So let me make a movie suggestion. Go and see “Rize“, the documentary by David Lachapelle. It might not be the sort of film that you normally go to see, or it may, I don’t know. But go along and keep an open mind. You don’t have to be into hip-hop or anything, and try to leave behind any preconceived ideas or expectations about “inner-city” or “urban” kids*.
Just let it wash over you. Then you’ll appreciate the totally bizarre and wonderful idea of a guy deciding to dress up as a hip-hop clown, initially as party entertainment for children. (How universal we are, really. Why shouldn’t a clown be attractive to kids in “the neighbourhoods” just like kids anywhere else?)
That’s just the beginning. It leaves that all behind….see where else it goes. It’s worth while giving it a try, and even if you don’t love it, it will at least get you talking and thinking. Perhaps, as for me, it will remind you that the human spirit can really surprise one in what it can make spring up from seemingly barren ground.
-cvj
*I had to get over my own personal difficulty before going to see it…the spelling in the title….for reasons I’ll explain in the comments if anyone asks.
July 20th, 2005 at 2:06 am
Since no one seems to have asked yet I think I will. Fo what reasons was the spelling in the title a difficulty you had to get over?
July 20th, 2005 at 10:08 am
When I first came to the USA many years ago, I tried to preserve my English English spellings of various words and disregard the usages from American English (not that there’s anything wrong with them!). I would have battles with the spell checkers and overrule them over things like “color” vs “colour”, etc. Still do, sometimes. Particularly problematic was the matter of “-ise” endings vs “ize” endings. This drove me nuts. In the end, I got totally confused as to which words were “right” and which were “wrong”, since of course you do get “-ize” endings in some cases in English English. So now if you read papers of mine from the 90′s you’ll see all sorts of places where it’s just all messed up. Then to top it all, several dictionaries now say that either spelling is acceptable, which is a very disappointing cave-in. So now you see my trauma at the film title….but I got over it.
-cvj
July 20th, 2005 at 3:27 pm
Ahh, alright, I understand now. Being Canadian I’ve gone through those battles with spell checkers, trying to teach them the correct spelling of certain words. Luckily most mail readers, and word processors have a setting for Canadian or British english. It has certainly made that aspect of life a little easier.
August 11th, 2005 at 2:40 pm
I watched this documentary a few nights. Truly spectacular how these dancers created a new dance in such harsh living conditions. I hope they revolutionize the underground hiphop dance scene.
August 11th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
Yes! It’s very exciting. I loved it. (And wish I still could generate that much kinetic energy in such a small space….!) Thanks.
-cvj