Wassup Rockers unveils both the stereotypes and the truths of growing up Latino in South Central Los Angeles.The direction and perspective of the film are very clear from the first opening scene, a guy walking down the street gets shot by a drive-by and the neighborhood goes on with their day. This opening is followed by a mom coming home in the morning after working all night as a stripper. Already in the first minute we have an introduction to the neighborhood and lifestyle of South Central.
The main characters are a group of 7 skaters who are all Latino and share the common interest of punk rock. Their story starts in South Central highlighting that for the majority these boys have no supervision because the parents work long hours. They are harassed by the other teens in the neighborhood for how they dress and the music they listen to; they do not fit the social norm of the area that revolves around hip- hop and gang activity. The story of the film is the 24 hour journey that these boys have while trying to go skate. They face multiple obstacles and tragedies because of the fact that they are Latinos. Most of the action takes place in Beverley Hills and the characters there are very exaggerated to get the point that the director is trying to make across.
The boys set off to go to a high school in Beverly Hills to skate a spot there and are pulled over before they even make it out of their neighborhood. After losing the car, they still go to Beverly Hills on the bus and are finally skating when some girls from the rich school approach them. The girls are your stereotypical rich girls, who are in revealing preppy uniforms and clearly looking for trouble. While at the school they are again approached by a cop. The Beverly Hills cop resembles a lot of the characters in Born In East L.A. because like Rudy the boys are born and raised in LA but are continuously harassed by authority figures based on racist assumptions and stereotypes. Also like in Born in East L.A. they do not go looking for trouble but because of their look trouble always finds them.
This part was my favorite seen because he immediately assumes they are all Mexicans, and one boy says “I’m Guatemalan!” and another “I’m Salvi”; they mess with the cop all giving him the same address and after a while just take off. This scene stood out to me because as exaggerated as the cops prejudice seemed to be, it was almost spot on to most cops behavior toward Latinos. It is clear in almost everyone seen that the film was made for and directed toward a Latino audience.
After the spree of bad situations continues throughout Beverly Hills they ultimately end up running away from a mansion party and one of the boys gets shot by an actor. When the Beverly Hills cops arrive they promise to keep things quiet for this rich actor and tell him not to worry because “it’s some Mexican kid”. This theme occurred throughout the film where because of where these boys come from they do not matter. This scene was very disturbing because it sinks in the reality of racism in Los Angeles; it hits home because we see it as such a diverse city yet racism still flourishes and many of us have no idea. It really makes you think about how often things like this happen and everyone just moves on; after all the parents most likely cannot afford to do otherwise. Safety, stability, and apparently justice are all systematically distributed.
At the end, the boys finally make it home early in the morning after trains and buses and losing two friends. As soon as they are back in their neighborhood they are harassed by the black guys who make fun of their tight pants and yell “wassup rockers” while shooting a gun. This ending left me feeling similarly to American Me , a discouraging feeling that the cycle will basically repeat itself and it ends as though this was just another average day. However unlike American Me, these boys try to lay low and not live the lifestyle expected of them and yet still find themselves dealing with the same barriers from society.
*Another factor that can be appreciated is the soundtrack that is filled with music from local artists: https://play.spotify.com/album/5I7EuSPZBRa9OAV5x0nwhw?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open
This does sound like the typical lives of Latino skaters, or punk rockers in Los Angeles. They are not accepted by the people in their neighborhood because they dress different, yet they are still harassed by the police. The cops trying to cover for the actor also does not seem far fetched.
I really enjoyed watching this film as it represents my youth. As a kid I loved skateboarding and would do it on a daily basis. This film is a good representation of Latinos in LA because it shows the many obstacles young people go through as well as provides a different view of Latinos. Many films depict Latinos as laborers, gang members, and womanizers. This film does well in portraying the multi-dimensional character that is a Latino.
Right? When I read some of the reviews online so many commented on how over the top he made the white characters in order to make you “like” the kids. And I thought hmmm because the first time I watched it, it definitely seemed accurate.
I saw these movie even though the the acting is not as good, this movie is very good. When people here South Central, one would think crime. These guys are not what you believe to be your typical south central youth, they are skaters. They ride to escape the hood, but it ovious the BHPD still believes in segragagation. The cop kept telling the kids that he has been watching them for three months and it was not true, is that because we all look alike. I really liked the fact that these kids are into the music genre that my friends and I are into, sometimes that is an escape from the harsh realities of South Central.
