The Black Riders
Despite their name, the Black Label Bike Club is very difficult to label: members ride tall bikes (two frames high), live in tight-knit communities, and share a dissatisfaction with wasteful auto-centric culture. They are described as a "fringe network of tall bike jousters that combine and justify their medieval inspired competitions with environmentalist and anti-consumerist rhetoric and politically radical ideas." But even these labels don't capture the complexities of the club.
The documentary B.I.K.E., filmed during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, captures the spirit of the whole collective, its founders, and the individuals who weld and joust their way through the car-crazy culture they ride against. Equal parts ethnography and character study, directors Jacob Sepitmus and Anthony Howard use Black Label as a microcosm to explore "the ways in which identity is important for a collective of fiercely independent people." You can check out info, clips, and screenings here.
- 1-28-09
- Erin Shaw's blog
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Comments
Worth Watching!
I just saw this movie and thought it amazing. I had to let go of some personal judgments as many of these radical bike outlaws seemed to have a self-destructive streak. But they also were living in the moment, creating their own adventures, mythologies, and magical moments in their daily lives. They truly seemed to have formed their own tribe in the concrete jungles of Brooklyn, living free of the 9-5 grid that so many get stuck in. Also, the story of the main character/filmaker gives an unexpected depth to the film. He's brilliantly creative and passionate and we watch as he struggles with drug addiction and personal despair while also finding sublime moments of connection, expression, and transformation, but often at a cost.
the real deal