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        Delete Resource - This Mockumentary Explains the Appeal of Skateboarding to Scared Parents

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        This Mockumentary Explains the Appeal of Skateboarding to Scared Parents

        Source

        Smithsonian Magazine

        OBJECT TYPE

        Blog posts Smithsonian staff publications

        DESCRIPTION

        City streets without skateboards seem almost incomprehensible in the 21st century, but in the 1960s they were a relatively new phenomenon that raised eyebrows among some parents who saw them as the dangerous tools of a reckless generation. Though CityLab’s Mark Byrnes writes that things have improved for Montreal skateboarders, the sport wasn’t always familiar to adults who worried about their safety, sounds, and impacts on urban spaces. So, in 1966, a Canadian filmmaker made a mockumentary about what he called The Devil’s Toy, a look at the ultimate weapon in the battle between kids and adults. 

        The film was made by Claude Jutra, a director known for his award-winning films for the National Film Board of Canada. A Quebecois nationalist, he was a pioneer of what became known as “direct cinema”—documentary films that captured events in real-time without voiceovers, staging, or directorial meddling.

        The Devil’s Toy is a notable exception to his low-key documentary style. Instead of just capturing skateboarding life among the kids of 1960s Montreal, it coopts the scaremongering tone of parents and authorities concerned about the growing fad of skateboarding. “It was like a plague,” says the documentary’s doom-and-gloom narrator, who tracks the spread of the “epidemic from which no one was secure.”

        Skating bans were the real epidemic of the late 1960s: The Guardian’s Iain Borden writes that by 1965, numerous U.S. cities had implemented skating bans. A 1965 piece aired on the CBC’s Across Canada says that “the police are directing an organized campaign to stamp out these menaces.” The news piece, which focuses on “skurfing” (Canadian lingo for sidewalk surfing), is pretty tongue-in-cheek, too. Not every adult seemed to be convinced that skateboards were “the devil’s toy.”

        BLOG POST CATEGORY

        Smart News

        Smart News Arts & Culture

        Smart News History & Archaeology

        NAME

        Smithsonian Magazine
        Creator : Smithsonian Magazine

        Keywords

        Smart News Arts & Culture Smart News History & Archaeology Smart News

        DATES

        2010s
        Published Date : Thu, 25 Jun 2015 18:08:44 +0000


        Additional Resource Information
        Record Link : http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mockumentary-explains-appeal-skateboarding-sixties-squares-180955702/
        See more post : Smithsonian Article Database
        Record Id : posts_ccab70f58615bd5da42ff20f20fc54cd


        Record Information
        The resources in the Smithsonian Learning Lab are contributed by museums, libraries, and archives from across the Smithsonian. We are constantly working to provide improved information for you. If you spot an error or know of an addition to this resource, please contact us and we will pass it on for further research and review.

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