Week 6

This week's movie was the documentary "Bustin' Down the Door".  It chronicled how a group of surfers from Australia and South Africa helped make surfing the huge industry/popular sport it is today by conquering huge waves and winning numerous titles along the way.  The beginning half of the documentary just detailed the experiences and travels of the surfers, while the second half focused on the tensions that arose between the surfers and the native Hawaiians.  It was really intense to learn about the progression of the problems between both groups, and how serious and dangerous the animosity got, which eventually culminated in death threats towards the non-native surfers.  I liked how the film showed both sides of the conflict, interviewing the non-Hawaiian surfers such as Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew, Shaun Tomson, and Mark Richards, while also getting the perspective of one of the most feared Hawaiians on the island (who gave me the impression that he enjoyed the tensions, with his nonchalant attitude and occasional smiles when he was talking about the events that transpired).  I also liked the ending scenes, where Rabbit, MR, and Tomson reunited to surf together as older men; they still could ride the waves as agilely as they did in their younger peak years.