If you're not a skateboarder or a fan of thos high-flying, death-defying xtreme sportsmen, don't worry, "Dogtown and Z-Boys," a documentary about the rise of modern skateboarding in 1970s Los Angeles, is gripping enough to keep you interested.
The documentary focuses on the Zephyr Skating Team, of which director Stacy Peralta was a member, and the way in which it adapted surfing techniques, an adventurous streak and a severe drought into a new style of skateboarding.
Skateboarding dates back to the late 1950s, when it was affiliated with the West Coast surf culture. Back then, surfers and skateboarders were fairly conservative -- think of the Beach Boys and those horrific red and white striped shirts and their goody goody image. Skateboarding moves in the early period were relatively simple and uninspired. So much so that by the end of the 1960s boards were associated with little kids.
In the mid-'70s kids from the poorer sections of Venice and southern Santa Monica began surfing the breakers around an abandoned amusement pier; a dangerous venue that offered high-speed thrills. An insular clique, this particular group orbited the Jeff Ho and Zephyr Surf Shop.
The development of urethane wheels in the 1970s made skateboards much more versatile and less dangerous, since the new wheels gripped the surface better than the old clay ones. The Zephyr kids were bored most days once the winds killed the waves at around 10 a.m. They began to skateboard and adapt surf moves to the boards.
When a drought banned filling the L.A. area's abundant backyard swimming pools, the kids commandeered them and created a new style previously unimagined. When they entered competition, the staid skateboarding world was rocked much like the music world was by Sex Pistols.
As with anything, big business moved in and broke up the team. Some members made successful careers as professional skaters or becoming entrepreneurs. Others couldn't handle the new rules and their brilliant talents were undermined by their knack for self-destruction.
Peralta's film, narrated by Sean Penn, is basically an oral history with interview snippets cut with a seemingly endless supply of brilliant original footage from the sessions at the pools on on the Pacific Ocean.
The editing is purposefully rough and fast-paced, capturing the spirit of the sport and still photos that vividly portray the gravity-defying nature of skateboarding are interlaced throughout.
The result is a film that explains how an group of industrious kids, given the right conditions, can create a subculture that can create ripples for decades to come and can move into the mainstream. The parallels with hip hop and other movements is striking.
The film's only problem is that it seems to stray into hyperbole pretty often. In one extended vignette we learn that Jay Adams (he's not dead, despite the elegaic tribute to him that looks like a posthumous tribute) was the best skater of the bunch and was the best in the world. The scenes immediately following feature Tony Alva and the same cast of interviewees says basically the same thing about him.
But, that aside, "Dogtown and Z-Boys" is an interesting look at a fascinating phenomenon.
"Dogtown and Z-Boys" opens Fri., May 31 at Landmark's Oriental Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
