Why The Mexican Mafia Hated American Me (Movie)

[Music] why the mexican mafia hated american me the history of cinema is bursting at the seams with movies that depict the criminal underworld a look through the archives or a quick internet search return hundreds of films in which various characters either inspired by living people or conjured through the pin of a skilled screenwriter often go into details about the exploits of one gang or the other that of crime drama is a very prolific genre in the united states with titles that thoroughly redefine the movie industry when they first came out still sometimes eager productions end up crossing into dangerous waters a move that has the potential to spell disaster for everyone involved that is what happened with american me a film birthed on the mexican mafia that allegedly led to the brutal killings of several people a closer look at the movie the story of america me was back in the early 1990s when a younger edward james olmos was tasked with directing a movie that would capture the legend surrounding the founding of la me while by that time almost was no longer a stranger to acting he had already starred in more than 10 movies including ridley scott's sci-fi classic blade runner in 1982 this would be his first project as a director the film was to follow the activities of one montoya santana a character based on real-life mob boss rodolfo kadena and portrayed by almost himself as he experienced the chicano gang life in los angeles within the first few scenes a young santana is seen founding a gang alongside his friends jd inspired by real-life gangster joe morgan and mundo the trio soon start committing a string of crimes through the streets of east l.a and as a result are arrested and placed in juvenile detention when his sentence is extended following the murder of a fellow inmate and he's transferred to folsom state prison santana gets to work to strengthen his position within the correctional facility his gang quickly expands beyond the walls of folsom and a few years later he finds himself at the top of one of the country's most dangerous criminal associations but america me wanted to be a movie about the effects of the us penitentiary system on its inmates rather than a more bland portrayal of violence and prison life after serving his sentence santana is eventually granted his freedom and released older and no longer accustomed to living within a free society he struggles to adapt and move past his former life this is where olmos's work shows its true colors although the protagonist does his best to fight off external influences and build himself a new life his efforts ultimately prove fruitless santana is soon arrested again on drug possession charges and thrown back in prison before he has a real chance at redemption fed up with his position within the criminal association he helped create santana speaks to his former lieutenant jd and confesses his intention to step down leaving however is not as easy as it seems in a scene reminiscent of his real-life counterparts demise the former boss is assaulted by his own men and thrown off a balcony to his death as the movie comes to an end the murder shows every other inmate that even without someone to lead them the gang remained strong and is still a force to be reckoned with the reaction of the mexican mafia when the project was first unveiled to the public members of the mexican mafia eagerly welcomed the idea of a movie that accurately recounted their early history among other things for example almost was planning to shoot some of the scenes within the real folsom prison on top of that his team had even managed to broker a truce between several local subsets in los angeles to ensure that production could continue without any major accidents in other words it looked as if america me was on the right track to become a brilliant representation of the prowess violence and brute strength that characterized the gang in its infancy as production continued in the director's true intentions manifested themselves however things quickly took a turn for the worse what had been excitement had now evolved into a form of blind rage and many within la me outright considered the movie an insult to the organization according to testimonies from the time the scene that precedes santana's transfer to folsom in which the protagonist is raped by a fellow inmate while in the juvenile hall and then proceeds to kill him tarnishes the sacred aura of machismo that sets members of the mexican mafia apart from other gangs in the country similarly the decision to kill off the former leader at the end of the movie also misrepresents the inner workings that regulate the organization at this point in an effort to keep tempers in check and get his blessing almost tried to set up a meeting with joe morgan nevertheless despite repeated attempts morgan always refused to see him and instead filed a lawsuit against universal studios alleging inaccuracies in the film the director also began receiving multiple death threats from both gang enthusiasts and actual members to the point that he was forced to start carrying a gun when out in public [Music] a brutal kind of revenge despite the precarious situation in which the production team had found themselves the movie was eventually screened for the first time on march 13th 1992 on its first day americanme landed on over 830 screens throughout the country and grossed over a million dollars almost as representation of la me was seen by thousands and the critics would speak of it for weeks after the release the response from the mexican mafia was both swift and brutal unable to target almost directly the organization went after his team instead former gangsters had contributed to the movie actors extras and consultants were all considered fair game at that point when interviewed years later some of them eventually spoke of the months they spent living in fear after the movie was released it would take members of la me less than two weeks to find a suitable target for their revenge the first of a long series consultant and former member of the mexican mafia charles menriquez was killed in ramona gardens on march 25th 1992. another ex-gangster that had also participated in the movie manuel luna would lose his life shortly afterwards but it was the murder of ana lisaraga that left a mark a former criminal who had devoted her life to anti-gang campaigning lisaraga was shot and killed in her driveway some nine months after the movie had been released lisa raga who was commonly known as the gang lady was murdered while unloading groceries from her car the rest of the victims connected to american me remain nameless while some of the people that worked on the movie believe additional consultants might have been murdered following their involvement none of the cases were ever solved regardless almost this project retains the infamous record of being one of the deadliest movie productions in the history of american cinema you

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Keywords: mexican mafia, dj vlad, la eme, mexican mafia boxer enriquez, mexican gangs in los angeles, mexican mafia rap, mexican gangs california, chicano culture, unitedgangstv, unitedgangs, united gangs, unitedvursetv, unitedvurse

Id: 3gvHYE_p9k8

Length: 8min 1sec (481 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 20 2021