American Me: Brutal, but World-Building Points?

Alright, fam, KevinMovies here. Just watched "American Me" again, and man, it's still a gut punch. I know it's not sci-fi (shocking for me, I know!), but the world-building is insane. Not in the spaceships-and-aliens way, but in the way it creates this incredibly real, almost suffocating atmosphere of gang life, both inside and outside prison. Olmos really went there. You feel the generations of violence, the lack of options, the cyclical nature of it all. Santana is a fascinating character. He's trying to break the cycle, right? But he's also a product of it. I think the scene that always gets me is when he's trying to talk to his younger homies, trying to steer them away from the life, and they just kinda look at him like he's crazy. You can see the frustration eating him alive. The whole prison politics thing, with the different gangs vying for power? That was next level. It felt so authentic, even if it's kinda hard to watch sometimes. Okay, full disclosure, it's a heavy movie. It's violent, it's raw, and it doesn't pull any punches. And admittedly, the direction is sometimes a little... clunky? Some scenes feel a bit melodramatic, ya know? But the overall impact, the way it builds this self-contained world and explores its consequences... that's where it shines. Def worth checking out if you're into gritty, realistic crime dramas and appreciate detailed world-building, even if it's not the kind of world you want to visit. Anyone else seen it? Thoughts?