Dogtown
& Z-Boys
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Rated PG-13
Release Date - April 26, 2002
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Starring:
Peggy Oki, Shogo Kubo,
Wentzle Ruml,
Allen Sarlo, Jeff Ho
Directed by: Stacy Peralta
Produced by: Agi Orsi, Jay Wilson Written by: Craig Stecyk,
Stacy Peralta Narrator: Sean Penn
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And I have other major problems
with Peralta's documentary. I saw it Sunday in the screenings
of award winners. (It also won shared the Audience Award with
Scout's Honor – I'll get to that one later, too.) There
is something I find deeply disturbing about a documentary
made about one's own life that never acknowledges its first
person status. Peralta was one of the Z-Boys from the nicknamed
area Dogtown, in beachfront Los Angeles. They were, as cutting
edge surfers and then skateboarders, superstars of a sort.
Peralta has himself interviewed as just another talking head,
despite being in charge. There are also myriad examples of
interviewees referring to their interviewer as "you" or "You
guys," as in "You guys were the best ever!!!!" I'm not disputing
the skills or the importance of the Z-Boys. But if you are
going to write an ode to yourself, it seems to me that you
owe it to your audience to let them in on the gag.
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