The Other F Word

My best friend from high school is a huge fan of punk music. So much so that he bought all 4 versions of the Blink 182 album “Take off your Pants and Jacket”.  He did this so he would have the “clean” version and then the 3 different versions that’s only difference was the bonus song at the end of the album and CD cover art.  Although we were not “punk rock” in high school, the music, attitude, and persona of many of these bands influenced me. Even though I liked the music there was something inside that told me I might later regret my choices if I had to explain to my own children why I got a giant neck tattoo of a checker board.  This idea of what happens when these guys who have been leading this movement grow up and get families is the story being told in the 2011 Andrea Nevins documentary “The Other F Word”.  It is really interesting to see how these punk icons interact with their families and how they handle some of the daily problems that other parents have.  The public eye sees them always in the middle of a party, going balls to the wall, not having a care in the world.  This documentary shows them dealing with helping the kids get homework done, worrying about making it to their kids school functions, and struggling with the thing all dads deal with the time allocation between work and family.   I really liked seeing some of the bands and hearing how they got their start then watching them as they settle down and become real dads like the rest of us.  There are some very interesting moments when you see this antiestablishment attitude that hates the structure and rules of the world that starts pushing some of these guys toward complete self destruction.  And ironically the order and structure of their families is what saved them from their downward spiral.  This is a fun little documentary that will really humanize people who have been painted by the public as crazy over the top characters only interested in sex, drugs, and rock and roll.  Don’t get me wrong the movie addresses sex, drugs, and rock and roll, without the first one how do you think they would have gotten these families to begin with.  I don’t think that this is a life altering documentary that will change the way you will think about the world, but it is worth seeing famous punk rockers struggle with the same things you do just slightly more inked up.   

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Mr Brainwash Pop Art

I love documentaries for the stories they tell and the messages that real people try to live out in daily life.  “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is the academy award nominated documentary that has found its self in the controversy of: Is it a documentary or mocumentary?  I think that  it is a fascinating documentary that provides a cutting commentary at the art world (street art to be specific).  Famous street artist Banksy puts together a film about a documentarian turned artist named Thierry Guetta who takes the aptly named moniker MBW (Mr. Brain Wash). The documentary shows wonderful insight into the street art scene, the process that goes into it, and some of the major players in the street art game.  It then shows how street art has gone off the streets and into the auction houses.  This is where the contraversy lies.  There are definitely arguments within the movie to be made that Banksy, known for his “jokes on you” attitude, has problems with arts value being measured in dollars and being nothing more than the popular toy for the rich.  Questions come up like what is art and what is just crappy imitation?  Does genius marketing make something good or just valuable?  In a consumer driven world do we question what we are buying into or are we just eating up whatever popular culture is feeding us?  With all of this being said because Banksy is kind of the Andy Kaufman of the art world people question if this documentary is real, and Thierry Guetta is for real or if it was all just one big joke to further press the point that the audience is the joke in the art world.  I still really enjoyed it whether I was watching a true documentary or a meta artistic expression upon the art world.

Banksy Street Art

 This movie has more than just a social commentary on art consumers. As predominately a rule follower I am intrigued by counter culture and the graffiti artist.  I do wonder how some people tag some places or how some people’s work is so big and elaborate yet done in a way that is so fast and under the cover of darkness.  This documentary touches on some of that as well.  I think that there is a very clear story here and the main character is easily watchable.  At times you love him, hate him, pity him, and champion him.  If you are not into street art this movie gives you a peek into that world.  You might view that highway on your way to work that is tagged differently, or when you get stopped and have to have to wait for a train you see it as a moving gallery not an ugly nuisance. This documentary will bring 87 minutes of artistic culture to your life, even if it is counter-culture.

