Gangs of the 80s
25 May - 06 Sep 2009
GANGS OF THE 80s. Cinema, press and the street
From 25 May 2009 to 06 September 2009
This exhibition, organized by Amanda Cuesta and Mery Cuesta, offers a view of juvenile delinquency cinema, which peaked between 1978 and 1985, focusing on its relationship of retro-feeding with the press of the time. The exhibition also acts as a faithful reflection of the urban, social, political and economic transformations that were sweeping through the country at that time.
The starting point of «Gangs of the 80s» is the figure of the juvenile delinquent formed by the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency cinema. The codes of representation of juvenile delinquency found in this cinema genre have continued to the present day in such a way that the stereotype of the juvenile delinquent, subject to an aestheticising process, continues to excite fascination.
The neighbourhoods of the sixties: industrial areas, unemployment and depression
During the sixties, emergency social plans were launched to combat the lack of cheap housing. The result was low quality urbanism with neighbourhoods lacking in the most basic services, which gave way to the appearance of neighbourhood movements. The crisis of the seventies and unemployment transformed these neighbourhoods into the germinal territory of the juvenile delinquent.
New forms of leisure
This generation of young people participated, for the first time in our country, in the currents of activity of youth culture. In games arcades they found the elements of evasion of the adolescent lifestyle: friends, sex and drugs; as well as elements of popular culture that projected images close to rebellion, escapism and marginality, such as the comic or music.
On the edge
In 1975, 25% of the population above 14 years of age was excluded from the educational system. The working age -like the legal age- was 16, so for many young people the street was the only place left to go. Furthermore, the arrival of heroin had a devastating effect. Amidst a climate of social alarm, intensified by the media, the juvenile delinquent became public enemy number one.
Gang-Stars
The presence of young delinquents in the media is the key to understanding their iconization. El Vaquilla and El Jaro are the brightest stars in this universe, real heroes of marginality, thanks to cinema biopics: Navajeros, the saga Perros Callejeros and Yo, El Vaquilla. These films form the backbone of gang culture cinema.
The reformatory
The Juvenile Courts had three options for dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency. The first was to return the child to his home, if the parents accepted. The second was to send him to a reformatory. The third option, reserved for the most dangerous, was prison. Due to the lack of special facilities, many juveniles were sent to adult prisons.
From the roofs, I can see the city
As well as the lack of prison installations, there were problems derived from overcrowding and the scarcity of resources. The Franco inheritance left a system based on the most repressive and punitive methods. A wave of mutinies broke out in 1977, which resulted in the creation of COPEL (Organization of Spanish Prisoners in Protest).
The survival of the myth
This exhibition tackles the survival of this juvenile delinquency phenomenon since its rise and the tragic end of many of its protagonists. Hand in hand with a new generation, an aesthetic pirouette has occurred by means of which the juvenile delinquent of the eighties has risen to become a cool icon. The icon today, especially on Internet, flies freely.
From 25 May 2009 to 06 September 2009
This exhibition, organized by Amanda Cuesta and Mery Cuesta, offers a view of juvenile delinquency cinema, which peaked between 1978 and 1985, focusing on its relationship of retro-feeding with the press of the time. The exhibition also acts as a faithful reflection of the urban, social, political and economic transformations that were sweeping through the country at that time.
The starting point of «Gangs of the 80s» is the figure of the juvenile delinquent formed by the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency cinema. The codes of representation of juvenile delinquency found in this cinema genre have continued to the present day in such a way that the stereotype of the juvenile delinquent, subject to an aestheticising process, continues to excite fascination.
The neighbourhoods of the sixties: industrial areas, unemployment and depression
During the sixties, emergency social plans were launched to combat the lack of cheap housing. The result was low quality urbanism with neighbourhoods lacking in the most basic services, which gave way to the appearance of neighbourhood movements. The crisis of the seventies and unemployment transformed these neighbourhoods into the germinal territory of the juvenile delinquent.
New forms of leisure
This generation of young people participated, for the first time in our country, in the currents of activity of youth culture. In games arcades they found the elements of evasion of the adolescent lifestyle: friends, sex and drugs; as well as elements of popular culture that projected images close to rebellion, escapism and marginality, such as the comic or music.
On the edge
In 1975, 25% of the population above 14 years of age was excluded from the educational system. The working age -like the legal age- was 16, so for many young people the street was the only place left to go. Furthermore, the arrival of heroin had a devastating effect. Amidst a climate of social alarm, intensified by the media, the juvenile delinquent became public enemy number one.
Gang-Stars
The presence of young delinquents in the media is the key to understanding their iconization. El Vaquilla and El Jaro are the brightest stars in this universe, real heroes of marginality, thanks to cinema biopics: Navajeros, the saga Perros Callejeros and Yo, El Vaquilla. These films form the backbone of gang culture cinema.
The reformatory
The Juvenile Courts had three options for dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency. The first was to return the child to his home, if the parents accepted. The second was to send him to a reformatory. The third option, reserved for the most dangerous, was prison. Due to the lack of special facilities, many juveniles were sent to adult prisons.
From the roofs, I can see the city
As well as the lack of prison installations, there were problems derived from overcrowding and the scarcity of resources. The Franco inheritance left a system based on the most repressive and punitive methods. A wave of mutinies broke out in 1977, which resulted in the creation of COPEL (Organization of Spanish Prisoners in Protest).
The survival of the myth
This exhibition tackles the survival of this juvenile delinquency phenomenon since its rise and the tragic end of many of its protagonists. Hand in hand with a new generation, an aesthetic pirouette has occurred by means of which the juvenile delinquent of the eighties has risen to become a cool icon. The icon today, especially on Internet, flies freely.