MovieChat Forums > 12 O'Clock Boys (2014) Discussion > Great view of ghetto life

Great view of ghetto life

posted 10 years ago by AfroGeek
5 replies | jump to latest

And how it literally sucks the souls out of kids. Wow, a kid literally giving up over a bike because he wasn't sure he'd be alive the next day. Tells you a lot about what that environment does to people. So strange how dangerous street riding is an escape from gang life. Like picking a slightly lesser evil.

This isn't a great documentary, but a very telling one. From a single mother who literally doesn't know what to do with her son while she tries to improve her own life, to a neighborhood of boys raising boys. Many of the characters are microcosms of the problems in that community.

And for those of you who think this kind of dangerous street riding is somehow unique to Black kids in Baltimore, come here to KC's suburbs and watch the upper-middle class White kids who can afford the sport bikes ripping through highway traffic 30+ mph over the cars. Even a car's occupants aren't safe colliding with them at those speeds. Go check out the YouTube videos if you doubt me.

Amy: I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] rezonat3 10 years ago

The filmmaker could have done more good by teaching the kid ANYTHING instead of filming this kid and his horrible mother and community. Its just idiotic, and its the same crap I see here. Kids walking across what are basically highways, stop and stare like they owe the roads. So much has changed in 30 - 40 years.

No respect for other people or the community, absolutely no effort to get out of the city or better himself except buying a bike. Its not even worth getting into how easy it is to drive a dirt bike legally somewhere else.

I'm not gonna start another racial debate, but these white kids on nice sport bikes don't threaten to kill cops when they do something stupid. Its like parents that let there 2 - 4 year old run around outside without watching them, they run in the street, get hit by a car and then they threaten to kill the driver.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] blackknight273 9 years ago

To me the bike club offered Pug something he was lacking which was adult male mentorship and discipline.
From what I saw in the documentary none of the club members seemed to be gangstas, druggies, or hard core criminals. If anything he is better off than many kids in his community.