Ross Kemp On Gangs-Colombia

Medellin Traveler says on May 11, 2008, 07:46:

Ross Kemp is a TOOL!

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

kalder says on May 11, 2008, 08:22:

How so?

"kalder- have you ever had a woman?"--Sam Salmon

Mike19 says on May 11, 2008, 09:02:

Interesting documentaries. Is it safe to say that these stories are correct? , regardless if you like or dislike Ross Kemp...

SiV says on May 11, 2008, 09:18:

Are we talking about Grant Mitchell from Eastenders Ross Kemp?

What next? Hilda Ogden doing a documentary on the Aguilas Negras?

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

curramberochris says on May 11, 2008, 09:33:

i nearly spat my breakfast out reading "journalist".........won't pass judgement until i watch it

Medellin Traveler says on May 11, 2008, 09:35:

Ross Kemp is a self-absorbed narcissistic blowheart who doesn't give a f**k about his subjects.

Mike19,
You'll find better information on Colombia today on PBH: good, bad, or otherwise.

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

SiV says on May 11, 2008, 09:48:

What is a blowheart?

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

kalder says on May 11, 2008, 09:59:

What makes you think his frequent expressions of sympathy were insincere?

"kalder- have you ever had a woman?"--Sam Salmon

OhMy says on May 11, 2008, 09:59:

I like his documentaries despite them being shown on Sky which kind of makes you doubt their integrity. However, he does a pretty good and at least he has the balls to go to some of these places...

kalder says on May 11, 2008, 10:02:

That's pretty much my opinion too.

"kalder- have you ever had a woman?"--Sam Salmon

Man Tequila says on May 11, 2008, 10:14:

They were on YouTube some time ago, but were taken off.

Not being an Eastender fan, I was unaware of Mr. Kemp before seeing it.

My impression was that he tried hard to portray himself as a tough guy. I think he talked to a bunch of low level thugs and tried to portray them as gang leaders, that his publicity may have helped kill a genuinely brave activist, that he would interview people and then draw conclusions based on his previous biases and that he was occasionally insincere in his expressions of sympathy.

Though it was interesting and he did make a few good points.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

manINred says on May 11, 2008, 11:46:

At least he's trying to show one side of the world hardly known at all to Britain.

My main question is... why on earth is the sicaro wearing an Aston Villa shirt??? Not too far from home for Mr. Kemp ;)

Cheers Terry says on May 11, 2008, 11:51:

All I saw was shallow, manipulative speculation for one purpose: To make him look like a tough guy who knows what he's doing in the "real" world. I hope some of his other stuff has better journalist and intellectual integrity because this was (in my opinion) a fairly laughable effort.

The camera crew and editor did a masterful job though of covering up the fact that there was an interpreter there, working hard, at all the times. Really smoothly done.

Cheers,
Terry

Bluesdude says on May 11, 2008, 11:59:

Well filmed and dramatized, but I don't buy too much of the actual footage. Still, it depicts what this country and its people have gone through and are going through. I agree that the punishment for crime here is a nondeterrent. When you can kill someone and be out of prison in 7 years, and when someone can get 4 years for patting a woman on the butt, and someone with drugs can get 20-30 years, that's a problem for crime control.

Bluesdude No Mas Gringas Por La Vida

paulr says on May 11, 2008, 12:12:

The aston Villa shirt had the name "Angel" which comes from the Colombian player, Juan pablo Angel who used to play for Aston Villa.

Ross has come from soap acting into Documentry making, he obviously seen the gap in the market for this sort of Journalism and gone around the world doing his best to get the story(with a bit of dramatisation of course), it´s a very popular documentry as lots of people have a morbid obsession in gangs and violence. i don´t think he´s done a bad job of it, few people would do what he´s done in getting the stories.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

Man Tequila says on May 11, 2008, 12:18:

The thing is, I think the stories he got lack some degree of credibility. I have not seen his other videos. It is an interesting subject.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

paulr says on May 11, 2008, 12:36:

Maybe it does lack some degree of credibility, but on the other hand, you can´t brush it off as total rubish. There is a lot more going on here than most here don´t know about. I found this truth out recently. Don´t see a country how you want to see it, see it how it acually is.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

Cheers Terry says on May 11, 2008, 12:52:

"... Maybe it does lack some degree of credibility, but on the other hand, you can´t brush it off as total rubbish..."

It's a documentary, by its very nature ANY lack of credibility makes the project rubbish.

You can't go through a documentary and pick-and-choose the "good" bits - that's the Producer's job, and if they don't do it correctly then the integrity of the entire production is suspect, therefore by and large negating everything.

If the writing had been a little less bombastic I think it would have helped the production a lot. The constant exaggeration and drama queen stuff was silly. (Him standing around at the wake, trying to be a part of it was painful to watch...)

I've heard some of his other stuff (like Afghanistan) was much better.

Cheers,
Terry

manINred says on May 11, 2008, 13:04:

"The aston Villa shirt had the name "Angel" which comes from the Colombian player, Juan pablo Angel who used to play for Aston Villa. "

I am aware of that, but the Birmingham team that is not one of the world's well-known is interestingly juxtaposed in Colombia, that's all I am pointing out. When I lived in Medellin, I lived down the road from Angel's house, well, where he grew up. Don't think he would live there anymore.

manINred says on May 11, 2008, 13:09:

I don't think the documentary itself is rubbish, he brings up some interesting points. There are some factually questionable statements however that make me wonder. I still think he did a good job in trying to expose this and that, and the bloke who wrote this line,

"Don´t see a country how you want to see it, see it how it acually is."

is spot on. Keeping in mind your own experience with a given thing, one can only begin to understand how something really is by analyzing it from a variety of different perspectives. Kemp's perspective and take on things, where at least he tries to dig deep into Colombia's underworld past/present, is perfectly valid, despite what many who think they know better want to believe.

paulr says on May 11, 2008, 13:22:

Spot on Mani. You can go to any country and highlight violent crime and bad goings on but when talking about the para´s here, this is a very dark area and to get the real truth or for anyone to even go looking for the truth behind this, well, good luck with keeping alive(you will need it) and that isn´t an exaggeration.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

Man Tequila says on May 11, 2008, 13:24:

"Kemp's perspective and take on things, where at least he tries to dig deep into Colombia's underworld past/present, is perfectly valid, despite what many who think they know better want to believe."

It's been a while since he saw this, I am not sure Kemp digs that deeply. Do you think he interviewed high level gangsters or low level poseurs? The conclusions he draws from his interviews seem to fit his preconceptions. This doesn't make Kemp invalid or mean that different perspectives are useless. Thank you for your patronage.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

Cheers Terry says on May 11, 2008, 14:15:

I bet he dug really deeply during the entire week that he was there... LOL

Cheers,
Terry

Mike19 says on May 11, 2008, 15:16:

Thanks MT. First time i'm hearing about Ross Kemp.

panthdave says on May 11, 2008, 16:43:

I really think there are disorganized and organized paramilitary groups alive...His point was he wanted to bring out was that the paramilitary is alive...and not everybody demobilized with the pardon Uribe gave a few years back. I don't know but there has been some assinations in the last two months in Medellin of some mid level narcos....in which I would say para military was involved hiring sicarios...

Now were those people he interviewed real who knows maybe only the street thug gang in Cartegena...Interesting though to see ex paramilitary in school trying to change there lives..

panthdave Miami