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Beyond Beats: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs In On Manhood In Hip-Hop Culture (USA, 2006, Director: Byron Hurt, 62 minutes): Byron Hurt is a former college quarterback and a huge hip-hop fan. But after he begins a job as a college counselor conducting programs for men about violence against women, he begins to look at his beloved music in a new light. This film is a record of his attempt to understand why hip-hop is so obsessed with images of violence, misogyny and homophobia. Hurt uses the metaphor of a box to describe the narrow image of masculinity in which black men are trapped, and he backs this up with numerous interviews with academics, hip-hop artists, and fans. Also interesting (and actually hilarious) are his deconstructions of rap videos, which are filled with the same ridiculous cliches repeated again and again.
I applaud him for trying to take on so many controversial issues in rap music, but it was discouraging to see so many people unwilling or unable to engage him on these subjects. When he brings up the issue of homophobia with Busta Rhymes, for instance, the rapper gets up and leaves. An executive from BET refuses to answer his questions, and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons gives him only evasive answers. All in all, it’s clear that most people don’t see these issues as problems, especially when rap music is making them all so much money.
The only flaw in this film is that it was too short. I’d love to see a longer version, or even better, a longer series about these issues where the filmmaker could pursue some answers over an extended period. Gadflies like Byron Hurt will need to be patient if they want to see anything change, and I hope that he can document the process even more comprehensively. It’s definitely worth watching.
Visit the director’s web site
(9/10)
NOW Toronto: NNN (out of 5) (review)
EYE Weekly: ***** (out of 5) (review)
Tagged as:
#hotdocs06,
Documentaries,
homosexuality,
Hot Docs,
manhood,
music
Heavy Metal Jr. (Scotland, 2005, Director: Chris Waitt, 24 minutes): Hatred are a heavy metal band from Scotland. And they’re all under 13 years old. This hilarious film follows the band as they prepare for their first ever live performance. In the weeks before their show, their bassist quits, and they have to write some original songs to perform. One of the best parts of the film was watching their manager (the drummer’s father) show them some showbiz moves of his own. Along the way, we get some insight into band dynamics that wouldn’t seem out of place in a film like This Is Spinal Tap, except with parents as stand-ins for managers and girlfriends.
By the end, though, I was really pulling for the lads, and watching them perform their three original songs (including a catchy little ditty entitled “Satan Rocks”) in front of an audience of pensioners and teenyboppers dressed in pink was actually heartwarming. The sight of them signing autographs afterward just reinforced for me why all boys get into rock bands anyway: for the chicks.
(8/10)
Tagged as:
#hotdocs06,
adolescence,
Documentaries,
Hot Docs,
music
The Hot Docs 2006 Poster (photography by Rannie Turingan)
I think this is my third year attending the Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival. I like it because in comparison to the huge Toronto International Film Festival, it’s cheap, accessible, ego-free and consciousness-expanding. So once again, I’m off to see a bunch of real-life true stories (beware the following links: they’re to popup pages that have no navigation back to the Hot Docs site):
The festival takes place from April 28-May 7, and right in the middle of that is the huge wine tasting that I help organize every year. I am a crazy person.
You might notice that I’ve picked a couple of sports documentaries, two about soccer and one about running. In addition to those, in anticipation of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the Goethe Institut is screening a series of films whose subject is soccer (football). In Toronto, they’re screening on Mondays during April and May, and I’m going to try to make it to a few of those as well. Good times.
P.S. I feel compelled to note that fellow GTABloggers Brett Lamb and Rannie Turingan are involved in Hot Docs as well. Brett seems to be in charge of all the print advertising, and this year, he recruited Rannie to take some great photos of directors that ended up on the poster. Excellent work, guys!
Tagged as:
#hotdocs06,
Documentaries,
Hot Docs
