Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown
	File:Lords Of Dogtown.jpg Promotional poster
Directed by	Catherine Hardwicke
Written by	Stacy Peralta
Produced by	John Linson
Starring	John Robinson; Emile Hirsch; Victor Rasuk; Michael Angarano; Heath Ledger; Rebecca DeMornay
Cinematography	Elliot Davis
Edited by	Nancy Richardson
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release date	3 June 2005 (USA)
Running time	107 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000 (estimated)

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Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, written by Stacy Peralta. The film is based on the story of "The Z-Boys", an influential group of skateboarders who revolutionized the sport. Mitch Hedberg, a famous stand-up comedian who appears in the movie, died before the film was released. The movie is dedicated to his memory.

The tagline for the film is: "They came from nothing to change everything." Template:Spoiler

Introduction

In the 1970’s, a group of teen surfers from a rough neighbourhood known as "Dogtown" in Venice, California, created a cultural revolution by transforming skateboarding from a recreational activity into an extreme sport.

When a shipment of polyurethane wheels arrives at Venice Beach's Zephyr Surf Shop, the owner, Skip Engblom, played by Heath Ledger, puts together a team of local layabouts to test his new invention.

Known as the Zephyr Skateboard Team, the boys transferred their surf skills to drain pipes and empty swimming pools with stunning results. Their acrobatic manoeuvres inspired generations of teens and catapulted them to fame and fortune.

This real life story follows the character development of Stacy, Jay and Tony as they negotiate the benefits and pitfalls of superstardom.

Lords of Dogtown highlights the sensitive balance between bravado and insecurity of adolescence in a moving rags-to riches story.

Characters

Stacy Peralta, played by John Robinson, is a world famous skateboarder who later becomes a film director and creator of the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, on which Lords of Dogtown is based. In the film, Peralta is portrayed as a "good guy," not getting into as much trouble as the other characters and displaying more responsibility.

Tony Alva, played by Victor Rasuk, grew up with a strict, sometimes angry father, and is portrayed as having a strong desire to be the center of attention. With the rise of the Z-boys and the Dogtown era, Alva develops an ego that drives his friends and family away from him.

Jay Adams, played by Emile Hirsch, is portrayed as the most innately talented of the group. Adams was raised in a broken home and uses skateboarding as an outlet to vent his frustrations. The extreme lifestyle Adams leads draws him apart from the other Z-boys and into a life of gang violence towards the end of the film.

Sid, a lesser character played by Michael Angarano, enjoys skating with the other Z-Boys but can't skate as well as they can. He spends a lot of time working in and cleaning the Zephyr shop. He is shown smoking weed and is later prescribed it for his tumor. The boys often bust on him for his "inner ear problem," and in one scene, when the entire team is skating down the street, Bob Biniak skates up alongside him and screams to throw him off balance. Sid falls painfully on the curb. Later in the movie, Sid's equilibrium problem turns out to be a tumor. He can no longer skate after the operation. Since he is rich and has a pool, the boys have wanted to skate it ever since the pool-skating revolution that they led caught on. In the end of the movie, the estranged characters all re-unite at Sid's pool, which he had drained for them. They skate it together in a powerful emotional moment.

Setting

The Lords of Dogtown is filmed in Venice, California. The city was aptly named “the ghetto by the sea.” It was not an easy place to grow up. The city was filled with people who were down on their luck, and who spent most of their waking hours stoned or in an alcoholic stupor. Poverty, drugs, gangs and crime were rampant. Venice was a very depressing place.

Enter the heroes of the story, Jay, Tony and Stacy who appeared to have little talent except an extraordinary ability to surf and ride skateboards. Even this was not surprising since there was little else for young people to do in Venice other than block out the real world whilst experiencing the thrill of riding the waves and the tarmac! Even though they were good surfers, these boys were not part of the “surf gang’ and so more often than not, they watched rather than rode. However the same was not true of skateboarding. When they were on their skateboards they ruled, and it was a wonderful escape from reality. But in the 70’s surfing was the height of extreme sport with skateboarding only used as a means of transport to the beach. In the opening scene, director Catherine Hardwicke shows the boys leaving their run down homes and racing down the streets of Venice on their skateboards silhouetted in the dark. This is followed in quick succession by daybreak and the boys standing on the shore waiting to be allowed to surf. The camera pans across the water and you get the view (as the boys do) of the watching the surfers who are surfing behind the dilapidated pier.

