Review
GV7 is more than words, more than poetry... it's that elusive glimpse into the creative life we all seek.
Mr. Bryan captures the raw poetic world brilliantly in this film. He allows us to see beyond the words, beyond the ego, beyond the artistic surface. Don't expect a film like Slam.
Let me be clear: these are not actors; these are true poets. Expression and heartfelt passion are sustained from start to finish. These poets love poetry and deliver, deliver, deliver.
The film is filled with vignettes of not only the poetry, but of the poets themselves. The resulting impact is extremely compelling and enriching.
How many times have we seen only half the story? How many times are we left with soul-less pre-packaged MTV "art"? The poets in this film are the living embodiment of the soul.
Having just finished the film, the grin is still on my face. Poetry is alive. Poetry is still from the heart. Poetry is here. Take a peek. ---Luis A. Lopez, Author Warrior-Poet of the Fifth Sun Luis López, born and raised in the diverse population of San José, California, currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.
Born to Mexican parents, López has never been far from the teachings, the ideology nor the spirit of his ancestors. --Luis A. Lopez, Author Warrior-Poet of the Fifth Sun
Product Description
Filmmaker Bob Bryan has proudly unveiled his seventh powerful installment in his multi award-winning Graffiti Verite' Documentary Series entitled GV7 RANDOM URBAN STATIC: The Iridescent Equations of SPOKEN WORD.
He is releasing two (2) versions: An Unofficially Rated Version for General Audiences, Schools and Libraries and the Original Unedited Version for those who do not mind some raw street vernacular. Both versions will have a Running time of two (2) hours.
GV7 returns to the enigmatic world of Poetry. This time around he retrieves the perspectives of fifteen (15) uniquely talented poets involved in the world of SPOKEN WORD. From Grand-Slam Champions to Open-Mic Veterans, GV7 crosses all philosophical, racial, and social lines becoming the quintinessial SPOKEN WORD documentary.
GV6 THE ODYSSEY deals with those Poets who write words for the page, while GV7 RANDOM URBAN STATIC probes the reality of those Poets that write for the stage.
SPOKEN WORD has really connected with todays youth, principally because the poetric artform speaks intimately to their love for performance art, suppressed passions, subjective psycho / social issues and the cultural attitudes concerning the world in which they live. Poetry is an invaluable tool that helps them to unravel, clarify, articulate & document their experiences. Of course hip-hop has allot to do with the flavoring of this SPOKEN WORD communication paradigm.
I was thrilled to be able to get the Poets to decode and discuss their intimate hopes & desires, as well as their deeply personal disappointments and frustrations with the current state of hip-hop. Not all the poets shared a deep abiding love for hip-hop in its current incarnation.
Many of the Poets feel that hip-hop has within it's grasp the potential to be a positive catalyst for massive personal & social change. They feel unfortunately that its potential has been severely underdeveloped and in some cases perversely denigrated by some of its commercial practitioners.
But at the same time other poets in GV7 openly discuss issues of date-rape, the courage to be an artist, the psychological repression of women, How hip-hop can help or Hurt, HIV-AIDS & homosexuality, image vs. reality, obsessions, race-consciousness, anorexia, self-love, the high-jacking of black mens' masculinity & vunerability, disappointment with God, insanity, self-loathing, inspiration and salvation. Noone can say these poets tread lightly or try to avoid issues that we all, in some way or another grapple with. It's what makes this expression so relative, says Filmmaker Bob Bryan.
