A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London

Kidulthood is amazing. I started crying on the first scene, it's so bad what happens to the girl there. I am 15 turning 16 in July and this film really spoke to me about how mistakes can be made really easily in the world. Seeing 15 - 16-year-old girls selling their bodies for drugs and money is really heartbreaking. This is an excellent film - I have watched it so many times now I think I know all the words. I would recommend this film to anyone. Shannon, 21/06/08 It's an amazing film and because it's British actors and actresses we can all relate to it more. It's completely relevant to everyday life and this type of thing happens to loads of us. We need more films like this for kids our age who go through things like this all the time. I found it such a good film because all the actors were our age and get up to things that we all do. Films like this should be made more often instead of making American crap. Emmie x, 19/06/08 The first time I watched Kidulthood I cried because it is such a heart-rending film. Then I realised that these things happen in everyday real life! Which is what makes this film so good - it reflects on teenagers everywhere and lets the innocent ones know what might happen if they're not careful. This is a great British film and people that haven't seen it need to. Amy, 15/06/08 I love the film i watched it at college and everyone enjoyed it and we are all 15 n 16 but we have all been kicked out school and watching that made some of us realise what we are doin to are selfs. Laydee Jay, 11/12/07 Kidulthood was an excellent film. Although the last scene made me cry when Trife lay dying with his pregnant girlfriend talking to him saying how they would go out at the weekend, it touched my heart and as a 15 year old myself growing up in south-west London, it is very true to life. The only downfall was the way all the girls were portrayed as sluts. But apart from that I loved it. I watch it again and again on DVD - it touches me every time. There are sad scenes, funny scenes and cliffhangers with abrupt endings but I would recommend it to anyone. Louise, 07/03/07 http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/images/cinema/kid film reviews from a young audience

        Questionnaire

 

1.   Do you believe that violence is encouraged by the representation of youth culture in violent films?

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2.   Do you believe that what you see in violent films such as this is England and kidulthood are a true representation on society today?

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3.   Do you feel that the more you are revealed to violence the more likely you are to behave in a violent way?

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4.   Have you ever carried a weapon with intent to use it?

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5.   Are you inspired by the iconography of the gangster genre?

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6.   Do you use language such as blud, bruv, hug him up, allow it man, innit and oh my days,

Do you think this sounds cool?

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7.   Have you ever been involved in a violent situation?

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8.   How old are you?

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9.   Do you drink alcohol, smoke or have casual sex because of what you see in films?

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10.        Do you think that teenage pregnancy is glamorised thought the representation of youth in films?

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Teenage knife crime 'is one of biggest threats to London'

Amro Elbadawy, second from left, died after an argument spiralled out of control and he was stabbed

Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent

The huge rise in the number of teenagers being killed on the streets of London is the biggest threat facing the capital after terrorism, senior police officers believe.

Two more teenagers were stabbed to death within hours of each other in separate incidents this week. A boy aged 14 was stabbed in the throat after an argument with a friend, and a youth aged 17 was stabbed in the chest. Both attacks happened in daylight.

The latest murders bring to 11 the number of teenagers killed in the capital this year. Last year 26 were killed — 16 were attacked with knives, nine died in gun incidents and in one case the cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has already said this year that “there is no bigger challenge or threat to the whole of London, perhaps with the exception of terrorism, than youth violence”.

RELATED LINKS

• 'Peacemaker' killed trying to stop brawl

• Stabbed teenager is second to be killed in London this year

His comments have now been echoed by Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Norman, head of the Met’s Violent Crime Command.

He believes a contributing factor is that ten-year-olds regard 14-year-olds involved in gangs as role models. He said that it was inevitable that more teenagers would be murdered.

Last month police in London put 500 known young gang members, including children as young as 11, under observation during the half term to try to tackle the rise in street violence, especially the growing use of knives.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, announced his policing manifesto yesterday and admitted that there was a “serious increase” in the number of youths being murdered.

