The ‘Inside Story’ on Girls in Gangs Left Unrevealed

There’s a peculiar fascination inherent in the images of A&E;’s “Inside Story: Gangsta Girls,” an hourlong documentary that follows a handful of female gang members from Boyle Heights. But the principles behind the largely exploitative show are likely to leave a bitter taste.

Through the use of a solemn narration and a ponderous host, the show never ceases to imply that it is presenting these stories as a service to society, a much-needed wake-up call for Middle America. But as soon as the tough-looking gangbanger “Shy Girl” describes in graphic detail how she has been repeatedly beaten, stabbed and shot by rival gang members, you realize that “Gangsta Girls” is part of a lamentable tendency in television to sensationalize--presenting extreme situations of violence and gore in the guise of objective and educational reporting.

And yet the girls themselves don’t see violence as something worth glorifying. The show’s most poignant moments don’t involve drive-by shootings. They arrive whenever its protagonists open up enough to show their wounded souls paralyzed by pain.

There’s “Crazy Girl,” who was always called stupid by her parents and built inside her a powerful reservoir of hate that she takes to the streets. Or “Shy Girl,” who insists on walking to forbidden turf just to feel the invigorating buzz of danger. Or “La Lista,” an articulate young Latina who started selling crack as a means to get the respect she always felt she deserved.

All of them seem to be saying the same thing: that physical pain is always easier to tolerate than the ache of emotional scars. There’s more poetry to these girls’ souls than what this shallow portrait would make you believe.

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* “Inside Story: Gangsta Girls” airs at 10 tonight on A&E.; The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).