The Feral Progressive

A documentary about the real life challenges of growing up under-privileged in an economically declining suburb masquerading as documentary about rebellious teens living free in their obsession of skateboarding. Doesn’t sound interesting to me at all. I avoided this movie because I assumed it was just another flick about skateboarding. Nothing against skateboarding, but it’s just not my cup of tea. Once I saw that it was nominated for an Oscar, I decided I’d give it a shot. After all, some of my favorite docs are the ones that seem like they’d be the least interesting to me (like the one I LOVE that’s all about salt). 🙄 I started off thinking this would be a typical “extreme sport” film — a niche doc that will give some insight into boarders and their lifestyle. I figured it was probably nominated for all these awards because of the cinematography or something similar. And sure enough, it started off just like that. But little by little, the documentarian (who happens to be just one of the kids in this group of skaters), starts to weave the backstories of his friends into the footage. And before you know it, you’re hooked. You’re invested in these kids as they navigate their future. To me, what makes a great documentary is its ability to open your eyes and mind to something new. I learned nothing about skateboarding but I learned a lot about the life of kids growing up in a different world right here in the United States. I changed my opinions about some of these people in an instant. I gained insight into some of my own privileged bias. And then, to top it off, I remembered this started off as just a teen filming his friends skateboarding.