'Harper High School': Analyse af dokumentaren

The documentary Harper High School produced by This American Life describes how it is to live in the community near Harper High School. On the first day of school, everyone is gathered. Harper's principal, Leonetta Sanders, holds a speech about the school’s difficulties last year and about the lost lives of the school the previous year. in the inaugural address, she calls for a moment of silence and prayer in honour of the lost ones. But they need to resume going to the school instead of getting bogged down by last year's tragedy. Last year, the number of murders in Chicago increased, while in other cities it remained stable or decreased. And the majority of the murders happen in quarters like one where the school is situated. In the city, everyone is with a gang, and it's impossible not to be part of such a gang. Police officer Aaron Washington says that the children are in these gangs to survive. There are seven different rules when being in these gangs. For example, you can’t go alone, but there is also a rule that says that you can never go along with anyone else.