Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review Volume 12 Number 2 Article 8 3-1-1992 View at your Own Risk: Gang Movies and Spectator Violence Stephanie J. Berman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/elr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Stephanie J. Berman, View at your Own Risk: Gang Movies and Spectator Violence, 12 Loy. L.A. Ent. L. Rev. 477 (1992). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/elr/vol12/iss2/8 This Notes and Comments is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK: GANG MOVIES AND SPECUATOR VIOLENCE I. INTRODUCTION On his way home from work in a Boston area ski shop, sixteen-year- old Marty Yakubowicz was confronted by an intoxicated teen-ager re- turning from viewing the film The Warriors.' The teen told Marty, "I want you, I'm going to get you"-a line from the movie; then the teen fatally stabbed Marty.2 Approximately one month later, on March 24, 1979, fifteen-year-old Jocelyn Vargas headed for the bus home after seeing the San Francisco premiere of BoulevardNights. 3 Caught in the crossfire between two rival gangs who were also leaving the theater, she sustained a gunshot wound in the neck.4 Both of these incidents arguably present examples of life imitating art.5 These youths had viewed gang-themed motion pictures containing violent acts that likely triggered their subsequent violent behavior.