Growing up in South L.A., this USC student explains why shows like ‘On my Block’ matter
Just outside the USC campus are neighborhoods filled with murals, music, and kinship that I call home. But some of my classmates see it differently, using words like “sketchy,” “scary,” and “dangerous” to describe my community.
Growing up in South Los Angeles, I never felt like “poor me,” but my college peers and professors, TV shows and movies always made me feel like I should have.
I don’t blame them. South L.A. on TV was never the way I saw it in real life. Movies and TV shows typically use extreme poverty and gang violence as the focus of stories about South L.A. I know my neighborhood has struggled with poverty and crime, but it’s come a long way since the ‘90s.
Popular movies about South L.A., like “Boyz N the Hood” and “Menace to Society,” portray the community when gang violence was at its peak. Since then, South L.A’s gang activity has drastically decreased. Movies that paint South L.A. just short of a war zone are simply outdated.
Last April, Netflix released the fictional series “On My Block,” which follows the adventures of four teens living in South L.A. At first, I was skeptical about watching the show. I feared that it would rely on the same exhausted stereotypes. To my surprise, it did everything but.
“On My Block” is a coming-of-age comedy-drama that highlights the universal struggles of growing up, like making and losing friends and asking a girl out for the first time. It’s a narrative I often saw in the context of white suburbia when I was growing up in shows like “Hannah Montana,” “Drake and Josh” or “Awkward.”
Adolescence is a quest to discover who you are and who you want to become. “On My Block” captures how it feels to try to shape an identity for yourself against pressure and obstacles in a difficult environment.
The show challenges the stereotypes about people in South L.A. by creating characters and dynamics that had not previously been represented.
For example, many shows and movies perpetuate the stereotype of black characters using their athletic ability to succeed. “The Blind Side,” “Pride,” and “White Men Can’t Jump” are just a few examples. However, “On My Block” challenges this trope. Jamal Turner (Brett Gray), the only black character, is an unathletic geek who comes from a well-off, two-parent family. In the show, Jamal even feigns football injuries to sway parents into believing that he’s on the football team in order to not disappoint them.
The characters and events also closely resembled my friends and experiences growing up. Spending our formative years in South L.A. never hindered us from enjoying childhood. We went to the movies, hung out at the mall, and ate at Fatburger.
Although the characters in the show face intense situations, like being held at gunpoint for being in a rival gang’s territory, having their parents deported or carrying drug money, they don’t let it take the joy from their lives. Instead, they worry about where they’re going to trick-or-treat and who they’re going to take to the school dance.
The characters even look like my group friends.
Many movies depicting South L.A. primarily focus on the black experience, neglecting Latinos who exist in these communities. Latinos makes up more than half of the population in South L.A. Most of my neighbors, friends, and schoolmates were black, Latino or biracial. The four main characters of “On My Block” accurately represent the demographics of South L.A. and integrates it well into the plot.
Growing up in South L.A., it was common for me to wake up to the melodic call of a tamalera in the morning, to attend my Latina friends’ quinceañeras and carne asadas, and to pick up on Spanish slang — just like in the show.
Like the characters in the show, my friends had dreams of creating an identity for themselves outside of South L.A. They refused to be defined by their surroundings.
In the show, Ruby (Jason Ganao) wants to follow his older brother’s footsteps and go to college; Monse (Sierra Capri) dreams of becoming a writer; Cesar (Diego Tinoco) wants to become an architect; and Jamal is determined to solve an urban legend by finding money buried in the community, even though he was dismissed by his friends who told him “brown kids don’t find treasure.”
Cesar’s dreams, however, come to a halt when his older brother — the leader of the fictional street gang Los Santos — is released from prison and sucks him into the gang life.
When I was younger, I often heard people talk about wanting to “make it out” of South L.A. In my experience, it was never a question of if, but when I would “get out.” However, this is was just my reality. The idea of predestination, of how some people will be confined to their plight because of the influences of their environments, is still a reality for people I know.
I have a friend who is just like Cesar. Her family was involved in one of South L.A.’s biggest gangs. She did well in school, wanted to go to college and become a writer, but she couldn’t escape the path her family paved for her. Her family’s lifestyle led her to commit crimes and float in and out of juvenile detention centers. Not all hopes and dreams “make it out” of South L.A., and “On My Block” represents this struggle of wanting to define your own circumstances instead of letting them define you.
While “On My Block” builds its main plot on a specific issue in South L.A., Issa Rae’s 2016 show “Insecure” uses it as a backdrop to highlight different social issues, like the injustices people face in underserved neighborhoods.
Rae told the Los Angeles Times she didn’t want “Insecure” to be a “hood story,” referring to movies and shows where the main characters living in an underprivileged neighborhood fall victim to tropes like dealing drugs or domestic violence.
Instead, “Insecure” explores the black female experience with nuance as Issa and her best friend Molly navigate relationships, friendships and uncomfortable situations in which they feel, well, insecure. The plot has stirred conversations on social media about topics ranging from dating outside your race to making career shifts.
Although Rae doesn’t intend for the show to be about South L.A, the show doesn’t shy away from discussing the greater sociopolitical context in which “Insecure” takes place.
In the first season, Issa uses her role at the fictional organization “We Got Y’all” to take students from an underprivileged elementary school to the beach for the first time because they don’t get the luxury of travel even if it’s just 10 miles away. At the end of the second season, Issa is forced out of her apartment because her rent increased. Her struggles in and outside of work humanize the city’s disparities and ongoing housing crisis.
The show’s depiction of South L.A. has caused what some have described as “The Issa Effect.” Featuring South L.A. gems like Worldwide Tacos, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, and Maverick’s Flat has brought more people into the neighborhood.
Rae depicts South L.A. in a way that makes me even more proud of the community I grew up in. I love being able to spot places I’ve been to and to learn about places I’ve never been. Even as a South L.A. native, I used to pass by Worldwide Tacos on my way to middle school every day, but never thought to stop by.
“On My Block” is an endearing portrayal of what my childhood was like in South L.A, and “Insecure” is what I hope my future looks like in South L.A: not a “hood life,” but just a life.
Telling fresh, authentic stories that don’t revolve around adversity normalizes the rich South L.A. culture in a way it deserves. Both shows effectively balance their portrayal of complex experiences that are specific to the South L.A. community, while still remaining entertaining and relatable to a wide range of viewers.
My neighborhood has such a rich culture that deserves credit in mainstream media. While each show can only tell the story of one particular experience, it’s refreshing to see contemporary representations of South L.A. I’m excited to see what the next seasons of these shows have in store for South L.A and what new stories they’ve inspired others to share.
