American Me

             "American Me" is a movie, made in 1992, directed by and starring Edward James Olmos. This movie based on a true story, about a Mexican-American male spinning over half his life in prison. He grew up in the street of East Los Angeles, were he joined the local neighborhood gang. He and his friends got sent to prison at the age of sixteen for breaking and entering. In prison he did what it took to survive, which got him more years in jail. He started the biggest click in prison, Mexican Mafia, which gave him and all Latinos, away to survive the prison life.
             Santana is the name of the person the movie revolves around. His parents were Zoot Suitors in their day and not like by society. Sailors, during the Zoot Suit Riots raped Santana's mother and beat up his father. Santana grew up with his father resenting him, because he was not his real son. But Santana did not find this out until much later in his life. Santana stay in the street, during his childhood to get away from his father.
             Santana killed his first person at the age of sixteen, which gave him respect and power. Santana love his newly find power. From his power and respect, he started the Mexican Mafia, which later expanded in and out of prison. They used the Mexican Mafia the keep Latinos united and to stop people, who were stronger, from taking anything away from his people. Santana used he power to grantee Latino people's safety by making them pay rent. Santana and his counter parts, JD and Mundo, ran everything in Folsom State Prison. They had control of gambling, drugs, and prostitution.
             In prison the Mexican Mafia was up against the Black Gorilla Family (BGF) and the Arien Brotherhood. They did deal with everyone but it was a constant battle to keep the power and respect. There was nothing the system could do to keep Santana from running things. The warrant put him in solitaire and sent people in his Mafia to different prisons, but all that di...

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American Me. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 00:23, April 27, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/33498.html