Where can we draw the line between poetry and rap? Both extraordinary ways to express oneself, but in between the two is a combination of both which is spoken word. In the inspirational movie "SLAM" written by Marc Lavin and Richard Stratton spoken word is a way for release of one's emotions. This movie follows Ray Joshua throughout some period of his life where he was caught in the wrong situation. One evening while selling drugs to his friend just to get some money a drive by occurred and shot his friend in the head. In shock Ray flees the scene and the cops catch him then arrest him for possession of drugs. While in jail Ray is in jail his prison mates are not so fond of him and bully him but one day Ray silences the violence with his spoken word piece called "Amethyst Rocks". Had he mentioned earlier to someone that he would use spoken word to silence other people's negative actions that person would have thought he was crazy to think that could work. Letting out his emotions left the other men surprised with his actions. While this event happened a poetry teacher named Lauren observed from a distance and admired Ray's bravery. After a flirtatious moment Lauren asks Ray to attend her poetry classes. These classes inspire Ray to do more so once he gets out of prison he changes his act and who he hangs with as well.
In this film the authors are trying to critique the prisons effect on society. They do this by showing how unfair the justice system is towards Ray. Ray gets into trouble with the law because of one force that defines who he is, this force is dealing drugs and it is his way to make a living; it's just a way for Ray to get by in life. This force defines him negatively because it gets him into the wrong situation thus lading him straight into jail. A positive force that has affected Ray is spoken word. He uses this as a way to vent as well as express himself. With the negative and positive influence Ray chooses to define himself in a positive way and is successful with it. He gets out of prison and makes a point to his friend that an eye for an eye will just make the whole world go blind. He also starts to hang out with a different crowd of people including Lauren. When spending more time with her he learns a lot about her past too.
One theme that occurs in the film is no matter how tough things go there is always an escape from the negativity. For example, Ray gets put into jail because possession of drugs and everything turned out so unfair for him. If he went to court and tried to prove himself innocent then was pleaded guilty then he would have to be in jail longer. Although he did commit a crime he was not responsible for the shooting. Once Ray is in jail he encounters many dilemmas with the other prison mates but in the end he finds an escape through spoken word. The negativity of others rash actions made him seek for a positive escape. Consequently Ray was let out of prison only if he could stop the "war" between his friends and the real perpetrators of the crime. His friends all want revenge but Ray preaches otherwise and his friends begin to accept it and decide not to fight back. Also Lauren lashes out on Ray because she thinks he doesn't know what she's been through or who she is. While this is occurring we find out that Lauren used to be a drug addict and a prostitute. This harmful lifestyle did not stop her from becoming a healthy person and staying away from the bad habits. In the end Ray attends a poetry slam and in his spoken word he says, "I would stand there and whisper memories of my children's future I would let their future dwell in my past so that I might live a brighter now" (Sha-Clack-Clack). These words mean a lot, and to me I believe they say he will remember his past and the past of his ancestors to allow himself and his future children a better and brighter life. If Ray and Lauren kept letting the negative forces define them then they would have never made it to a more positive lifestyle.
Throughout the film many inspiring events occur but my favorite part was when Ray stopped his friends from going to get revenge on who shot his other friend. I could relate to my favorite part because I try to be kind of a mediator and I like to try and get the message of peace out to the world. I can also connect to Ray and his escape through writing, whenever I am upset I take it out on a piece of paper and let out all my problems which relieves me. This whole film I believe has a great message and to viewers it shows that you can never let negative forces define you because there is always a positive escape. This film was very inspirational and I would most definitely recommend it so other people could be just as moved as I was.
In this film the authors are trying to critique the prisons effect on society. They do this by showing how unfair the justice system is towards Ray. Ray gets into trouble with the law because of one force that defines who he is, this force is dealing drugs and it is his way to make a living; it's just a way for Ray to get by in life. This force defines him negatively because it gets him into the wrong situation thus lading him straight into jail. A positive force that has affected Ray is spoken word. He uses this as a way to vent as well as express himself. With the negative and positive influence Ray chooses to define himself in a positive way and is successful with it. He gets out of prison and makes a point to his friend that an eye for an eye will just make the whole world go blind. He also starts to hang out with a different crowd of people including Lauren. When spending more time with her he learns a lot about her past too.
One theme that occurs in the film is no matter how tough things go there is always an escape from the negativity. For example, Ray gets put into jail because possession of drugs and everything turned out so unfair for him. If he went to court and tried to prove himself innocent then was pleaded guilty then he would have to be in jail longer. Although he did commit a crime he was not responsible for the shooting. Once Ray is in jail he encounters many dilemmas with the other prison mates but in the end he finds an escape through spoken word. The negativity of others rash actions made him seek for a positive escape. Consequently Ray was let out of prison only if he could stop the "war" between his friends and the real perpetrators of the crime. His friends all want revenge but Ray preaches otherwise and his friends begin to accept it and decide not to fight back. Also Lauren lashes out on Ray because she thinks he doesn't know what she's been through or who she is. While this is occurring we find out that Lauren used to be a drug addict and a prostitute. This harmful lifestyle did not stop her from becoming a healthy person and staying away from the bad habits. In the end Ray attends a poetry slam and in his spoken word he says, "I would stand there and whisper memories of my children's future I would let their future dwell in my past so that I might live a brighter now" (Sha-Clack-Clack). These words mean a lot, and to me I believe they say he will remember his past and the past of his ancestors to allow himself and his future children a better and brighter life. If Ray and Lauren kept letting the negative forces define them then they would have never made it to a more positive lifestyle.
Throughout the film many inspiring events occur but my favorite part was when Ray stopped his friends from going to get revenge on who shot his other friend. I could relate to my favorite part because I try to be kind of a mediator and I like to try and get the message of peace out to the world. I can also connect to Ray and his escape through writing, whenever I am upset I take it out on a piece of paper and let out all my problems which relieves me. This whole film I believe has a great message and to viewers it shows that you can never let negative forces define you because there is always a positive escape. This film was very inspirational and I would most definitely recommend it so other people could be just as moved as I was.