Bouncing Cats Review

Bouncing Cats (2010)

I was able to catch the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival film festival over the weekend which screened the break dancing documentary Bouncing Cats.  This film is about how a man in Uganda, heavily influenced by the break dancing culture in the US, starts a break-dancing youth group in one of the capital cities of the country and gives people hope.  The film mostly delves into the Breakdance Project Uganda (B.P.U.) founder Abraham Tekya’s goals and a special visit from the Rock Steady Crew, the pioneers of breakdancing. 
The film illustrates the struggles in Uganda, often reminding the viewers why it is considered the “most dangerous country for children” due to the high rates for kidnapping them and turning them into child soldiers.  Tekya, a Uganda native, grows up past his childhood and wants to offer some sense of hope and education to the children of the troubled region.  He decides to teach free lessons on breakdancing, stemming from his influence of the hip-hop culture, mostly from New York City.  As his group expands, Crazy Legs, a pioneer of breakdancing and founder of the Rock Steady Crew, visits Tekya’s B.P.U. and helps out the community.
 
The documentary touches on many issues such as third world culture, art’s influence on a community, and hope in a world full of despair.  However, being a documentary (and sorry, but I am just pointing the requirements of a documentary) it does not bring in a kind of strong stating argument.  The film mostly describes how hip-hop (and more broadly, art) can bring people together, but it does not necessarily challenge the status quo.  Don’t get me wrong, Bouncing Cats does a good job telling an inspiring story, but it feels like it’s an infomercial for donations to children in third-world countries at times.  What Bouncing Cats does successfully though is open a conversation for the audience to have a serious talk about many different topics of art.  This was shown immediately after the credits rolled.
 
After the screening, Crazy Legs gave a Q&A to the audience.  The majority of the questions ranged from his experience in Uganda and how it has impacted the country today.  One issue that Crazy Legs stressed about the film was exploitation.  He stated how he “felt guilty for filming” in the country and actually “wanted to punch the cameraman in the face” and mentioned how he felt a bit “selfish” since he was doing this for the art culture.  Crazy Legs pointed out that he felt the pain of the children in the country mostly because he grew up in the poor neighborhood of the Bronx back in the 1980s.  One thing he emphasized that should probably have been the main argument of the film was that “art is a commodity” that can be very beneficial to everyone since there has been no wars over art. 

All in all, Bouncing Cats serves it purpose in starting up a conversation.  It should be taken seriously as Abraham Tekya’s quest to change his country.