The problem could be stopped before it reaches this how does a teen get a gun is never questioned. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to watch the film, as it provided me insight into the lives of an often-forgotten part of the population, educated me on the debate, about juvenile justice reform, and left me with a hunger to learn more. When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. come up for parole in 20-25 years, instead of the 80 or 90 years he would have had with a 160-year sentence. To some, they're kids. Grappling with tough questions about what it means to convict a young teenager to a lifetime in prison without diminishing or excusing the violent crimes which these kids are accused of, They Call Us Monsters is a loud plea for our need to rethink how we understand the American justice system. Though not everyone would be lucky enough to benefit from this process a whole other story some people who were serving life sentences for offenses they had committed as youths suddenly found themselves eligible for release. Antonio, 14, is the most studious. It concerns juveniles in California, accused of violent crimes, who are facing trial as adults with the prospect of spending the rest of their lives in prison. Receive a report. In California, the parole bill featured in Monsters ultimately passed in 2013. To others, they're . I used laughter as a mask to shield myself and others [from] my reality. In a world where children grow up sleeping on the floor, numerous families crammed into a two-bedroom apartment, barely receiving enough sustenance to stay alive, these kids begin life with nothing but survival instincts. After watching the documentary They Call Us Monsters at the University of Redlands Orton Center last Thursday, I was left with these questions. Ted Bundy, a good looking, well-educated monster, moved around the country killing at least 30 women in the 1970s, and for a time, he was the most wanted man in Colorado.. Bundy abducted and killed a 23-year old nurse who lived in Aspen. I havent done drugs in three years [as] opposed to getting high every day. They are locked up in a separate guardhouse, where legal actions will be served on teenagers in the same way that they are served on adults. I got married to a beautiful amazing woman and we have two daughters, ones three, the second a [little] over one year. Juvenile Justice Information Exchange They Call Us Monsters . Ben Lear. I saw the boys experience a wide breadth of emotions, and the emotional walls they built up start coming down. These are young men who will be tried as adults for violent crimes and face decades, if not hundreds of years in adult jails. . This is precisely the case of the three main subjects of Lears documentary. Is there anything else youd want to tell the movies audience about yourself that they may not know? Make sure to cite all the sources properly and rewrite direct quotations in your own words to decrease the level of plagiarism in your paper. sonido original - PABLO CS. I do not agree. Seems like maybe youre afraid of the question.. You have to love it out of them, Cowan says. The process of transforming real details into fiction seems to make the young men especially introspective. Ben Lear. Summary. All three boys have, ------------------------------------------. Antonio, one of Jarad's inmates, is blindsided by the news that he will be a free man. They have to pay for what they did, Lear said. But the movie benefits from an added layer: A screenwriting teacher who gets to know three teenagers awaiting trial. Jarad, who will be eligible for parole in 2037, wrote in a letter to PBS that hes chosento leave the criminal lifestyle in my past and serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Juan is eligible for parole in 2027. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. As a result of making They Call Us Monsters, his first film, Lear sits on the advisory board of InsideOUT Writers and is an aly member within the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, teaching a weekly writing class within the Compound and mentoring former juvenile offenders under reentry. Los ends up being, of all things, a love story. While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. CC. In They Call Us Monsters, Jarad Nava, Juan Gamez, and Antonio Hernandez are teenage inmates at Sylmar Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles.What makes that such a big deal? Do you feel the law in California is generally fair when it comes to juveniles who commit violent crimes? His answer Yes, but inside the jail is another jail articulates the Sartre-esqe morass of life inside a broken system, as do the ubiquitous signs on the walls that read "NO! A producer took me to juvenile hall. about brain development in teenagers that found the part of the brain that regulates judgment, decision-making and impulse control doesnt fully form until a person is in their 20s. [2] [3] Premise [ edit] In California, juveniles between the