Block Party

Block Party
In Dave Chappelle’s Block Party you are able to witness Dave’s pursuit to bring together a community of people of all demographics to attend a free block party / Hip Hop show. Within the beginning of this documentary Filmed by Michel Gondry, you see Dave Chappelle as his humble self. You see him as the way he acts in his normal or somewhat normal life, yet he is still entertaining us. Dave travels around his hometown in Ohio looking for local residents to attend his block party. Not only is Dave looking for local residents, he is trying to get people who wouldn’t typically experience a Hip Hop show in Brooklyn, almost in a way to open people up to something new. Through all of this I feel you can get a better idea of who Dave really is, and to me he seems like a great person. I really like this film and the way it portrays Hip Hop culture. I do like Hip Hop although I haven’t really listened to it on a regular basis. However I have always had a familiarity with it. I am also familiar with the work of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, who both make up Black Star and represent some of the Hip Hop that I like the most. I have also heard of, and listened to at one time or another just about everyone else who was in this film. I guess I have somewhat of a different out look on this subject matter because of my involvement within music and the recording industry. As well as the fact that I have worked with different Hip Hop artists from all the different demographics that Hip Hop has. I also challenge my self to listen to different music and always keep an open mind to everything until I am able to hear it myself and create my own opinions. With that said I definitely think that Dave made great choices with the musicians that he gathered to represent Hip Hop.

After reading Dyson’s work I was just reminded of the constant argument that has happened time and time again with many different types of music. Dyson expresses what I would hope more people realize, and that’s that you can’t just generalize a style of music with an entire culture of people. Hip Hop/Rap music has been around for many years, and has many different demographics to it. You have to look deeper into it, into its origins where they can be traced back to, well Brooklyn, the hart of Jamaica, and the Afro-Latin styles of Caribbean music. I believe that Dyson would give Dave’s Block Party the seal of approval based on the representation of Hip Hop music that he created. I also think that Dave shares and or agrees with Dyson’s depiction of Hip Hop culture as well as most of the performers who were in the film.

In researching alternate reviews of block Party I came across a review by Ebert and Roeper which I couldn’t agree with any more, this review was found at http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/mp3/060306-dave_chappelles_block_party.mp3 or searched for Block Party at www.rottentomatoes.com and clicking Ebert and Roeper’s review. Here they comment “the performers Chapelle uses are not from the hard edge of rap their not gangsters but accomplished musicians and created a harmonious spirit in Brooklyn despite the rain that day.” The only part of their comment I wasn’t crazy about was the statement “not gangsters but accomplished musicians” this to me just seemed like they didn’t get the message of the film. However Roper did say “I want to see another hour of Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.” There were also a few reviews that were poor given to the film, and what I gathered was that they were all responding on the footage of the film. Like “It looks like run-of-the-mill party videos shot by a drunk.” Quoted from Jim Lane of the Sacramento News & Review found on rottentomatoes.com. Although some people may not have like the footage, or possibly the mobility or unsteady shots given (Jim Lane) I on the other hand maybe through a biased view being a fan of Gondry’s work, felt that it just added to the experience and actually brought you further into the film as if you were there, rather than watching some over produced large budget style of concert footage.

Well I can definitely say I enjoyed this film, I also feel that Dave did a great job at representing Hip Hop, and delivering a fantastic set of performances to an audience who are new to the scene, or already fans. If anything I think Dave did a great job of taking viewers and opening up a different view about himself, a style of music and a culture that has gravitated around it.