I think this movie would have made more since if they were involved in real gang activities, other than spray painting each other's turf. Drugs, gambling, some sort of income generating enterprise that would legitimize one of the gangs.
shareThen you miss the point. The movie actually highlights how petty that street stuff is once Miklo ends up in jail.
You're also forgetting, they were pretty much just teenagers.
Can't stop the signal.
la onda/Mexican mafia is a PRISON GANG predominantly. it is comprised of many, many big and small STREET gangs. that part of the movie is very realistic. and they devote time to it in the prison cafeteria scene where miklo is questioning why the hermanos are talking to 'other' gang members. he is then explained to how PRISON GANGS/LA ONDA operate. a amalgamation of all the latino gangs on the street.
The VL and 3P were a bunch of wannabe gangsters. The La Onda was the real deal. This point is clearly made in the movie.
shareJust like in American Me, they wanted to show that gangs start from a small group of close friends and relatives.
It makes perfect sense, given that the message is that an innocent need to belong, protect your turf, and defend your fellow gang members can quickly escalate into serving hard prison time.