Thats whendirector Ben Learknew he had a film to make. Arrested at 16, Jarad faces 200 years-to-life for four attempted murders; Juan, also arrested at 16, faces 90-to-life for first-degree murder; Antonio was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to-life for two attempted murders.[4]. All three boys have, ------------------------------------------. Through their introspection and self-discovery, I felt an overwhelming sense of aspiration for these young people, despite their circumstances. Maybe that journey toward remorse and responsibility is different for everyone. For Lear, who now sits on the InsideOUT Writers advisory board, the shift has been heartening. These are perfect examples of the way the justice system has decided to treat young men who commit violent crimes as adults. To others, they're monsters. Cast and crew Ben Lear Director Jarad Nava Juan Gamez Antonio Hernandez Darrell Edwards Additional information Directors Ben Lear Studio The Orchard Subtitles English (CC) Released year 2017 Duration 1 h 21 min Genres Documentary Foreign/Independent Size 4.67 GB (1080p HD) 2.18 GB (720p HD) 1.65 GB (SD) TikTok video from antonio hernandez (@antonio_hernandezzz): "#fyp #foryou #foryoupage #trending #viral #foru #fyp". Love does not conquer all nor is Lear suggesting this. being generous here 7 million pit bulls and Rottweilers and other dangerous breeds. I cant think of anything specific other than Im grateful so many people have embrace[d] our story and joined the prison reform movement (one way or the other). Their parents grew up in identical conditions before them and know nothing of survival in an "acceptable" way because they have NEVER been given instruction. Download a copy of Jarad Navas complete handwritten letter. We've posted their answers below, and also included the original letters if you'd like to see an authentically handwritten. The protagonist of Los emanates vulnerability where the boys act tough and make jokes as a form of self-protection. Ones kicking himself over an unrequited lifelong crush. He references the movie Avatar, and says, I feel like I gotta be these huge blue people for them so at night when they dream of stuff they could be doing, I could be one of those huge, blue people.. The teenage girl Jarad shot is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Antonio Hernandez, and Jarad Nava. 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 You have to turn your life around to get parole. As any parent, teacher or person who has worked with teens will tell you, teenagers are impulsive. Are our past actions a direct reflection of our character? Its this capacity for change that, according to Budnick, Cowan, Lear and other prison-reform policy advocates, differentiates the young person from the adult. Antonio could care less. Read more, Copyright 2023, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. Do they deserve a second chance? To the system, they're adults. Cowan had the idea to starta screenwriting class for juvenile offenders after he gave a talk toincarcerated youth while working on another screenplay. When the new law went into effect in January of 2014, it established a new parole process to be enacted on either the 15th, 20th or 25th year of incarceration, depending on the sentence or controlling offense for people who were under the age of 18 when they committed a crime and who had been tried and sentenced as adults. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. They show Cowan a chair in a cell and Antonio says, King George sat here, and Juan laughs and makes a fart joke. with lengthy sentences, regardless of the fact that, as adolescents, they have no ability to see beyond the orbit of their own experience. The prison has a channel in which they play some of the new movies coming outso we watch about everything and anything that tells a good story. A part of PBS, America's Home for Documentaries. Juan, Jarad and Antonio, all between 14 and 16, face decades in prison. Powerful new documentary 'They Call Us Monsters' follows three teen boys who face life sentences for their violent crimes. They Call Us Monsters is a 2016 American documentary directed and produced by Ben Lear. You have to love it out of them, Cowan says. Ive since chosento leave the criminal lifestyle in my past and serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I really was." To the system, theyre adults. Gabriel Cowan teaches a screenwriting class to juvenile offenders at The Compound. 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. The film follows three young offenders who sign up to take a screenwriting class with producer Gabe Cowan as they await their respective trials. Lear, the son of television producer and liberal activist Norman Lear, was drawn to the issue after he was invited to sit in on one of the scriptwriting classes run by, , a Los Angeles-based organization that teaches creative writing to kids in juvenile lockups. Are we entirely the result of our environment? Of the three young men it follows, Antonio faces 90 years to life for two attempted murders committed just after he turned 14. He attended the Compound as part of InsideOUT Writers, an organization that uses creative writing programs as a way to aid in the rehabilitation of prison inmates. , when a referendum gave prosecutors the power to try teens as adults for certain serious crimes. If they weren’t waiting for a trial for a crime they committed, they appear to be typical American Read more. They Call Us Monsters goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. Meet the Monsters: Documentary Looks at California Juvenile Debate. , a new documentary that follows their lives in a Los Angeles juvenile detention center. While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. Also, the story of my family, [e]specially my moms.. 