Guest Blog: Gangland

Guest Blog: Gangland

With my birthday tomorrow, the best gift this girl can get is a day off (to prep to party tonight) and the most wonderful Patrick Sullivan has done just that with his review of two shows heavy on the tattoos: Gangland and Lockdown. 

By Pat Sullivan

There’s no clever introduction here. This Sunday starting at 7pm (EST) the History Channel is running a marathon of Gangland, its series that takes an hour-long look inside some of the United States’ most notorious gangs –– and their tattoos.

Now in its third season (new DVD set to be released in April), Gangland gives a basic tutorial on well-known gangs like the Bloods and Crips, but also covers other criminal organizations that have flown below the radar disguised as motorcycle clubs, or episodes honing in on a few different gangs, like “Deadly Triangle” which takes a look at Asian gangs in America. And like tattoos, the series can get seriously addictive.

Each episode defines the gang’s roots, history and hierarchy, but the best part is getting a look at the tattoos — as ink is just another version of gang colors. Take the episode on the Aryan Brotherhood, a group that began in prison and have since spread out into the streets. They’ve adopted the shamrock as a gang symbol and explain that if you’ve got a shamrock tattoo and have the unhappy fortune of getting locked up, you better keep it covered unless you plan on joining or getting killed. 

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And, just in case you haven’t caught it, another ink-heavy show is National Geographic Channel’s Lockdown. No marathons this weekend, but you can check out clips on their website. The reality of the American prison system is unbelievably crowded, vicious and, you got it, tattooed. More often than not, you’ll get both the prisoners and the guards discussing tattoos, or at least, showing them off. And the quality of tattoos currently coming out of prisons might be even more surprising than the prisons themselves. Or a close second. 

Both shows may owe a little credit to their cable cousins, Miami Ink and LA Ink, for getting the mainstream tattoo ball rolling. And though there are millions of viewers that often express ambivalence or just flat out anger at the shows (yet still watch them), it’s possible that their popularity has granted Gangland and Lockdown a bit more wiggle room to show off tattooed thugs in a brutally educational and really interesting context. 

Gangland DVD sets are available on the History Channel’s website as well as Amazon.com.

The next Lockdown doesn’t run for a few weeks, but you can check out tattoos and teasers here.

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