American Me

In prison they are the law. On the streets they are the power. In 1991, 769 people died in gang-related homicides in the greater Los Angeles area alone. The Los Angeles Times recently estimated that as many as 90,000 school-children across the U.S. now carry firearms to school on a daily basis. In 1989, nearly 1,000 children under the age eighteen were arrested for first-degree murder in the States. This film explores three generations of a Hispanic-American family, beginning with the Pachuco riots in L.A. in 1943 and ending in the mid-1970's. The story chronicles the rise of a ruthless crime lord named Sanatana (Edward James Olmos) whose power over life and death emanates from his prison cell and extends to the streets of East L.A. . Also Starring William Forsythe, Evelina Fernandez and Pepe Serna. ©1992 Universal City Studios, Inc