They Call Us Monsters

They are teenagers held in a Los Angeles juvenile detention facility while facing prosecution for serious crimes. Ben Lear's 2016 documentary follows them as they join a screenwriting class.

The class gives the detained teenagers a structured way to write and discuss stories while their legal cases continue. It becomes the film's central contrast between the labels placed on Jarad, Juan, and Antonio and their ability to imagine different futures.

It follows the young men while they face serious charges, but its focus is their daily detention experience, relationships, and writing workshop rather than courtroom procedure alone. The 2016 film uses that setting to ask how juvenile offenders are seen and what rehabilitation might mean.

The title reflects the way society can reduce teenagers accused of serious crimes to a single label. By spending time with Jarad, Juan, and Antonio in Los Angeles detention, the documentary complicates that label without ignoring the harm behind their cases.