That B.E.A.T

This film is sponsored by Nokia for some reason and it is part of a series which look at musical subcultures and genres around the US. This film focuses on New Orleans and in particular a version of hip-hop called Bounce. At this point the skeptics will be very quick to point out that this very specific type of music appears to be very similar to other versions of hip-hop and dance-hall music because essentially it involves high-energy music, an MC and lots of people furiously shaking their ass in a manner which brings tears to the eyes of a man with a damaged disk in their lower back such as myself.

The film never really gets away from this and, although it is interesting to see and experience the energy and hear the people talk, it remains a very familiar scene. The one selling point is that, although it seems like just another excuse for women to be showing shaking everything in tiny shorts in a way that seems exploitative, it transpires that the gay hip-hop scene has embraced Bounce and thus many of the voices we hear and artists we follow are gay men, from the floor to the stage. Whether or not this stops it being exploitative to see the camera leering over people's asses just because they are men rather than women I don't know however it does at least make the film a little more interesting. Of course it is not the film to explore this aspect of the culture because it is all about the energy and it charges on.

It is a very superficial film about a musical sub-genre and culture which is not as unusual or different as the contributors would like to think, but the gay element makes it more interesting than it is and it is delivered with energy and a good camera.