Word Wars

     Nerd Culture fascinates me.  I love looking at small pockets of our society that holds outcast, quirky, and eccentric members that reject social norms and dedicate themselves to their passion.  The documentary that shoved me into this sub-genre was “Spellbound” a 2002 documentary that highlights contestants for the Scripts National Spelling Bee.  I have now watched many different nerd-docs and have seen a formula develop among them.  Highlight the quirkiest, most unconventional ones of the bunch along with ones that have a good shot of being successful, and follow their daily preparation and document their progress toward their goal.  With the popularity of “Words with Friends” the idea behind Word Wars, a documentary that showcases the world’s top Scrabble players, intrigued me.  As I start watching this movie I find myself thinking that this is just “Spellbound” all grown up.  That kind of disappoints me that it starts looking like the same movie but with adults.  All of that changes when Marlon is introduced into the picture.  In my opinion this guy is the greatest reason to watch this movie.  Although I have stated that I love nerd culture and I love your stereotypical nerds, Marlon breaks the mold of the stereotypical Scrabble player.  Marlon is a very aggressive in your face African American gentleman that smokes lots of weed and at one point in the movie picks up a hooker on camera before a tournament.  When you contrast him with “GI Joel” another player that fits every nerdy stereotype you can think of on top of having to constantly spit up stomach juice from his terrible acid reflux and gastrointestinal problems for which he got his nickname, you will find Marlon is the little nugget of gold in this movie.  Marlon separated this movie from any nerd-doc I have ever seen.  On top of all of his antics, he is a phenomenal Scrabble player.  Every other person that gets highlighted in this movie fits a mental image of a typical Scrabble player.  The fact that this guy who has such strong opinions about what he calls “Amerikkka with 3 k’s”   and openly hates the English Language for stripping his ancestors of their Afrikan language is such a student of the English language and submerses himself in a culture of nerdy white guys and old ladies is well worth 80 minutes of your life.  If you are looking for a nerd-doc this movie will deliver that as well.  This is the ultimate in “don’t judge a book by its cover” especially when the dreadlocked book you are playing can drop words like xenogamy(71pts) and lambrequin(73pts) on you after stepping outside for a blunt.  This movie really does have more appeal than just that of Scrabble players.  I was able to learn a little about Scrabble, but a lot about those who dedicate so much time and effort to this game. 

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

Don Merchant puts out a thought provoking documentary titled Lord, Save Us From Your Followers.  He addresses the problem that many others have addressed concerning one of the greatest enemies of Christianity is the actions and attitudes of Christians.  I am fascinated with this topic and think that the premis of this documentary could not be more true.  As far as a documentary goes there are some things that I really like and really don’t like.  I think that his overall message that he conveys is spot on, and does make you think about how you have treated others if you are a Christian, and makes you think about the way you view Christians if you are not.  I personally am not a fan of “man on the street Q and A.”  I think that anytime you engage someone on the street by just walking up to them and sticking a microphone in their face to ask them a question you get a person looking to respond in a guarded or slanted way, or in a way that hopes they are not getting caught up in a “gotcha” moment.  I don’t think that you get honest meaningful responses because quite frankly you are merely looking to put a sound bite on camera that will impact your audience without allowing the person you are talking with be accurately represented as a person within the film.  It also doesn’t help that Merchant is doing these interviews in a stupid suit that is covered in religious and social bumper stickers that is really cheesy and hoakey.    As the documentary progresses it moves much more to a sit down discussion style interview.  When he does his sit down style interviews with people like Rick Warren, Al Frankin, and William P. Young (Author of “The Shack”) he is able to wonderfully engage his message.  I think that there are some really thought provoking things in the documentary such as the gospel of prosperity and how consumerism and Christianity should not be such good friends.  It is very powerful to see him take a page from Blue Like Jazz, the Donald Miller Book that has recently been made into a movie, and set up a Confession booth in the middle of a gay pride festival, where Merchant apologized to homosexuals and confessed the sins of Christians to them asking for forgiveness from the community.  At 142 min this is a long documentary.  I found that the beginning of the movie was a little cheesy but was very pleased with it by the time I got to the end.  No matter what your religious views are I would recommend this movie for everyone if to just give a different perspective. 

Many documentaries run the risk of taking current public figures and portray them in one way, but time gives them ample opportunity to show you they should be portrayed in another way.  Several times Rick Santorum who at the time(2007) was a senator from Pennsylvania talks about his faith and times when he should show compassion.  Several times we have seen that Rick Santorum has not showed that same kind of love when trying to appeal to the super conservative right wing base of Republicans.  Don’t let the hypocrisy of some keep you from understanding the message that is trying to be portrayed by the director.

The common phrase “The book is better than the movie” is very rarely used when talking about documentaries.  This has been a trendy topic to write about in Christian circles lately.  If the documentary is intriguing to you and you are the type of person that likes to read more.  Or you are the kind of person that likes to click in the box “people who like this have also enjoyed…”  This documentary is also a book and there are a couple of books that I have liked that deal with similar subjects.

