My my. What a bunch of wild hooligans! Do kids actually act like this? I have no trouble believing that there are kids out there like this but I have yet to meet any of them. Wherever they are, I'm sorry for them. Poor things.
shareWell you probably never been to a ghetto in your entire life if you have to ask such a question. Of course there are kids living like this. I was one of them.
shareYou're right, I've never been to a ghetto before. I can't really say I understand what life is like living in one, since I grew up in a reasonably nice suburban neighborhood in western United States, but I do have a lot of sympathy for those that grew up in conditions far worse than mine. It seems like a rough way to grow up.
shareYou're right, it is very rough, and dangerous at times, but it does have it charm as well. Especially in the bond that creates between friends. Maybe I'm just nostalgic.
shareYou don't have to be ghetto to run into kids like these. You'll find them at upper crust prep schools where they get into even worse types of trouble because they're privileged & so get a pass that are not available to ghetto kids. I attended one of those high schools and believe me, you'll find bad news kids in all walks of life.
shareYou could not be more correct. That's exactly how it is in my experience. I used to live in a ghetto during my middle school years and then I got into one of the best high schools in the country, full of rich kids. I thought we were wild in the ghetto, but the rich kids were ten times worse. They could literally do anything and get away with it.
shareYep. And money and clout in spades. I knew this guy in high school who booked an entire suite at the Plaza Hotel to hold all night sex parties. He was a high school kid. Hotel management didn't care.
shareI was friends with kids like that, 20 years ago. I grew up fine, though. I just had to get away from them.
shareI knew people like this, in fact some of my friends lived and partied like the kids in this film. I did drink a lot as a teenager, and probably bordered on leading a lifestyle not too dissimilar to these kids, but I was too cautious to become completely destructive. In the end, you have to put this type of behaviour behind you, it's only when you struggle to do so (i.e. "grow up") then you have a problem. They had such an utter disregard for not only their own lives, but other people's, and I'm sure most of them had a very bleak future. The only slightly redeeming personalities were Jenny and Ruby.
shareYup, I was these kids when I was younger. Grew up fine, don't regret a thing
shareMost kids, without adult supervision, act like that, as far as I know. Not every kid goes to the extremes shown in the movie, obviously, but I was 12 in 1995 and, while I didn't have a sex life back then, I did stuff way worse than what's depicted in the movie. That being said, I probably pity you even more than you pity people like me. I made mistakes you probably didn't make, growing up, but most importantly, I learned lessons from those mistakes I wouldn't have learned any other way. I'm not saying everyone needs to experience what I did to better themselves either, just that in my case, it turned out positive. Then again, one of my best buddies from when we were kids shot himself in the mouth last month, so despite my personal opinion, you're not that far off either.
shareI would agree with you. I didn't grow up in a ghetto-- I was born and raised in a fairly nice neighborhood in western USA so I was born with privileges a lot of other kids didn't and don't have. I never had to deal with all the issues and struggles so many kids live with daily in a ghetto. I have so much respect for those who make it out ok. That shows willpower I don't have. I wouldn't last a week in a situation you guys went through for years.
I'm very grateful for my upbringing, but you are absolutely right. You've learned lessons I have never learned. You've seen things I've never seen. Sure, I've dabbled in drugs, sex, and alcohol before but I didn't grow up and be exposed to that level of it, which, to me, is a toxic environment for a kid. Kudos to you for making it out ok. I'm sure you are a much better person for it.
Kids was eye opening to me, and I'm very appreciative to all of these comments I've read. I'm sorry for what you went through. Good for you all for surviving what I'm sure were some unpleasant years and making the best from it. You have my respect :)
curious_chaos, you don't have to feel bad for growing up with more. It really annoys me when people let this stuff boil down to "ghetto" or poor. I grew on welfare and knew no one this bad and in contrast I knew upper middle class kids in college who were hard drug users by their mid teens. I wouldn't even count the kids in the movie as being from the ghetto, not rich but it ain't "the hood". My family had it's tough times but nothing insane or noteworthy, I know of others who went through much worse, but coming from a lower class background isn't this all encompassing bubble of drugs and bad choices.
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"Slip your mind? Forget he was in there with a g--damn hand cannon?" -Vincent Vega
this has nothing to do with being ghetto or being rich. there are teens from all demographics that act like this.
shareFair comment, but statistically violence and drug abuse is clearly higher in lower socioeconomic areas.
True! They get a pass due to their status as "rich kids" which delays their maturity even further. What they need is to get hit smack dab in the face with a big dose of reality (getting arrested or thrown in jail). It's a great incentive to finally grow up and mature.
shareI knew lots of kids that acted this way. I used to hang out with more than a few. It has a lot to do with kids upbringing and their cultural environment.
shareI grew up in suburban NJ, went to a private high school and an ivy league college...and I was surrounded by kids just like this.
shareMe too. Although for me, I grew up in Manhattan. Prep schools are not exempt from bad news kids. Rather than socio economical, I think it's a combo of bad parenting or absentee parenting (which is the same as bad parenting if you think about it) that churns out kids like these. And the fact that some kids are just bad. I knew several who had loving, involved parents and the kids were just...bad. The parents had to work double time to "beat it out of them" so to speak. Some turned out alright but they still have this edge to them which I think they'll never outgrow. Some kids are not born with good dispositions which makes parenting them even more of a challenge. It's not easy raising kids. Not one bit.
shareThese were typical of many urban area kids, many like the ones I grew up with, wasn't a shock to me at all.
sharei didn't know or speak with them, but i did see them around (14th street nyc in 2007) this was a few months after watching the movie, and those teens reminded me of the ones in this
i've got feelings too, ya know - inbetweeners