Dogtown and Z-boys

I think this is an ethnographic study because they went and interviewed people and researched the past behaviors of them.  They did rely heavily on interviews but there was still some research involved.

The people being interviewed were the people that were part of dogtown.  They were more or less the creators of it.  They moved the story along by telling stories of their experiences in chronological order.  They would tell a story and then progress a few months then tell another story.  They gave us an insider's look into that culture.  This documentary would've been completely different if they hadn't had the first hand accounts of what happened.  It made it more believable hearing it from the people that were there and involved in it.

Most of the people interviewed gave off a sort of "I don't care" attitude at the time.  They did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted and they really didn't care what anyone else thought.  At one point, one of the guys said that if they got caught skating in an empty swimming pool, they would go back the next day and figure out how they could get away with it again.  I thought that the fact that no one else was allowed to join them unless everyone agreed on it was interesting.  It shows that they have rules and that no just everyone can join.

The documentary is structured in chronological order.  They were telling a story but incorporating interviews and research into it to make it more interesting.  I thought this helped my understanding of it because, again, having the interviews made it seem more real and true.

Some of my stereotypes about skateboarders held true throughout the movie.  I think that they are more free spirited and live on the edge more than other people.  Some of the things that they talked about reinforced my thinking such as trying to avoid the cops again and not caring what any one else thought.