Surrey-made music video aims to keep teens out of the criminal lifestyle
Posted May 2, 2019 6:41 am.
Last Updated May 2, 2019 6:47 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Saying the deaths of almost 200 South Asian men related to gang violence in Metro Vancouver is too much, a locally-produced music video is aiming to keep teens away from gangs, drugs and ultimately, dying young.
“Targets” was released at the start of Vaisakhi in April.
Produced by Surrey-based MMM Films, the seven-minute production tells a cautionary tale, using a story telling format cut with actual tv news clips of violence in Surrey.
“As I lay there I knew I thought I would be somehow spared from being another target,” a man in the video is heard saying. “A rare brown man who didn’t end up with a bullet and a bodybag. But it was not to be.”
The movie’s producers funded the thole PSA themselves, and say they chose the music video route because it was the most relatable way to reach vulnerable teens not yet in the gang lifestyle.
The goal is to curb the spreading problem of gang violence across the Lower Mainland.
It ends with a message, “that drugs and gangs equals bullet and a body bag.” The video is being dedicated “to all the mothers who have lost their sons to gang violence.”
Intended to make the viewer think, the creators say the content is “hard-hitting”.
“If we can save one youth with our message of the death and destruction that drugs and gangs are causing, we will feel that our months of hard work and dedication to this project was worth the effort,” producers say in the description.
