True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

Dogtown and Z-Boys
You wouldn’t expect a documentary about the slacker origins of skateboarding
culture to hold your attention for more than 10 minutes,
but Dogtown and Z-Boys certainly does. It unleashes a steady stream
of surprises, beginning with a small band of juvenile delinquents and
outcast school kids who were so downtrodden they were kicked out of
good waves in Santa Monica California. They then began to surf dorky
skateboards. Soon they were amusing themselves with breaking into
vacant backyard swimming pools and “taking on air” with zany skateboard
antics and a lot of attitude. How this small-time obsession became
an international sport, entertainment and merchandising complex is the
rest of this amazing and well-made story. I consider it a key document of
contemporary American culture.
By Stacy Peralta
2002, 90 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
51
Instead of surfing the unbelievably dangerous
area beneath the piers, the z-boys
discover you can skateboard on air.