What's going on here? I dunno. A recent Michael Rovnyak photo, it looks like John there, jumping over someone paddling in the wrong place at very much the wrong time. John is a really, pretty really good surfer, if that is John, and all the other things I'm seeing tell me otherwise on the speed bump (knee leash on a small day being the most obvious clue). But maybe they are friends horsing around? Dunno. It certainly highlights that this time of year can be awful for full time New York surfers. Actually, right now it can be glorious here. There are tons of relatively empty beaches with nice little working breaks that no one pays attention to. The water is warm. The hubbub of the city has slowed down just enough to allow free time. But at the high tone spots, the ones you hear about, it can be a circus of bad attitudes, bad decorum and minimal understanding of how to operate with a crowd in the water. New York is undergoing its own prolonged Gidget moment. Surfing is not-so-suddenly a hot commodity, a lifestyle suddenly attainable for blue to white collar. This isn't a bad thing in itself, or doesn't have to be. But the influx of well-meaning people unaccustomed to the rules of the lineup stresses the system at some critical, popular joints. It will be interesting to see what this movie makes out of it all. By the trailer it seems to have a specifically dim view. Made by some Montauk residents, one can assume it will cleverly skewer the unknowing masses. But maybe it will take a left turn. Maybe it will offer up something more inclusive; something everyone can laugh at. Maybe it will be so exclusive that someone will learn an important lesson. Only the film will tell. The full-length premieres out east in August. I hope I can make it.
14 comments:
That's a terrific shot. Talk about being set up in the right place at the right time.
I don't understand the scene with the Range Rover. Actually, I'm sure I understand what the film makers are implying, but does having an expensive SUV really equate to being a kook? Seems more like jealousy to me, or perhaps anger towards a rapid influx of outsiders, or whatever... which I can understand. Regardless, I think it's a questionable image.
"Remember it's all a dream."
Great shot!
Speaking of Kooks, have you heard of the surf mag KOOK? The only reason I think of it for you is that I have sourced a load so many cool things from your site, and Kook is very rad in your style - I think Andrew Kidman contributed too.
It's not my mag sadly :)
Jamie
http://www.danielcrockett.co.uk/
I saw this on the Urchin blog too.
"Tin is particularly fond of people stretching , before they surf, bordering on obsessive, so he would photograph them for the zine."
I wonder if they just pointed the camera at anyone they didn't know doing something they thought was "kooky"? Judge and jury? Or are they the judge and the viewer is the jury? The idea could be funny, but it sounds like they just turned their camera on anyone they think is a kook in passing. Probably a pretty wide net, judging by the trailer. Too indiscriminate. I wonder how someone would feel if they saw themselves in this movie?
They try to cover their tracks a little by saying:
"Everyone is a kook at one point in their surfing, we have all been there. Unfortunately the kooks are the majority rather than the minority with surfings current popularity in NY in particular . You maybe see a handful of good surfers these days."
That may be true. But have they documented anything real? These little snippets of someone's routine and all of a sudden they are a kook and calling someone a kook and putting it on film and labeling them that is no small thing. Looks like they are just being jerks and a lot of people are going to feel pretty bad about themselves because of it.
Maybe not. We'll see.
This is just cyber bullying - have we learned nothing from recent events? It has always seemed to me that the surfers making fun of "kooks" (usually just beginners really) are the same people who never went past high school, or lived anywhere else. So they are probably the same jerks that bullied people in school. If I was in that movie I would sue them for not gaining my agreement to use my image.
Everyone has a camera now, everyone thinks they are an satirist. Few have any talent.
"Everyone is a kook at one point in their surfing, we have all been there. Unfortunately the kooks are the majority rather than the minority with surfings current popularity in NY in particular . You maybe see a handful of good surfers these days." So what. Who says you get to dictate the percentage? If you're surfing in a spot overrun by beginners, what does that say about your surfing skills? And if we've all been there, too bad you didn't film yourself learning so you could make a movie about that. Kook.
not calling EB blogger a kook, just the filmer.
Wow! This is getting good.
Bobby is a kook, bobby is a kook, na na na na na, BOBBY IS A KOOK!
Well, one thing that sucks is having to delete comments. But it had to be done. Left the least dramatic one up.
It's all dream until someone gets bullied.
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