BEING ELMO: A Puppeteer's Journey

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, is a biopic documentary that highlights the story of Kevin Clash, the man behind the lovable monster of Sesame Street.  Biopic documentaries are hit and miss for some people.  The documentary is carried by the story of one person, and few others can help out in the story telling.  This biopic does not disappoint.  I was a fan of Sesame Street growing up, and I have 2 kids who are huge fans of Sesame Street, one of which is obsessed with ELMO!  I won’t lie, on some level I thought it might help me to relate to my daughter to learn more about her favorite TV character.  I am not sure if she cares that I know his back story, but I appreciate the process that goes into making Sesame Street even more.  When we think of young prodigies we many times think of athletes, musicians, or Doogie Howser style geniuses, but we don’t think of puppeteer phenoms.  It is incredible to see someone who identified their passion so early and dedicated their time and hard work to perfecting their craft at such and early age.  Part of the movie shows what an incredible visionary Jim Hensen was and the impact he had on Kevin’s life.  Elmo was not a character on Sesame Street when I was little, but now that I am watching new episodes with my kids, it is hard to remember what Sesame Street was like with out the little red ball of fur.  It is fun and quite amazing to see how Elmo started out and what Kevin was able to transform the character into.  This documentary is able to bring up the fond memories of my childhood all while helping me understand why my daughter is obsessed with a cute little monster brought about by the talented Kevin Clash.

I chose this week to highlight this documentary because my family went to a Sesame Street live show.  I am not sure how I would react if I were able to see some of my heroes perform live.  Most of my obsessions don’t perform live.  This weekend I was able to see my daughter hardly be able to contain herself when she got to see her TV hero.  She is not yet 2 yrs old but her reaction to seeing Elmo for the first time was reminiscent of seeing teenage girls scream and cry in excitement over the Beatles, Elvis, or NSYNC.   I would not have gone to see Sesame Street Live by my self, but the total excitement and permasmile she had on her face the whole time was worth the cheesy songs and hokey dancing.  It is truly amazing to see how a character on TV can invoke so much emotion, even from a small child.  If it weren’t for Kevin Clash I would not have had that experience this weekend.  

Helvetica



               Helvetica is a documentary that might be like a “deep cut” or “B side” song from an album of a band you really like.  This is not the documentary that I would suggest someone go out and sees if they are going to watch only one documentary.  However, this is a really well made documentary, and to those who appreciate the genera of the documentary an excellent look at the world of graphic arts.  Helvetica is a type face that is known as a sansarif and is the type face that is looked at as the greatest type face of the modern movement.  Just like art, type and graphic arts have followed different movements and times.  During the 60’s and 70’s the modern movement came about and recently it has had resurgence.  The documentary really does an excellent job of going around and talking to different graphic artist and getting their thoughts on Helvetica.  You quickly see there are two camps that form, the Helvetica lovers and the Helvetica haters.   Some think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread.



Sliced Bread that advertises with Helvetica 



 While others would say, “why would you mess up something as nice as sliced bread with something as terrible as Helvetica”.  The core of the argument is really over creativity.  When designing: are you looking for your design to be a classic truth tested design that is clean sharp and accepted by the masses, or are you looking for your type to say something more than the words you are putting on the page?  The artist would say that anyone can design something that looks decent in Helvetica, but it truly takes a creative mind to not have to use Helvetica.  That then poses the question: if everyone can make it look good in Helvetica is Helvetica the perfect typeface?  This movie will make you notice the logos that are placed in the world around you and make you think when you have to design something next time.  If you have to send out an invitation, a flyer, or a memo you will now start to think about your typeface.  If you scrapbook, blog, or have to design anything you will now see that the world of typefaces are almost endless, some good ones and some terrible ones.  The documentary is worth watching and is shot beautifully.  I think this documentary does a wonderful job of making its audience learn something new on an area that most people have probably not thought about and allows them to make their own decision as to what they think about the subject.  

 since most of the world does not think of things like the typeface that they use I though it would be funny to put a couple of collgege humor Youtube clips up that talk about typeface.

The next clip is actually from the film Helvetica.

                (I personally like the clean cut style of Helvetica and my logo at the top of the blog is done in Helvetica and was a small nod to this documentary.)



For proof of how prevelant Helvetica is in our lives I am posting this picture.  I wrote this blog from a hotel room.  I walked into the bathroom and found this set up that is all Helvetica.

Sound and Fury

Sound and Fury is a documentary that made me actually think about how I treat people, and how I view others that are different from myself.  It is not all that often that you watch a movie and it makes you question your ethics or moral compass.  This documentary did that for me.  Sound and Fury addresses the issue of cochlear implants (a listening device that allows deaf people to hear).  I was unaware of the controversy surrounding this implant and the deaf community.  I was unaware of what is addressed in the movie as “deaf culture”.  This documentary does a good job presenting the arguments of both sides without taking a stance on one side or the other.  It follows one family that has multiple deaf and hearing parents and multiple deaf children in the family.  In the two families the fathers of the children are brothers.  They both have young deaf children, and both have to make the decision whether or not to implant their children with a cochlear listening device.  You follow their decision making process, see family fighting over decisions made, and get conflicting opinions from different sets of grandparents.  I think this movie challenges you to think about the respect you give to different cultures and possibly reexamine how you may view cultures that are not your own.

