DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS [2001] review

In the past three months I’ve probably watched more documentaries than I have in the past three years.  This streak started with DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS. I’m a big fan of skateboarding and surf culture, and prefer to live the surfer lifestyle myself, which stems from my love of the Sea and need to live by the Sea.  DOGTOWN is a slightly pretentious documentary that sheds light on how skateboarding evolved from just doing handstands on a board with fragile wheels, all the way to the modern skating style.  I found the detail and clear points showing how the Z-Boys aped moves of a surfer to be able to do never-before-done moves on a skateboard to be fascinating.  

The inevitable personal and group crisis segments were tolerable and I guess needed inclusion, but I’d like to have a documentary for once not have to involve this kind of thing.  

The ingenuity and boldness these early skateboarders employed in order to just be able to skate brought out the rebel in me.  Seeing them hop fences in suburban neighborhoods to ride in empty pools at risk of being discovered by the police was something I would have liked to of joined in on.  Describing the hierarchy of these rare, and thus valuable, skating places showed the badass spirit of skateboarding as well.  If you were some punk just joining the group, don’t expect to be allowed entry into the pool!

I think RIDING GIANTS and DOGTOWN make two great companion documentaries on the origins of big wave surfing and California street skating.  I recommend watching them on successive weekends.  Watch DOGTOWN first though.

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