As much as I despise the sewage that comes out of Hollywood, and the TV networks in general, there is no amount of change that they could make that would change this situation. The root of the matter is man's sin nature. When your parent(s), family, friends, and almost everyone you know have been welfare slaves for generations (thanks to LBJ's 'Great Society'), a natural reaction is to create your own counter culture to create some feeling of self-worth. Something to appeal to our ego or pride. You become a blameless victim, and someone else is to blame else for your situation. It is not your fault that you don't do well in school, or don't have a job. It is 'whitey's fault'. If any of your neighbors try to study hard -- you chastise them as 'acting white', and beat them down until they adopt your counterculture. Rather than earning respect through humility and positive actions, you 'create' it by accusations and destructive behaviour.
The only solution is the same solution for all of us sinners: Christ. Forgiveness ('and be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you'), and an understanding that whatever position we have been put in is to serve the God who loved us so much that He sent His only Begotten Son to bare our sins and punishment.
The solution would be Churches that preach Christ Crucified and Risen Saviour... Unfortunately too many of the churches in these wastelands preach something akin to the Reverend Wright, and 'Father' Pilfiger's form of blasphemy that worship man (skin color over Christ). Without a marked change, I just see continued de-evolution...
I don’t dismiss the influence of family . . . . OR faith but, when you analyze the complexity of these4 folks’ lives, they are taught that they have little to look forward to unless they can play sports or rap. If both of those are out, based on how they see themselvesa depicted, what’s left is crime; unless they are very, very lucky.
Many years ago, there was a cop in Dallas who worked the inner city and he started a program to take inner city kids to businesses so they could see what people do to earn money. One kid liked to draw but never believed that the could get a job drawing until he was introduced to a drafter at an electronics company. This is the kind of change that these kids need to change their future.