Now well into it's seventh season, this pseudo-documentary series is part and parcel of The History Channel's increasingly desperate bid to give itself a makeover in the face of stiff competition from the stranglehold of lowest common denominator reality television running 24/7 on every other network. With it's hip-hop soundtrack, the likes of this, and fellow gang-centric series Marked, are a thinly veiled attempt to 'get down,' because all that history stuff, well, it's boring isn't it?
Covering everything from Cartel gangs along the US-Mexico border, through motorcycle gangs in Philly, to prison gangs in, well, just about every prison, the series purports to "go deep" inside these organizations, and shine a light onto their shadowy existence and shady dealings. Yet, as is all too common with programs centered around ongoing criminal activity, information always loses out to sensationalism.
With it's hyper-ADD style editing, and comically over-serious narration, Gangland is far less interested in actual investigative journalism than it is simply pointing the camera at violence-prone, attention-seeking individuals in the hope that they'll do something shocking. If those god-awful prison exposes that run looped on MSNBC on the weekend are the television equivalent of a trip to the zoo, then this is going on safari. A safe, voyeuristic thrill for the predominantly white middle-class, who get a tour of society's sewers from the comfort of their sofa without risk of being eaten, so to speak. This isn't education, it's just rubbernecking.
Even when confronted by an organization with genuine historical significance and a wealth of back-story to explore, like the Imperial Klans of America - supposedly the latest incarnation of the KKK - analysis is lazy to the point of non-existent. Interviews from self-confessed members and activists reveal nothing because the series simply doesn't press it's subjects, content with the idea that having got their interviewee to say: "I hate Jews and n*****s" on camera that their work is done. Hey, here's a thought. How about asking him 'Why?'
DVD Bonus Features
None are included.
"Gangland: Season Five" is on sale August 24, 2010 and is not rated. Documentary, Reality, Television. Directed by Various. Written by N/A. Starring NA.