This film sounds like an interesting film with a lot of twist and turns, especially since it was in a 24 hour period. I am surprised I have not heard of this movie until now. My daughters father grew up in a city in the South bay, as one of the very few white boy in his neighborhood, but all his friends were Latino. They also skated and listened to punk rock music. They were also hassled by the police. Surprisingly, they were harassed by other Latino gangs. I find it interesting how people automatically assume if one is Latino they only listen to the hip hop genre of music. This is a typical stereotype, because I obviously know a lot of Latinos that listen to all genres of music. You gave a great film review that covered the plot, how this film relates to our class, the typical stereotypes that Latinos encounter on a daily basis, and your own personal opinion. So all in all you covered every aspect that needs to be covered when writing a proper film review. I will definitely be putting this movie at the top of my Netflix list, after reading your review.
This movie sounds like it covers many types of discriminations. Primarily, the discrimination of Latinos but also it covers the discrimination of anyone different from the norm. The “other” is the source of racial discrimination and mistreatment of our fellow human beings.
I saw the trailer you posted and I agree this scene is pretty good. By watching the trailer and reading your post, this film reminds me of West Side Story and Zoot Suit how the police would right away stereotype them as trouble makers, up to no good, assume they are all Mexicans. How they quickly jump to judge and kick them out of “their” neighborhood. It is sad, how there are those young teenagers that are not accepted within their own neighborhood because of how they dress or the type of music they like and instead of falling into the peer pressure of joining a gang or of that sort, they go elsewhere to skate (in this situation) and then they get harassed by police. Film looks like it has great representation of the life of a young Latino.
Does anyone know the title to the song at 1:00:01, where they go into the Rich young women’s home, just as they enter and go up the stairs? It’s not listed in the official soundtrack, so it might be uncredited.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413466/soundtrack
Politica Corrupta
Written and Performed by Moral Decay
SCRS
Written and Performed by South Central Riot Squad
Chunchaca No. 5
Written, Arranged and Produced by Gabriel Tenorio & Omar Ramirez for BasicLabs
Performed by LosBasics
Big Siete Music, ASCAP © 2005
SC Drunx
Written and Performed by South Central Riot Squad
No Future, No Hope
Written by Michael Aragon
Performed by Defiance
Courtesy of Punk Core Records
Published by Punk Core Records
Stop These Wars
Written by Jonathan Velasquez & Carlos Ramirez
Performed by The Revolts
School Cop
Written and Performed by Tim Armstrong
Courtesy of Hellcat Records
After Glow
Written, Arranged and Produced by Gabriel Tenorio & Omar Ramirez for BasicLabs
Performed by Los Basics
Big Siete Music, ASCAP © 2005
It’s My Life
Written and Performed by The Retaliates
Youth in the Street
Written and Performed by Moral Decay
Unfinished Story
Written and Performed by Moral Decay
So What
Written by Jessy Moss & Wally Gagel
Performed by Jessy Moss
Produced by Wally Gagel
By Arrangement with Emoto
Published by Clacka, Inc. (ASCAP) & Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc. (BMI) obo Blisswg Productions (BMI)
Amor es Dolor
Written by Gabriel Tenorio
Performed by Domingosiete
Produced by Gabriel Tenorio for Los Basics
Big Siete Music, ASCAP © 2005
La Guerra de la Muerte
Written by David Gutierrez
Performed by The Remains
Disgrace
Written and Performed by South Central Riot Squad
Esta Noche
Written by Gabriel Tenorio
Performed by Domingosiete
Produced by Gabriel Tenorio for Los Basics
Big Siete Music, ASCAP © 2005
No Justice
Written and Performed by The Retaliates
War on Society
Written by David Gutierrez
Performed by The Remains
High School Riot
Written and Performed by The Retaliates
Take Me Someplace Nice
Written by Stuart Braithwaite & Francis Burns
Performed by Mogwai
Courtesy of Matador Records
Published by Chrysalis Music
No Control
Written by Jonathan Velasquez & Carlos Ramirez
Performed by The Revolts