At a recent film screening Q/A session, Bing Liu (directed and wrote the documentary) discussed his inspiration. In his talk with the interviewer, the topic of skateboarding as a white middle-class past time was mentioned and how lower economic youth are now embracing it. He discussed what "tropes" he used within the chosen style of documenting his friends' personal narratives.
Liu's documentary efforts tried to showcase a small circle of childhood friends, each has an opportunity to tell their story of teen angst. Most of these stories are based in Rockford, Illinois, it described only briefly, as an abandoned small city. Their suburban problems based within classism and domestic violence.
Although one can appreciate the human narrative, Liu could have delved into "why" Rockford has evolved into most low economic and disadvantaged place (as stated in the film's beginning). Instead, it uses the topic of skateboarding as a way that these young adults as teens dealt with problems (this is probably why the film has gotten popular). Since one may think that skateboarding is the main focus, it seems to work as a marketing tool to get the film screened.
In the end, this is a nice baby-step but again Liu could have delved into the "why" Rockford teens went through issues of class, gender and race, maybe he has a plan to make a follow-up.
Liu's documentary efforts tried to showcase a small circle of childhood friends, each has an opportunity to tell their story of teen angst. Most of these stories are based in Rockford, Illinois, it described only briefly, as an abandoned small city. Their suburban problems based within classism and domestic violence.
Although one can appreciate the human narrative, Liu could have delved into "why" Rockford has evolved into most low economic and disadvantaged place (as stated in the film's beginning). Instead, it uses the topic of skateboarding as a way that these young adults as teens dealt with problems (this is probably why the film has gotten popular). Since one may think that skateboarding is the main focus, it seems to work as a marketing tool to get the film screened.
In the end, this is a nice baby-step but again Liu could have delved into the "why" Rockford teens went through issues of class, gender and race, maybe he has a plan to make a follow-up.