Dogtown and Z- Boys Documentary

I believe this was both an ethnographic study and a form of entertainment. It was very entertaining and interesting to watch. The ethnographic part of it was the fact that you were learning about the subculture of skateboarding and surfing.

The interview subjects were the people in the Zephyr club. They are important because they are the insiders of the group, and know the most about what went on. The interviews play a huge role in this documentary. It would have been very boring without the interviews. I feel that the interviews are what brought life to the film.

The attitude that stuck out to me the most about the subculture of skating was "we do what we want, where we want" and also the fact that only locals are allowed. You must make your way into the group and earn your spot, no one just comes in as they please.

The structure was was organized in a chaotic way. I believe this showed a lot about the subculture because it showed that they had fun and were outgoing but knew when they needed to be organized and stable.

The stereotypes that I always had or heard about skaters were that they were punks who thought that no matter what skating was all that mattered. I think this holds true after seeing this film, but in a more positive way. They were by far "punks", but they were also kids that came from rundown families. Also i saw how they made skating (and surfing) the only thing that was important to them, but it showed that they were passionate about their interest.