What Do You Do When There is No way out?

My favorite part about the film La Haine is that it showed how easy it was to get caught up in a struggle and feel as if there is no way out. We have discussed in class how many people feel that the poor, underclass (whatever term they use) are in the situation they are in simply because they do not try hard enough to get out. It is easy to say that, however when the odds are stacked so high against you it can be hard to beat them. The film La Haine shed some light on this issue. It shows how you can be born into a situation and therefore disadvantaged before you even try to succeed in life. Herbert is a good example of this issue. He was born into a situation and tried to beat the odds. He built a gym, stayed in school, and tried to be a voice of reason for his friends. These are all traits that show good character, however he got caught up in a situation that proved to be more than he could handle.
Also, the film shed light on a very important topic that we sort of overlooked. Obviously the relationship between the citizens and the cops was not friendly, but what is the cause and effect of a situation like this. In a place where the ones who are supposed to protect and serve you are the ones who you feel you can not trust, how can you feel secure? This type of relationship paves the way for police violence as well as a lack of trust in the police which leads people to take situations into their own hands. The "STOP SNITCHING" phenomena is a good example of what happens when police-citizen relationships have gone wrong. People do not trust the police, which in turn leads to more acts of crime. These are just two of the many messages I received from the movie.