Multimedia Collection
Heart Broken in Half: Chicago's Street Gangs
VHS
57 minutes
HV6439 .U5 H4371 1990
Gangs are society's ultimate devil figure. They symbolize transgression and embody the deepest fears of middle-class citizens. Few filmmakers have dared or been able to get behind the headlines to confront the human reality and complexity of street gangs in urban America. Challenging stereotypes, this documentary gives voice to the street youths and reveals their underground culture. Here is an intricate web of symbols and passions, territory and brotherhood, honor and, all too often, death.
Images of street bravado are counterpointed with scenes inside laundromats where gang members are folding clothes and playing with babies. A former leader of a female gang talks about her dreams for her two young daughters. The violent death and funeral of a Guatemalan street youth stir up the deepest feelings and most haunting questions about both the vulnerability and the heroic ethic of gang life. The film is based on Dwight Conquergood's field research, an ethnographer who also co-produced and co-directed the film.
- Certificate of Merit, Chicago International Film Festival, 1990
- Award, North Carolina International Film & Video Festival, 1991
- Award, Artswatch, 1990
- Council on Foundations, 1991
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