{{{misanthropy central}}}: Wild Style

"Yo, I don't hang out with those guys! Man, I ain got nothina do with those dudes!"

"Man, I saw your *female* with them, too—what's up with huh? I been hearin that she been givin that stuff out to ALL them graffiti guys..."

"Yo, shut the fuck up, Chico, man!"

"Could paint THREE o' those murals for some o' THAT ass...!"

Dialogue from "Wild Style", sampled at the top of the track "Professor Booty" off the Beastie Boys' CHECK YOUR HEAD.

I discovered this through this website that has annotated lyrics of all the Beastie Boys albums. Naturally, I went straight to NetFlix and added WILD STYLE to my queue.

Wild Style is a fascinating document. It's a narrative feature film but the narrative is exceptionally spare. Mostly filled with non-actors, essentially playing themselves. (It plays out like a Larry Clark film without the exploitation and gratuitous sex.)

The purpose of the film is to shine a light on a remarkable scene that was emerging in New York City. People may call this "the first hip hop film", but it's more than that.

It documents a unique moment of NYC history in the late-70s/early-80s with

+ the emergence of hip hop
+ the rise of graffiti culture in NYC
+ the convergence of street graffiti and high art

Thing about graffiti during this period was that it was a real art. Artists used subways as huge, moving canvases. There were places in the city where you could watch your art speed by.

It was when the city started cracking down on graffiti—policing stations, cleaning up the trains—that the canvas space got a lot more limited. Artists got more territorial with prime real estate. That's when the gang violence flared up. Wild Style takes place before that started to happen. In a way, a more hopeful time... despite the bleak state of the city. The movie's an amazing trip through time.

All the "actors" were amateurs but one person stands out...

Lady Pink.

AKA, Sandra Fabara. Pictured here working with Jenny Holzer in 1983.

Completely adorable in the movie. While almost everyone else seems a bit stilted with their performances in the movie (like cats forced to wear clothes), there's something sweet and genuine about her. (Lady Pink interview.)

Another heavenly vision on the film...

Patti Astor.

Former ballet dancer. Revolutionary with ties to the Black Panthers. NYC underground film star in the 70s (working with directors like Jim Jarmusch). Astor became a link between the street graffiti artists and the high art scene. A bleach-blond traffic-stopper. Pictured below with Fab 5 Freddy, who was one of the driving forces behind Wild Style (and does commentary on the DVD with director Charlie Ahearn).