I recently watched a documentary film called “Carts of Darkness”. Murray Siple's feature-length documentary follows a group of homeless men who have combined bottle picking with the extreme sport of racing shopping carts down the steep hills of North Vancouver. This subculture depicts street life as much more than the stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The film takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.
Although this activity is illegal and condemned by the city of Vancouver it is obviously a release for members involved and encourages friendship and comradery between people in the homeless community. These people can’t afford a skateboard or a ski pass to the mountains and rely on what is free to create leisure. What do you think about this? Below I have provide a link to the movie, (it’s really entertaining, so watch and comment on it if you have the time)
It’s pretty entertaining to watch these guys go straight down the hills of North Vancouver. I would honestly pay money to watch a bunch of them race…. Perhaps a homeless cart racing league could be very interesting.
copy and paste the link below into your browser if you want to watch the movie
http://www3.nfb.ca/webextension/carts-of-darkness/
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ReplyDeleteOh wow! This does sound really entertaining. I think that the city of Vancouver should only condemn this activity if people are being seriously injured or if city property is being destroyed. If no one is being negatively affected then this could be a good thing for the homeless population. Perhaps some betting on the races? Maybe this is a more effective way of obtaining money to survive than to jsut panhandle in the dangerous downtown streets of Vancouver.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've only seen a little bit of it and to be honest I don't see how it can negatively affect anyone. Almost every house that they bottle pick at gladly lets them go through their recycle bins. And your right Dawson, it is a much more effective way of obtaining money and if i were to live in North Van, I would rather have these guys help themselves to my recycling instead of having them run up to my truck at a red light and try to wash my windows. Not to mention these guys have the sickest steeze on a shopping cart.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you censor your comments?
ReplyDelete