            In my life I have not had much interaction with deaf people.  I think I could probably sign the alphabet, but would have a hard time communicating to a deaf person due to my limited signing and terrible spelling.   My initial reaction to this documentary was that of most hearing people, “If someone can’t hear, and you have the ability to make them hearing, then do the surgery to fix their disability.”  One of the Dads in the movie says something that stuck with me to really question my thoughts on the subject.  He talks about how he doesn’t think that deafness is a disability.  He says that he has his own language and own culture.  Much of his communication comes from the beauty of signing.  His inability to hear makes him more perceptive to the actions of others. 

            I started to question my initial reaction when I thought what the major argument is for making a deaf person hearing, and then thinking about what would the reaction be if we were to apply that to other cultures. 

-       It would make their lives easier if we implanted them because they could then hear and talk like everyone else.  If there were a pill that we could give all non-white people in America and then they would turn white like the majority of America they would be more like everyone else and would not have to deal with racism.  But the thought of this seems appalling, racist, and would be compared by many to a form of genocide on other races.  Many people argue that “deaf culture” is just like any races culture, not with where you are born or to whom you are born but how you are born.  If every deaf child were implanted it would effectively eradicate “deaf culture”.

The question that it raised for me was the notion of “fixing” someone who was not like the majority of others. Does the fact that someone is different from the majority mean that they need to be fixed to be like the majority? Carrying that notion that we must make others assimilate to the majority only breeds hatred and resentment for those who hold on to the things that make them uniquely who they are.     

            Here is the crazy part about all of this.  If I had a child born today that was deaf, I have no idea whether or not I would give them a cochlear implant.   I did not walk away from the movie with a clear cut decision on my choice for my family, I only walked away with a new respect for other cultures and how I view values held dear to those cultures.   I think when hearing parents have deaf children they get put into a position where they must address how much, if any, of the deaf culture they want to bring into the child’s life.  I think this is very much like parents who adopt children from other cultures.  It is not as though the family will completely change their own culture to the origin of the child, but how much of the child’s original culture do they embrace, teach, and encourage.   These types of situations are deeply personal to the families, but not issues that can go ignored.

            Sound and Fury made me look at the notion that differences are not things that need to be “fixed”, but merely things we should try to understand. 

Hands on a Hard Body

           

           Most people can think to a song or album that grabbed hold of them and had such an impact on them that it was integral in shaping their musical taste.  Hands on a Hard Body was that type of movie for me.  Hands on a Hard Body is the movie that is responsible for making me want to see other documentaries.  The story line is so simplistic yet so full of cinema gold.  The title makes it sound dirty yet nothing could be considered dirty in this movie.  The documentary centers around a contest held in Longview, Texas, where a car dealership has selected contestants place their hands on a new Nissan Truck and the last one to take their hand off the truck wins the truck.  There is no sitting, no sleeping, and no resting on the truck, just standing beside the truck with your hand on it as long as you can.  One slip up and you are out.  The contest doesn’t make the movie, the characters that are on the truck and the relationships between them as the competition goes on is what makes this movie magic.  As lack of sleep sets in they begin to go crazier and crazier.  The combination of east Texas country bumpkins, early 90s hair, and quite frankly lack of teeth on some of the characters will make anyone finish watching the movie and say to them selves, “My life is not that bad.”  It is currently out of print but I believe you can find used copies on Amazon.

