re-enforces the negative stereotype associated with gang members. The show explores the reasons behind the formation of the gang and as to whether or not the gang members are content with being apart of a gang giving them a chance to justify their actions, however the gang members themselves conform to the stereotype that they are labelled as having. The members of these gangs are always of the C/D class group or below as they are always residents of poor areas in in inner cities.

The show is filmed realistically with very few or no camera edits. Ross Kemp provides a voice over for the show and interviews gang members who's presence and voices are sometimes distorted to protect their identity.Whilst filming interviews sometimes low key lighting is used to complement the image of the gang members. Props are used by gang members such as various guns, knives and other weapons. Kemp is always careful not to wear colours that would affect gang members so more oftan than none wears simple coloured clothing such as black or grey. The shots are usually medium shots but in a episodes over the shoulder shots as well as close up shots are used.

A particular episode that my group and I would look at would be when Kemp interviwed gangs in London on the first series as London city is the same location in which my group and I will be filming the opening scene.