Amro Elbadawy, 14, died after he was stabbed in Queen’s Park, West London, on Thursday evening. An argument with a “longstanding” friend spiralled out of control and he was stabbed in the neck. As he lay dying he was helped by two council employees, one of whom cradled the teenager in her arms.

Sharon Cohen, head of Westminster Council’s youth service, said: “Two of our staff saw the incident, which was between two young people who were friends, and which resulted in tragic consequences because they were carrying knives.

“The sad reality is that if you carry a knife there is the real danger that the pettiest of teenage disputes can all too quickly turn into a tragedy, and we would urge all our young people not to carry any sort of weapon.”

Tributes to Amro, described as a member of the SD Crew — also known as Street Disciples or Street Dreamz — were posted on MySpace. A photograph showing him wearing a hooded top and woolly hat was displayed on a number of pages.

Amro, a pupil at Paddington Academy in Maida Vale, died shortly after he was taken to the nearby St Mary’s Hospital. It has been suggested that he was the victim of a playground dispute, but detectives are still trying to find out the reason for the argument.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested.Youngsters who gathered at the scene of his death yesterday said that the killing was an accident. One boy said: “They were both very good friends of mine. This was definitely an accident. I hope no one says this is a vicious thing. They were friends.”

Amro, a British national whose family originated in Egypt, lived on an estate in West Kilburn, West London.

Detective Superintendent Colin Lee said: “There has been an altercation between two young men which has culminated in one of them being stabbed. We understand that they were friends and had been so for some considerable time.” He urged anyone with information to come forward to the police.

As detectives began investigating Amro’s murder, their colleagues in North London were dealing with the murder of Devoe Roach, 17. He was walking with a friend in Stamford Hill on Thursday morning when it is believed that he became involved in an argument with a man who plunged a knife into his chest.

The suspect is described as being of Asian or Turkish appearance and aged between 18 and 22.

Devoe was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the Royal London Hospital. He died of his injuries an hour later.

Mr Norman said: “We can put all of our intelligence-gathering skills and covert operations into fighting serious youth crime but it will not be enough. We need to invest far more in education, dysfunctional families and peer pressure.”

2008 murders

January 1: Henry Bolombi, 17, dies from a single stab wound to the chest after being attacked as he walked home in Edmonton, North London, after celebrating New Year

January 5: Faridon Alizada, 18, of Bexley, south-east London, dies from three stab wounds to the chest after being attacked in Verona House, a tower block in Erith

January 21: Boduka Mudianga, 18, known by his middle name Louis, stabbed to death in street brawl in Silver Street, Edmonton

January 26: Fuad Buraleh, 19, of Hayes, Middlesex, dies from head injury inflicted after he got off a bus in Dean Gardens, Uxbridge Road, Ealing

February 19: Sunday Essiet, 15, died from a stab wound. He was attacked after a row between groups of youths in Invermore Place, Woolwich

February 23: Tung Le, 17, of Deptford, south-east London, was attacked during a row outside a nightclub in Cockspur Street. He died from a stab wound

February 29: Ofiyke Nmezu, 16, known as Iyke, of Edmonton, suffered a head injury in an attack with a brick on February 15. He attended hospital two weeks later where he died from a skull fracture

March 13: Michael Jones, 18, dies from severe head injuries and a stab wound to the chest after being attacked by an intruder at his home Stanley Road, Edmonton

March 14: Nicholas Clarke, 19, dies from a gunshot wound to the head after a shooting at the Myatts Field Estate, Brixton

March 27: A 17-year-old schoolboy dies after apparently being stabbed in the chest in Stamford Hill, north London. Amro Elbadawi, 14, of West Kilburn, dies from stab wound after being knifed in Queen's Park, West London.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3640626.ece

Capital gun crime rises by 50 per cent

Weapons are now fashion accessories, warns Yard

By Sophie Goodchild, Chief Reporter
Sunday, 22 January 2006

 

Record levels of gun crime are being blamed on the fact that more people than ever are carrying firearms as fashion accessories.