            The joy of this movie is to watch the craziness unfold.  I can think to two times in my life when I have had the opportunity to profit off a challenge, and they take place about 8 years apart from each other but involve the exact same people in my life.  My senior year in college my fraternity brothers were preparing to go on our Fall Break road trip to watch Baylor play Colorado and the caravan of guys going on this road trip were meeting at the house I shared with 3 of my best friends.  We were waiting out in front of our house for a couple of guys who had not yet shown up, when one of my fraternity brothers makes the claim, “Rhodes I’ll give you a dollar if you try to jump that hammock.”  We had a broken hammock strung between 2 trees in our front yard at the time.  My reply to him was, “Not for a dollar.”  That response prompted several other guys to claim they would pitch in a dollar to see me jump the hammock.  At this point I am getting encouragement and prodding and a nice little pool of money to give me the courage that I can do this.  I can jump a hammock that is 4 feet wide and about a foot and a half off the ground.  I assess the hammock to come up with my best option of making the jump. Upon seeing how the hammock hangs it looks like my best bet is to jump from the side that is in the grassy area and land on the side that is on our pea gravel drive way.  I seem to remember that by this time my name is being chanted and my courage level is at an all time high.  I take a running start at the hammock and jump.  I am looking at my goal of the ground on the other side of the hammock.  I realize that I have the height to make this jump and then I look down at my feet, and when I see my foot I notice the front of my foot has some of the broken piece of hammock wrapped around it.  In the air in a split second my thoughts go from, “ ha ha suckers you thought I wouldn’t make it, to OH  CRAP this is going to hurt.”  Right as I would have been clearing the other side of the hammock ready to land cleanly that piece of hammock wrapped around my foot causes the front side of the hammock to sling forward throwing me from an upright position to a flat on my face position in our drive way.  I have never hit the ground so hard in my life. As I got up you could see an indention of my body in the pea gravel driveway like I was Wiley Coyote falling from a cliff hitting the ground and leaving a coyote shape hole in the ground.  Although I did not succeed in jumping the hammock cleanly, and I am reminded of the hammock jump every time I see the guys who were there, I made 8 dollars and got a picture of the moment when I realized I was in for some pain.

          8 years later my buddies decided to get together to hangout over the Christmas break.  We were sitting around when one of the guys throws out they would give me $20 to shave my head.  My hair is worth so much more to me than $20 dollars.  My reply again, was not “No” but, “Not for $20.”  Other people there saw an opportunity to see what it would take for me to do it.  I kept saying no, no, no until the dollar amount hit about $250.  I had to then ask myself, is there ever another time that I will be able to make $250 in just a few minutes? So I agreed to take $250 in exchange for being their spectacle of entertainment for the evening. 

 I still think that I made the right decision, but I did get weird looks from people for about 4 weeks and had to field questions from people at work, like “Are you in chemotherapy?”.  I also realized I have an ugly shaped head with a ridge down the middle of it that makes my skull look like it has grown into a faux-hawk.  I love Hands on a Hard Body for so many reasons but ultimately I think I have a soft spot for people who are willing to compete for the entertainment of others even if failing means you fall on your face.

Hear more on great documentaries on my Documentary Podcast

King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters

     King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters is one of my favorite documentaries of all time.  If someone was new to the documentary game, and I wanted to ease them into this genre that many times gets labled as boring, slow, and pretentious, I would start them off with this gem of a documentary.  Much has been written about this documentary and many people call it an incredible underdog story that rivals that of Rocky, Rudy, or at least Cool Runnings.

   

     I don’t contest any of those reviews but I am not here to regurgitate many of the things written about the movie when it debuted in 2007.  I bonded with this movie over an issue with the main character (Steve Wiebe) that is only spoken in undertones through the movie.  Steve struggles to “have it all”.  He struggles to become the very best at something while living the life of loving father and devoted husband.  My job gives me the opportunity to actually compete with people around the DFW region, the great state of Texas, and the Nation.  I am a hyper-competitive person and do not like losing.  In my quest to try to coach the best speakers and debaters in the country my job takes a tremendous amount of time.  My kids are competing 22 weekends a year and we have after school practice 3 times a week. This schedule on top of work is huge time commitment.  That time commitment can often trade off with time spent with my family.  I know the inner drive that Steve has to be the best, to work his hardest for something, go to battle, and reach the goal of being in an elite category.  That story we are told as little kids that says hard work, drive, and determination is all it takes to achieve your goal gets a quick in the teeth.  When in Steve’s case he is in the middle of setting a world record at Donkey Kong and his son who is under 4 at the time needs some attention and needs his dad to, “wipe [his] butt”.  I don’t want a different life and would not give up my family for anything.  I would just like to find that magic balance that allows me to do both.  As I was watching this documentary it hit me the amount of time Steve spends in his garage playing Donkey Kong.  One game at his level is going to take around 2 ½ hours.  If he gets in 2 games a night that is 5 hours of hard core focused Kong time on top of work, kids and family.  I empathize with that inner desire to be the best at something and have recognition from your peers.  I understand the struggle to want to be a great dad and loving husband, all wile working for a goal that only a small minority recognize as significant.  In this movie Steve Wiebe truly is the every man character who’s problems mimic my own and make this an amazing documentary for everyone. 

   

Hear more on great documentaries on my Documentary Podcast