The movie starts out seeming to focus on the transformation of inner city African Americans involved in the art scene of Los Angelas from the days of the riots from the Rodney King beating until 2000. Once the movie picks up you realize it is really about Tommy the Clown, an african american man, who once dealt drugs until he went to jail and turned his life around.
Tommy the Clown inspired many inner city civilians to take control of their life in a positive way. Many people in the video stated that if it wasn't for Tommy, that they'd be in trouble and living in a negative way.
how do we define language?
Langauge can be defined by communication in any way. In this movie, everyone speaks English, but they express themselves through dance in this film. Dance can be considered a universal language, and in this film and city, it defines who these people are.
how do we define art?
Art is defined by culture. Art has many different perspectives and is perceived different by everyone depending on how and where they grew up. The dancing you see in the streets of LA would be perceived completely different than say the art from my home town of Lone Oak, Texas. People from my town would view the dancing as art, but it might not have the same level of respect or admiration that the people of LA have.
how does this movie relate to me?
This movie relates to me by the way these people are passionate about their art. I'm no clown or dancer, but I feel like I have a similar drive as the people displayed in the film about art. The people in the film, live for dancing or getting "krump". I can also relate to the younger kids in the film by wanting to find an art that makes you happy and something that drives you to be the best you can be no matter who tries to bring you down.
I will have to add at the end, I believe that there were no stereotypes in the entire movie unless you're looking at it as a blatant racist or 1900s old white man view but I was upset at the actions of the Krumpers at the end. It was a very uplifting movie and still is, but Tommy the Clown worked very hard for these kids and then the other team that lost to the clowns at the dance-off most likely were the ones who broke into Tommy's house and wrecked it. One of the Krumpers displayed a piss poor attitude after the dance competition and it's just sad to see. It's obvious that the Clowns are the more positive group. Even though the Clowns are a positive group, they aren't immune to gang violence directed at them which is evident at the end of the film.