ages of 14 and 17 can be tried as adults and receive sentences longer than their natural life expectancy. I was raised by the juvenile system thanks to a mother who really didnt wanna be a mom anymore and thats putting it nicely Cowan had the idea to starta screenwriting class for juvenile offenders after he gave a talk toincarcerated youth while working on another screenplay. If they hadnt wanted to write a love story, there wouldnt be this film, but they decided to write a film, their film, about a young boy falling in love, when they could have written about violence or gangs. SB 260 may have finally passed in California, as well as Prop 57, but most states still impose juvenile life sentences with no chance of parole. Even if he appears remorseless, there seems to be a softness there, or maybe just a deep need for approval. To others, they're monsters. They Call Us Monsters. Juan: I dont want to say the law is unfair, but rather the people passing certain laws are quick to make decisions like throwing you in prison and throwing away the key without even giving you a chance (sometimes). HD. I was more critical than anything, but I think that thats just the person I was at that time., Jarad:Yes, I was given the opportunity to watch the documentary and it was uncomfortable at first watching myself. Read more, EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE POLICY Over the course of a few months, Learfilmed Cowan working with three teenagers -- Juan Gamez, Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez -- who were awaiting trial, some facing sentences more than 100 years long. 17.9K Likes, 65 Comments. Love does not conquer all nor is Lear suggesting this. Im two semesters away from obtaining an AA in Business & Technology. Halfway through the class, Antonio returns to juvenile court and gets released with time served. The remark encapsulated the feeling I was left with after observing the film. Stay in touch. These people have to do their time. In other words, hes a boy. They Call US Monsters Where Are They Now? You can write a science fiction, you can write an animated film, you can write about ninjas, whatever you want.. On Wednesday, July 12th, Sol Collective hosted a film screening of the Netflix documentary "They Call Us Monsters" The film features three boys, Jarad Nava, Juan Gamez, and Antonio Hernandez, who are all facing life sentences for murder or attempted murder and work together to write a screenplay about their lives before they were incarcerated. Read the Notice of Nondiscrimination here. Prior to his imprisonment, Antonio was an honor roll student and he seemed like the perfect student up until his arrest. Are you still interested in screenwriting and filmmaking and would you try to do that again even though youre incarcerated? Meet Juan, Jarad, and Antonio, all in their teens, all facing decades in prison. Who you are as a teenager is not who you are when you grow up.. 88 Likes, TikTok video from Elena2widdit (@elena2widdit): "#theycallusthemonsters #stevenfernandez #TurboTaxAndRelax #fyp". The film follows three young offenders who sign up to take a screenwriting class with producer Gabe Cowan as they await their respective trials. 1.7K Likes, TikTok video from antonio hernandez (@antonio_hernandezzz): "#fyp #foryou #foryoupage #trending #viral #foru #fyp". Change is possible but forgiveness is needed.. They Call Us Monsters Juan Gamez (Actor), Antonio Hernandez (Actor), Ben Lear (Director) Format: DVD 155 ratings IMDb 7.0/10.0 $2495 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns Prime Video $3.99 $10.99 DVD $24.95 Additional DVD options Edition Discs Price New from Used from DVD September 5, 2017 1 $24.95 $24.95 $19.87 Do they deserve a second chance? (SB 260 calls this diminished culpability.). She weeps as she talks about the harrowing moment in which she thought she was going to die. Together, he and the three inmates Juan Gamez, Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez is released partway through the movie) write a screenplay for a short film Mr. Cowan plans to make, inspired by the teenagers lives. December 21, . Hernandez was arrested at 14 for two attempted murders, and faced a 90-year life sentence but was granted parole for good behavior during filming since he was still under the age of 18. Lear was available for questions after the showing at Redlands. Over the course of the two years that Lear (son of TV writer and producer Norman Lear) spent filming They Call Us Monsters, SB 260, the juvenile parole bill, went into effect in California. All rights reserved. I so support these boys and hope they dont have to spend there years stuck for a stupid mistake they now regret , would allow juveniles to become eligible for parole earlier in their sentencing, after serving at least 15 years. Cowan, who also happens to be one of the films producers, is the first person to teach a screenwriting class with InsideOUT Writers, a non-profit organization whose mission is both to use creative writing as