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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2012)
Arts & Entertainment S P O T L I G H T DVD Chronicles Chicago Poetry Slam M OVIE R EVIEWS by Kam Williams D oes the hip-hop style of rhyming and its down-to- earth subject-matter about life in the ‘hood deserve the same respect as the classical couplets of Keats and other lofty lyricists whose work benefits from ivory- towered academia’s stamp of approval? The answer to that question might lie in “Louder Than a Bomb,” a documentary Louder Than a Bomb Very Good III Unrated Running time: 100 Minutes Distributor: Virgil Films and Entertainment chronicling the Slam Poetry com- petition of the same name staged annually in the Windy City. Its 600+ entrants from 60+ schools are an ethnically-diverse array of high school students who share a passion for the spoken word format. Co-directed by Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel (nephew of the legendary, late film critic Gene Siskel), the film telescopes nar- rowly on the fortunes of four teams and their talented stand- outs. Nate Marshall hails from Whit- ney Young Magnet School, Adam Gottlieb from North College Prep, Nova Venerable from Oak Park High, and “Steinmenauts” Lamar Jorden, Charles Smith and Kevin Harris represent defending cham- pion Steinmetz High. To the unini- tiated, most of their uniformly-strident, high-energy performances highlighted here might be reminiscent of rap. However, the absence of musi- cal accompaniment makes it easi- er for an audience to focus on the rich content of the writers’ evoca- tive verses which tend to reflect issues in their personal lives. Given how deeply teenagers tend From ‘Louder than a Bomb’ to feel about their troubles, the staccato rants will probably sound like emotional dumps to the aver- age adult, whether they’re weigh- ing-in on absentee fathers, drug-addicted parents, or even just doting Jewish parents. Although I thoroughly enjoyed watching this flick, my only worry is whether or not these accom- plished poets will ever learn to speak grammatically. Sorry, but I couldn’t help but be concerned upon hearing “When we was on the stage…” and “I plan to go to college and be like a professor…” in post-performance interviews. “Louder Than a Bomb” blasting the King’s English to smithereens leaving Ebonics as the last lan- guage standing! ONLINE Scan our QR code with your app. theskannermobile.com Page 8 The Seattle Skanner March 21, 2012
