Ken Park
Well Paul, I watched "Ken Park" the other afternoon. I've put it on the shelf next to "Thirteen"...I figured they would make a great "dysfunction junction" double feature!
Since I've worked in social services and mental health for so long the subject matter didn't shock me all that much. I've heard from women who are sleeping with their daughter's boyfriends and I've heard about the way people use religion to find solace after a tragedy but twist it to the point where it is stifling for their children. I've worked with a mentally ill kid who is being raised by his grandparents whom I won't be surprised to hear has killed someone someday in the future (he threatened to use the internet to find and kill me and my family someday when I've forgotten all about him...the people in the psych unit told me not to take his threat too seriously even though his father is in prison for strangling a prostitute he didn't want to pay...I didn't take their advice and looked into buying a gun because I don't think the apple ever falls too far from the tree and I don't want to end up as the lead-in story on the evening news). I've heard from the kids who have left home because of sexual abuse from parents and step-parents. I've read the files of a girl whose parents would organize family orgies and invite their friends to join in. I've heard about the drug and alcohol filled orgies that are taking place in upscale neighborhoods when the parents go away for a few weeks and leave the kids at home with no supervision. All this stuff, and more, happens in real life and all too often for most people to want to believe or accept. For me, the movie operated almost on the level of a documentary.
The only thing that shocked me was the actual climax of the autoerotic asphyxiation scene. Considering everything else that was in the film I figured he would go all the way and show the "money shot"...I just wasn't sure that he would.
All in all I say it was bold filmmaking and the kind that I would actually like to see more of. If half of the stuff that my wife, who is a clinical social worker, tells me about from her family sessions were put into a film it would never be allowed in a theater and people would say that it was too over the top and exagerated. Everyone accept for the parents who found their daughter's MySpace.com website with a pic of her drunk and giving blowjobs. They know this stuff is for real. And, I'm sure they wish someone would have given them a heads up before it was too late.
Since I've worked in social services and mental health for so long the subject matter didn't shock me all that much. I've heard from women who are sleeping with their daughter's boyfriends and I've heard about the way people use religion to find solace after a tragedy but twist it to the point where it is stifling for their children. I've worked with a mentally ill kid who is being raised by his grandparents whom I won't be surprised to hear has killed someone someday in the future (he threatened to use the internet to find and kill me and my family someday when I've forgotten all about him...the people in the psych unit told me not to take his threat too seriously even though his father is in prison for strangling a prostitute he didn't want to pay...I didn't take their advice and looked into buying a gun because I don't think the apple ever falls too far from the tree and I don't want to end up as the lead-in story on the evening news). I've heard from the kids who have left home because of sexual abuse from parents and step-parents. I've read the files of a girl whose parents would organize family orgies and invite their friends to join in. I've heard about the drug and alcohol filled orgies that are taking place in upscale neighborhoods when the parents go away for a few weeks and leave the kids at home with no supervision. All this stuff, and more, happens in real life and all too often for most people to want to believe or accept. For me, the movie operated almost on the level of a documentary.
The only thing that shocked me was the actual climax of the autoerotic asphyxiation scene. Considering everything else that was in the film I figured he would go all the way and show the "money shot"...I just wasn't sure that he would.
All in all I say it was bold filmmaking and the kind that I would actually like to see more of. If half of the stuff that my wife, who is a clinical social worker, tells me about from her family sessions were put into a film it would never be allowed in a theater and people would say that it was too over the top and exagerated. Everyone accept for the parents who found their daughter's MySpace.com website with a pic of her drunk and giving blowjobs. They know this stuff is for real. And, I'm sure they wish someone would have given them a heads up before it was too late.
posted by BMo2xl at 8:17 PM
4 Comments:
I agree...this would have worked much better as a documentary...either as an HBO "American Undercover" episode or as a theatrical release. In fact, if a documentary about this subject matter had come out it may have been nominated for an Oscar and spurred national discussion!
No way was it entertainment...but, I don't think it was supposed to be. Some would say that "Hostel" shouldn't be entertainment either...but, I liked it! Hey...I'm twisted that way!
I would have paid money to see this film and I believe that many people would have if given the opportunity. I'd wager that the only reason Clark couldn't find distribution for "Ken Park" is because people were too afraid of the fallout. As bold as people in Hollywood pretend to be most of them realize that it's a business first and foremost. They had no intention of attracting more attention from the Bill O'Reillys and the Jerry Falwells in our country would have held the film up as an example of all that is bad with liberalism, "secular humanism", not enough god in school and their other tired rants instead of dealing with the fact that the film is actually portraying a slice of reality that won't be found in their idealized Branson theme park world.
I think that if "Ken Park" and "Thirteen" had been presented in the context of illuminating contemporary adolescence and family dysfunction for a serious public discussion both films would have been received differently. Nothing in the films is too far from what is happening out there...they were just presented without context. That's where directors and publicists drop the ball. They should have been out there having discussions on NPR, getting serious pieces written in intelligent magazines, having politicians view the films who would then enact some kind of proactive legislation, etc. I think that films like these are too important to be seen as just theatrical releases that are supposed to turn a profit.
To hell with Larry Clark. Wanna see a film that Larry Clark stole all his ideas from? Rent "Over the Edge" from 1979, starring Matt Dillon in his first role. He's been playing the same character, more or less, ever since.
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Hey Dominic! I was thinking of "Over The Edge" a few months ago when I saw a bunch of kids hanging outside of a skate park that had it's gates closed and locked. The kids aren't allowed to skate but they don't have access to the one place set up for them to skate! When I went back a couple of hours later I saw kids still hanging out and waiting for someone to open the gate. They didn't look too happy and "Over the Hedge" popped into my mind along with the Valerie Carter version of "Ooh Child" that closes the film. This would be a good double feature with "Foxes"!
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