In Slam, the central character of the movie Ray, seems to get by through life with the help of his lyrics and poetry. While in jail, he is able to hold off a confrontation, and avoids being physically hurt by others, only by the power of his words. His poetry and lyrics set him aside from those who simply want to hurt others for pleasure. Ray believes physical confrontation will do nothing, he points this out when he advises his blind friend that shooting the person who caused the blindness will not bring him his vision back.
Ray realizes that his surroundings are pressuring him to participate in drug deals and violent crimes. He is advised by others to focus more on his talent by participating in Slam poetry sessions and then developing his skills from there. Ray’s surroundings are crime-filled, this is basically the culture of the society around him. What else is he to do but participate in his society’s same actions? He simply can’t stand by and watch as others kill each other and possibly aim to kill him.
Ray’s poetic talent is his escape from this reality. With his words he is able to move others. Show them that violence and drugs isn’t what the world is all about. He is able to give himself hope for the future, to prove to himself that he doesn’t have to be surrounded by crime and drugs forever.
This movie shows how society has a huge influence over a person. Ray was pressured into selling drugs and he went to prison for it. But, with the help of another, a prison teacher, he is able to pursue his dreams and use his talent to work to his advantage.
November 14, 2008 at 2:29 am
[...] were a few blog posts from our viewing of the film Slam that stood out: Wcarrasco gave a good explication of the film’s central theme, Jared drew a connection between [...]