The movie "Slam" directed by Marc Levin is a moving story about a young man who rises to be above the violence. Ray Joshua played by Saul Williams is an average black man who is trying to survive in the streets of Dodge City by selling drugs. Unfortunately, one day Ray was arrested when his drug dealer was shot. When arrested the police found on Ray 1/4 pound of marijuana. He is then sent to prison while he decides if he wants to plea himself guilty or not. In prison Ray decides instead of being involved in more gang conflicts he will be better than that. Instead of throwing punches he speaks up with powerful words. Like when he stopped a fight that was about to break out between two gangs in the prison, but he used his slam poem "Amethyst Rocks," and that immediately ended the soon to be disaster. He demonstrates that problems can be solved without violence.
Things like growing up in the ghetto are what try to define Ray. People that grow up in the ghetto are known to be drug dealers and being in gangs. They are never seen as people that can do anything successful in life. In the prison there were two different kinds of gangs that try to recruit him. Since Ray grew up in the ghetto the gangs thought that he will accept their offer and become one of the members but they were wrong. Ray didn't want to become just another member. He doesn't want to be involved in the conflicts or violence that gangs create. He instead shows them with his poetry that he doesn't need to be in no gang to survive. As he says "So while your out there serving the time I'll be in sync with the sun while you run from the moon" (Slam) This means he will not be another gang member stuck in prison like the other ghetto folks he will instead be in harmony while they are running from problems.
One of the themes that I see in the movie is to accept consequences. When a person does something bad and gets caught they end up with a consequence. Some people accept it but others try to avoid it. In the movie Jay was caught with marijuana and he deserved a consequence because he knew what he posed was wrong. Selling drugs is a crime and Jay knew this but he did not want to face the consequences at first. But at the end no one can ever ran away from their destine consequences. It will eventually catch you. It's better to accept it at once and not try to run away.
The best parts of the movie I would say are when Ray would recite his slam poems. Both the lyrics and the way he recites them are very powerful. If you notice both his poems talk about the history in slavery. He shows how slaves were stolen and had to work hard and did not live easy lives. This shows that slaves were hard working and when he looks back at that history it inspires him to do better. Even now black people are sometimes judged and treated badly because all other people think that they will cause trouble. Ray doesn't want to be another statistic; he wants to exceed the standard. He doesn't have to settle with what society hands him but instead try to become something better. This is something that all people should know and try. Everyone should watch this movie because there are many things you can learn from it.
Things like growing up in the ghetto are what try to define Ray. People that grow up in the ghetto are known to be drug dealers and being in gangs. They are never seen as people that can do anything successful in life. In the prison there were two different kinds of gangs that try to recruit him. Since Ray grew up in the ghetto the gangs thought that he will accept their offer and become one of the members but they were wrong. Ray didn't want to become just another member. He doesn't want to be involved in the conflicts or violence that gangs create. He instead shows them with his poetry that he doesn't need to be in no gang to survive. As he says "So while your out there serving the time I'll be in sync with the sun while you run from the moon" (Slam) This means he will not be another gang member stuck in prison like the other ghetto folks he will instead be in harmony while they are running from problems.
One of the themes that I see in the movie is to accept consequences. When a person does something bad and gets caught they end up with a consequence. Some people accept it but others try to avoid it. In the movie Jay was caught with marijuana and he deserved a consequence because he knew what he posed was wrong. Selling drugs is a crime and Jay knew this but he did not want to face the consequences at first. But at the end no one can ever ran away from their destine consequences. It will eventually catch you. It's better to accept it at once and not try to run away.
The best parts of the movie I would say are when Ray would recite his slam poems. Both the lyrics and the way he recites them are very powerful. If you notice both his poems talk about the history in slavery. He shows how slaves were stolen and had to work hard and did not live easy lives. This shows that slaves were hard working and when he looks back at that history it inspires him to do better. Even now black people are sometimes judged and treated badly because all other people think that they will cause trouble. Ray doesn't want to be another statistic; he wants to exceed the standard. He doesn't have to settle with what society hands him but instead try to become something better. This is something that all people should know and try. Everyone should watch this movie because there are many things you can learn from it.