Figures published this week by the Home Office are expected to show that offences involving guns have soared by as much as 50 per cent in some parts of the country.

The greatest rises have been in the number of people found in possession of firearms and in the number of attempted murders.

Nearly half of police forces surveyed by The Independent on Sunday report a rise in gun-related offences. Those questioned include the Metropolitan, Hampshire and Bedfordshire forces.

In London, a major area of concern is still black-on-black gun crime, despite huge efforts by the Met to combat such violence. According to Operation Trident, the Met's unit combating black gun crime, offences in the capital rose by more than 50 per cent during 2005, with 164 offences recorded between April and October. This is compared with only 108 the previous year.

Operation Trafalgar, which focuses on gun crime in other communities, saw a total of 536 people arrested last year, as well as 74 firearms, 354 rounds of ammunition and 5.5 kilos of class A drugs seized.

The Met has already increased the number of stop-and-search operations it carries out in boroughs where most of the serious firearms incidents take place.

Outside London, the figures also show a disturbing rise in the use of guns. In Bedfordshire, gun-related offences have risen by 20 per cent over the past two years, from 173 in 2004 to 207 in 2005. The number of cases where people were found carrying a gun more than doubled from 19 to 43 in the same period. There was also a rise in the number of stolen firearms seized - 18 compared with one the year before.

Gun violence has more than doubled in Durham over the past year and in Dorset the number of people found in possession of a gun has increased by 150 per cent, though the force's overall gun crime figures have fallen.

There have been widespread calls for tighter gun controls in Britain in the wake of the killing of policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky by an armed gang in Bradford in November. The 38-year-old died after swapping her shift so that she could be home in time for her daughter Lydia's fourth birthday.

Police chiefs have also singled out the music industry for criticism, as they claim it glamorises gun-related violence.

Last year, a music producer who had worked with the controversial band So Solid Crew was jailed for life after shooting dead his love rival.

Carl Morgan was ordered to serve a minimum of 30 years after shooting Colin Scarlett three times in a street confrontation the jury was told was "reminiscent of the Wild West".

Scotland Yard blamed the rise in gun crime not only on the fact that criminals, some as young as 16, are now more willing than ever to settle "trivial disputes" with a gun, but also on the belief that carrying firearms was fashionable.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/capital-gun-crime-rises-by-50-per-cent-524068.html

kidulthood

A group of West London school kids react in different ways to the suicide of a classmate. Hard-hitting youth drama written by and co-starring Doctor Who's Mickey Smith, Noel Clarke

Director:

• Menhaj Huda

Starring:

• Aml Ameen
• Red Madrell

Featuring bullying, casual sex, hard drug abuse, complete disregard for authority, organized crime and even murder, if ever a film wanted an ASBO more than an Oscar, it's Kidulthood. Wearing its multiracial "messed-up youth" mantra as a badge of honour, this seems - at first glance - to be a deliberate assault on Middle England values. 

http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=154245&section=review

plan

i aim to carry out a full investigation on whether or not crime is increasing because of influence by violent films

the films i am going to look at are Green street and adulthood.

I am going to design questionnaires  that are relevant in what i am doing , the people that these questionnaires will be designed for are teenagers between the ages of 15-19, the information i feel that i will get from these is a clear answer on weather or not these people are influenced by what they see on the television and the games they play.

I am also going to research these films and try and find out if they are inspired by true events.

i am going to collect secondary source information from newspapers that involve crime.

I am also going to compare stats from before these films  where released to the ones today and see how much they have increased.

sallys blog

hypothesis.

does films such as green street and kidulthood encourage violence and crime within teenagers.

initial ideas

from reading through the variety of topic notes i am mostly interested in crime & the media. another topic area that interests me is advertising.