It was against this backdrop that Skip Engblom, the local surf shop owner was sold some polyurethane skateboard wheels. This new technology allowed the wheel to grip and a revolutionary breed of surfers were born! Skip’s Zephyr store sponsored the original skate team that became known as the Z-Boys. Their asphalt-grinding youth movement championed attitude, experimentation, passion and determination in equal measures. Their no-holds barred rebelliousness catapulted them to stardom in a triumphant rags-to-riches story.

Themes

The Birth of a Cultural Revolution

Kathy Alva summed up one of Dogtown's themes when she described growing up poor, on the wrong side of the tracks: "It was harder for us to dream."

Venice, California in 1975, was not an easy place to live in, especially if you were an impressionable teenager without adults motivating you to earn an education. Venice was rough localised surf gang territory where poverty, drugs and crime was rife. It was a very depressing city known as “the ghetto by the beach.”

In a culture where most people were down on their luck, we find three young boys, Jay, Tony and Stacy, who have little or no skills to speak of other than their ability to surf and skateboard.

In the opening scene of the movie, we see all three boys sneaking out at night to pursue their passion – skateboarding. On their boards they are unbeatable, the best there is, and supremely confident. However as daylight breaks, we see them standing near the pier waiting as the underdogs to be allowed to take to the waves. The top dogs of surfing shout at them from the waves, “you guys aren’t surfing now, you wanna surf the cove? You gotta earn it!” So even though they have the skill, they don’t feature in the hierarchy at all. But when the waves cease to materialise, they take to the Pacific Ocean Pier on their skateboards, and here they feel like someone. But even though they go back over and over again trying new moves on abandoned playgrounds and ditches, the technology of their boards makes it impossible to achieve…that is until three things happened.

Firstly, the owner of the local surf shop where the boys hang out, a down-and-out alcoholic named Skip, came up with the idea of making skateboard wheels out of polyurethane. This technology changed everything. The wheels could now grip surfaces and this made it possible for skateboarding to go vertical!

Secondly, California experienced a terrible drought in 1975. In an effort to conserve water, households were encouraged to empty their swimming pools. The idea of using these abandoned pools as practice grounds pushed skateboarding tricks to new heights.

Finally, there was time. These boys had time to learn and experiment with no boundaries or distractions.

Lords of Dogtown celebrates the Z Boys as trailblazers who re-invented skateboarding by taking it from a tame outside activity, to an extreme sport that goes vertical!

Character Development: The Effects of Success and Fame on Relationships

The Lords of Dogtown exposes how greed and the trappings of fame and fortune can test the most enduring friendships and stretch them to breaking point. When their lives were simple and their focus was on creating cool new moves, Stacy, tony and Jay were friends to the end. But when their stunning performances thrust them into lucrative endorsement contracts and magazines and into movie sets, it all falls apart. They were huge together, now each can only hold onto part of the dream. For Peralta, skateboarding would open doors to other ventures, for Tony Alva it led to being the greatest skateboarder in the world while for Jay Adams it was always about being free and cool. Each believed their choices to be honest to their roots, but success proved to be a tougher challenge than a multiple 360! As Catherine Hardwicke so succinctly says, “ The one thing they are great at, is the one thing that breaks them apart”

Tony Alva leaves the team first, seeking a better life and more fame and glory. Jay deserts soon after, disillusioned by the trappings. Stacy is the last to leave the team. He is the most business-minded of the three boys, and although he is the most concerned about stability and his future, he leaves reluctantly.

The extent to which all the fame and success has changed the boys is clearly evident when they all meet as competitors at the world championships.

Tony arrives in true Hollywood style surrounded by all the trappings. When another competitor bumps into him, his ego, arrogance and self-importance lead to a fight which resultsin his disqualification, humiliation and an injury.Earlier Stacy had remarked to him that it was now just the two of them left in the competition, to which Tony quips, “No man, it’s just me.” Although his fall from glory is huge, it is eye opening, and grounding in more ways than one!

Jay’s attire as he takes to the stadium reflects his approach. He skates shirtless defiantly attempting moves that go beyond even the coolest newest tricks. Sadly, he fails to land his display, and disgusted with the judges score, he hands his board to a spectator and leaves. This sends out a strong message that he is disillusioned and is leaving not just the competition but the sport too!

Stacy arrives dressed very conservatively. Jay remarks that he “Looks like a stock car.” As usual, he keeps all his emotions in check and under control and he performs a flawless routine, albeit a little lac-lustre.

So fame and rivalry break up the Z Boys friendship…until a real issue, one with real meaning, forces them to examine who they have become and to look at what it is that really matters. The movie ends with all their energy and focus on one single thing, and one thing alone…skateboarding.

Cameo appearances in the film

External links