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!
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Page 8 The Seattle Skanner March 21, 2012