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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this compelling documentary series examines the lives of contemporary African-American criminals like Stanley "Tookie" Williams (co-founder of the Crips gang) and crack dealer "Freeway Ricky" Ross. Though the subject matter is mature and often explicit (in one episode, footage of prostitutes is shown as the narrator explains that women traded sex for drugs on the street corners of Los Angeles), the lives of the people being profiled aren't glorified. The series is more like a news magazine than a docudrama, and its goal is to understand these people and the impact they had on their communities.

Families can discuss crime. How does someone become a criminal? Is crime ever justified? How are race and crime tied together in the United States? What role do the media play in that relationship? What is racial profiling? Are the police tougher on some races than others? How can communities particularly plagued by crime fight back?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Lucy Maher

Documentary series AMERICAN GANGSTER takes an in-depth look at the lives of contemporary African-American criminals and examines how their actions both reflected and corrupted the values of their communities.

Viewers are introduced to infamous lawbreakers like Stanley "Tookie" Williams (co-founder of the Crips gang), crack dealer "Freeway Ricky" Ross, and former drug dealers Leroy Nicky Barnes, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, and the Chambers Brothers. Each episode is narrated by actor Ving Rhames and features interviews with both the subjects and the people affected by their crimes. Interviews with prosecutors and defense attorneys involved in each case are also included, as is footage of historians putting each subject's crime into context.

In one particularly well-done episode, viewers learn how drug dealers in South Central Los Angeles were lured into the trade in the 1980s -- and how Ross came to sell between $2 and $3 million of crack and cocaine per day. The show also explains how he unknowingly became connected to the Reagan-era Iran/Contra scandal.

American Gangster is a departure for BET, which many have come to associate with music videos and shallow reality shows. This series does a good job of intelligently looking back at the complex lives of the featured criminals and showing how their actions impacted not only their lives, but those of their families, friends, and neighbors. While the subject matter is grim and footage can sometimes be harsh, it's compelling viewing for audiences eager to learn about the past.

Fans might also like American Experience, Most Evil, and My Block.

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