Rize( 2005, David LaChapelle)

So last week I did a review of photographer Larry Clark's film Wassup Rockers. A movie based on real experiences of a group of Latino punk rock skateboarders living in South Central Los Angeles. Well this week I have another film by a photographer focusing on a different group of kids also living in South Central Los Angeles. The photographer this time is acclaimed fashion celebrity photographer/music video director David LaChapelle and the movie is Rize.

Rize is a documentary film about the dancing sub-cultures of Clowning(orginated by Tommy the Clown) and Krumping(which developed out of the Clowning movement), in the gang ridden neighborhoods of South Central, LA. What is a young kid to do to get out his aggression and anger, but yet staying optimistic and positive in a nonviolent way,having grown up in that type of environment. Well thats where Clowning and mostly Krumping come into play. These two dancing sub-cultures are a way for the practitioners to freely express themselves and to get out all of the complex emotions that are within them, while at the same time they having unknowingly created a new art form. It is also an alternative for them to the blinged out lifestyle that is portrayed in mainstream hip-hop. To an outsider this style of dance can seem violent since at times there is physical contact between dancers, but to the participants it is just a way to express themselves in a nonviolent way and they all understand this to be part of the dance and they don't advocate violence at all. It is similar to the old punk rock standard of the mosh pit,it may look violent but everyone is just there to have fun and not hurt anyone and everyone understands that.

It was interesting to see this documentary not to long after I had watched Wassup Rockers. Where the Latino skaters eschew the gangsta rap culture and instead choose to express themselves through punk rock influences and skateboarding. These are just good kids trying the best they can with the hand that have been dealt. The same can be said about the kids that are featured in Rize, these are just good kids trying to express themselves and trying to stay optimistic and positive. As one of the kids said if it wasn't for Clowning, he most likely would of joined a gang.

Well I'm not sure where this review is going except that you don't have to be a Clown, a Krumper or just a middle class white boy who does poorly written movie reviews to appreciate a documentary like, Rize.

Watch the Rize Trailer
Rize imdb page