a catalyst for personal transformation and to reduce the juvenile recidivism rate by providing services for formerly incarcerated youth. You can see them hugging, you can see they felt a lot of success together, they went through a real experience together.. Ya disponible en todas las plataformas digitales junto, as de esta manera fue llevado ala justicia y ser presentado ante los tribunales con el fin de que pague con crcel todos los crmenes cometidos/los angelitos que no hacen nada. One week they would open up and trust me, and another week they would be joking around and sort of making me the villain., Cowan gave the teensliberty to choose what they wanted their film to be about. You cannot punish trauma out of somebody. The documentary "They Call Us Monsters" explored the life of three juvenile offenders, i.e. Juan:I find screenwriting and filmmaking very interesting, [e]specially for the power you can have of telling a story and raising awareness about certain topics. "They Call Us Monsters," directed by Ben Lear (Norman Lear's son), might seem like a straightforward advocacy documentary. Im a believer in the parole process, Lear says. Antonio could care less. Unrated Starring Allegra Acosta, Nate Corddry, Gabriel Cowan. Jarad and Juan are currently serving the remainder of their sentence at Ironwood state prison. A part of PBS, America's Home for Documentaries, We thought viewers of Ben Lears They Call Us Monsters may be interested in hearing from the young men featured in the film. Over the course of a few months, Lear filmed Cowan working with three teenagers -- Juan Gamez, Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez -- who were awaiting trial, some facing sentences more than 100 years long. 5 Heartbreaking Facts From They Call Us Monsters Doc on Latino Teens Facing Life in Jail. He went as research for a script, expecting to meet the kind of scary characters hed seen in the movies but instead, he found a classroom full of kids., When a kid arrives there, a lot of his baggage is temporarily stripped away, Lear said. Mothers staying home to care for their children. Toward the end of They Call Us Monsters, Antonio has been released. Theyd seem like typical teenage boys if they werent awaiting trial for violent crimes. Documentary 2017 1 hr 21 min iTunes. The teenage girl Jarad shot is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. As any parent, teacher or person who has worked with teens will tell you, teenagers are impulsive. I must say God is good despite where I came from, God has me living in the now looking forward and learning from the past. Available on iTunes Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. 2023 Independent Television Service (ITVS). There are currently no airings of They Call Us Monsters. The proposed bill, SB 260, would allow juveniles to become eligible for parole earlier in their sentencing, after serving at least 15 years. You cant punish trauma out of a child, you have to love it out of them, he says. Stars: Nora Kirkpatrick, Nate Corddry, Ernesto Hernndez, Allegra Acosta, Joel Anderson, Richard Bloom, Steven Fernandez, Ernesto Hernandez, Scott Budnick, Mike Camacho, Antonia Casas R, Yesenia Castro, Gabriel Cowan, Darrell J Edwards Jr, Darrell J Edwards Sr, Juan Gamez, Kath What would the victims think? Through their introspection and self-discovery, I felt an overwhelming sense of aspiration for these young people, despite their circumstances. "They Call Us Monsters," a film by Norman Lear's son Ben Lear, was released earlier this year and became available on Netflix in late May. This doc examines how minors are regarded in the justice system. Read more, DIVERSITY, EQUITY and INCLUSION But each successive measure has passed with more and more support., California seems to be well on the right path, but there are a lot of states that are much further behind in that conversation, he said. Recidivism, understood as a persons relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime, is a key statistic that tells lawmakers and law enforcement how likely those who have gone through the system are likely to find themselves back into it. L-R: Gabe Cowan (teacher/producer), Jarad, Antonio, Juan all look at footage from their film. They Call Us Monsters is a 2016 American documentary directed and produced by Ben Lear. Aiming to de-stigmatize California's incarcerated juveniles, a documentary entitled They Call Us Monsters sheds light on the lives of those incarcerated and the state's legislative debate over juvenile sentencing reform. Still a teacher for InsideOUT, he has abandoned the Hollywood bromance in favor of Good Films, his new feature-film company whose mission is to tell stories with racial and social-justice themes. Thats why you need programs like InsideOUT and college., In the fifth writing class, Cowan introduces the topic of character motivation, telling the kids that conflict and fear are essential in driving plot. Be more independent. 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