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. The film follows three juvenile offenders: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava who signed up for a screenwriting class . Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. Juan, Jarad and Antonio, all young teens, face decades in prison. This work has led him to performances at TED and the UN. All three boys have children. 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? This is true for Juan as well, who has a 90-year sentence. The prisoners are not made out to be innocent victims of the prison system; it was made clear that they committed serious crimes and are dealing with the repercussions. From the film, I learned many juveniles convicted of serious crimes are tried as adults and kept in a separate compound. Even the JC, listening on the other end of the line, is visibly moved. He had the group do a number of trust exercises. The entire area of the brain that pertains to culpability and consequence and long-term thinking and impulsivity everything that comes together in the commission of a crime is not developed, the films director, Ben Lear, told JJIE. This doc examines how minors are regarded in the justice system. University of Redlands Emergency Alert System, Alert Received: . But by the end of the 10 weeks, Cowan says, they were all friends. ", But then, Jarad counters, No, Im not scared of the dark., Seems like youre avoiding the question, Cowan replies. 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. He wrote that he is grateful so many people have embrace[d] our story and join the prison reform movement. While in prison, he is going to college fulltime and making strong grades. 83%. A scene in which Juan calls a girl he had a crush on, while a listening staff member roots for him, provides the films most oddly affecting moment. One of the victims of Jarads shooting is only 17 and permanently confined to a wheelchair. However we have to give them the opportunity to change the monster in them by teaching them that there is good in every bad situation. Instead of rehabilitating youth who have committed serious crimes, he says, its punishing them. Documentary. I was filled with conflicting emotions throughout. INDEPENDENT LENS: THEY CALL US MONSTERS 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Buy $12.99. In many countries children are used as hitmen, mainly because they are disposable, but also precisely because legal systems work different for them and that is not right. In fact, since the human brain isnt fully developed until the age of 25, teens are less likely to understand risk and consequences, less able to resist peer pressure, which is relevant in deciding the level of sentence to impose for a crime one commits at, say, 15. HD. "They Call Us Monsters," created by Ben Lear son of Norman Lear, features Pomona resident Jarad Nava and two other teens at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and raises the question. braids together footage from the class with clips from the fictional film that the teens wrote. Antonio Hernandez (arrested at age 14) and Jarad Nava (arrested at 16) are both charged with multiple counts of attempted murder; Juan Gamez (also arrested at 16) is charged with first-degree. "Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jara Nava are the youthful offenders at the heart ofa new documentary that follows their lives in a Los Angeles juvenile detention . Little Hope Was Arson: A Letter from a Texas Jail, Ben Lear Shows Reality and Human Face of Juvenile Justice System. To their advocates, they're kids. 35 Likes, TikTok video from Antonio Hernnde4490 (@antoniohernandez0220). Antonio Hernandez & Omar Montes 01:00 220 They Call Me Monster Mike Monster Mike Welch 01:00 1 What They Call Us? Its a lot harder for him to find drugs. The film follows three juvenile offenders: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava who signed up for a screenwriting class. 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. Jarad:Since the movie Ive been striving day after day to become a better person and hopefully re-enter society and just be a citizen, an asset, not a liability. Help bring programs like Independent Lens to your PBS station. I saw the kids facing life and it broke my heart and changed my life, Budnick tells me over the phone. Theyd seem like typical teenage boys if they werent awaiting trial for violent crimes. Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Advertisement. 1091 Media. Was there anything that tripped you out or that you learned about yourself after watching the movie? [2] [3] Premise [ edit] You see this same willful blindness in the PBS documentary They Call Us Monsters. View Notes - Film Review .docx from JS 152 at San Jose State University. But the movie benefits from an added layer: A screenwriting teacher who gets to know three teenagers awaiting trial. Antonio, a methamphetamine addict, recounts seeing a man shot to death in front of him when he was 8, but insists hes not traumatized: I guess you do kind of get used to it. And when he was 12, Jarad found his stepfather trying to stab himself to death an unsuccessful attempt that nonetheless resulted in the breakup of his family. 1 They Call us Monsters, for me, was more than just another Netflix documentary. 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