American Me

American Me is a 1992 American independent crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana, loosely based on mafia boss Rodolfo Cadena. Executive producers included record producer Lou Adler, screenwriter Mutrux, and Irwin Young. It depicts a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to power of the Mexican Mafia in the California prison system from the 1950s into the 1980s. Plot The film depicts 30 years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles. The story opens up with the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, depicting a young Latino couple Esperanza and Pedro Santana being racially targeted by sailors. Pedro is taken out to the streets and beaten alongside other Latin-Americans having their clothing ripped and torn, while Esperanza is gang raped by the sailors. The story transitions to years later in 1959 and focuses on the Santana family's eldest son Montoya, a teen who forms a gang along with his friends J.D. and Mundo. They soon find themselves committing crimes and are arrested. In juvenile hall, Santana murders a fellow inmate who had raped him, and as a result has his sentence extended into Folsom State Prison after he turns 18. Years later, Santana has becomes the leader of a powerful prison gang, La Eme. Upon his release in 1977, he tries to relate his life experiences to the society that has changed so much since he left. La Eme has become a feared criminal organization beyond Folsom, selling drugs and committing murder. Santana begins a romantic relationship with a woman named Julie, but she becomes repulsed by his violent tendencies and La Eme's negative influence on their community. This becomes evident when a drug lord (who refused to give control of distribution to La Eme) retaliates against them when they take things too far, and have “Puppet” (assisted by other members) brutally rape and murder his son in prison to send a message. The drug lord targets Santana's community by distributing pure heroin to local users which leads to mass overdoses, including Julie's young brother. Santana visits his mother's grave, where Pedro reveals he always resented him because he might have been the result of the rape of his mother, thereby serving as a constant reminder of his mother's ordeal.