Earlier this week, I was sitting down in front of the TV doing some research for this blog. Some of you may be wondering how the idle ramblings of a skater in his mid-twenties with a bum ankle could in any way necessitate research. Research is often equated with the idle shuffling through google, or occasionally through a book (editor's note: books are things, kids - google them for yourself), the kind of shuffling that often leaves one borderline catatonic and in need of some manner of mental stimulation. How, then, you might ask, can you claim that the immersion of the mind in all things skateboarding can in any way come close to research?
Well, for one thing, readers into whose mouths I just shoved words, research does not always equal boredom. I spent years researching ancient and not-so-ancient history, and from time to time the material was engaging, and even exciting to sift through. For another thing, the research subject in which I was about to imbibe was in no way something to be looked forward to.
As a bit of a preempt, I suppose I ought to explain why I was about to subject myself to something that was, by all rights, an ungodly mess. Skateboarding tends to grab people in various different ways, shapes, and forms. Some people relish the simple act of skateboarding itself. Some live and die by whatever hot new trends are coming down the pike via magazines, videos, and the internet. Few people have want or need for the decades of triviality that have accompanied the activity since its inception. I happen to be one of those few.
Perhaps it stems from my early adolescent equation of "the more you know about skating, the more you are a 'real' skater", or from the years of studying history. Maybe it just boils down to the fact that I've always been a big nerd. Whatever the reason, I seem to have this deep compulsion to expose myself to anything that involves skateboarding in even the slightest amount, the good, the bad, and the inevitably ugly. With that being said, consider this a new monthly feature on top of "Skateboarding Is...", where I'll look at one thing that has fallen into each of these categories for me in the last month.
The Good: Go Skateboarding Day 2011
This one seems like it ought to be obvious, like I ought to be talking about something else: The one day of the year that is dedicated to skateboarding and skateboarders (at least in our own minds). If you could skate, I hope you did.
There is more to my mentioning the now annual event, however. This week, as the annual pile of GSD footage came rolling in from this company and that, I noticed a greater-than-ever geographical breadth to it. Among the most notable was an edit from Tehran, Iran, as well as news of NPO and overall third-world do-gooders Skateistan holding events for the first time in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Footage like this not only warms the heart with the knowledge that even the youth of war-torn and destitute locations can find solace in skating, but it also reminds those of us lucky enough to live in G8 nations just how lucky we are. Not to sound preachy, but I have a seven-inch long piece of titanium holding my fibula in place after Humpty-Dumptying the thing at an exquisitely built concrete park, and all I paid for was the cast and some pain killers. You can bet the next time I'm even skating a curb that I'll be trying to enjoy it half as much as the skaters of the third world.
The Bad: Free Pegasus
Okay, now that I had my moment on the soap box, time to be critical. I can remember watching Brian Lotti's first foray into the fly on the wall street mockumentary, 1st and Hope, and loving it. The whole thing was beautifully orchestrated, with a genuine tone, and cinematography that made it seem like you were actually witnessing a day in the lives of a bunch of skaters in Los Angeles. To this day, I watch it and it gets me stoked to go out in the streets and just skate.
On paper, Free Pegasus seems like another winner: the same basic formula, but set in international skate mecca Barcelona. I was genuinely excited to see the two protagonists were Clint Peterson and Cooper Wilt, but that was, for the most part, where the excitement ended. Don't get me wrong, the skating in the video was good, really good in spite of the relatively sparse number of notables in the cast. The real reason Free Pegasus fell flat was that it simply felt too forced. There was far more dialogue in this offering, as well as the introduction of sub-plots, and supporting characters that didn't skate. Any realism that Lotti managed to convey in 1st and Hope was lost in a sea of foreign film-esque character development, sub-par acting on the part of the skaters, and one very out-of-place Clint Peterson fisheye line at MACBA. While I do Hope Brian Lotti tries another one of these types of videos, I hope he does so with a return to form.
The Ugly: Disney XD's Zeke and Luther
When I had mentioned my research earlier, this was the abomination to which I was referring. Anyone who has a sibling or relative who was born after 1991 has probably had some kind of exposure to the plainly awful stuff that is Disney pre-teen sitcoms. Poorly written, poorly acted, poorly executed. The only thing that could possibly make them any worse? The obligatory wrenching in of skateboarding as a plot device. It's interesting to look at from a purely anthropological perspective, like reading Lord of the Flies, but more depressing.
The particular episode I had subjected myself to involved the titular characters (hereto known as straight kid and goofball), getting ready to celebrate their tenth anniversary of skating with a big party at the local doughnut shoppe (not actually spelled that way, just thought it might be amusing). Whilst reminiscing about the day when a random translucent green skateboard showed up in front of them, therein sealing our protagonists' destiny, it is revealed that footage exists of the event. Upon watching said footage, it is revealed that (le GASP) goofball rode the skateboard before straight kid, upsetting both their collective memory of the event, as well as their obvious hierarchy. The revelation leads to goofball declaring that during their next session, he would be "lead boarder", and the inevitable hijinx ensue. I won't bother boring you with the rest, as I've probably lost a good deal of my readership with the last paragraph alone. I can understand the desire to market skateboarding to youth, notably the "tween" crowd, but come on, Disney, you're better than that. Take a cue from Nickelodeon, and get Skate Master Tate on the phone.
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