i’m leaving everywhere

street wise (1984) dir. martin bell

it's disturbing when a "filmmaker" compiles scenes from a poignant film about the despair of poverty stricken youth for the purpose of promoting a pop song. keep in mind that the kid jumping off the bridge committed suicide before the film wrapped production, the girl was a 14 year old prostitute, another young girl featured in the film was stabbed to death a year later in a street fight – yeah, real chill and dreamy, right?

the theme of the film confronts the social imbalance caused by the neglect of the american government. it is meant to serve as a platform for political reform and discussion, not a truncated montage that is manipulated to reflect the nomadic mood of the song.

all we need to see now is someone mangle titicut follies and make an "unofficial vid" for best coast's "crazy." of course, the internet is incapable of intellectual debate, so i expect inane backlash, but think about it? would you watch the final scene of a film in which people are grieving a teenage suicide and think to yourself, "this would make a rad toro vid?"

yours truly,
ray misconcepcion.