12 O'Clock Boys

Saw 12 O'Clock Boys (thanks Nina!) It was a documentary which generally explores the world of street dirt biking in Baltimore. Our guide into this land is a young boy named Pug. He loves bikes and dreams of being a 12 O'Clock boy - someone who can make their bike point straight up, like the hands of a clock. It's dangerous since the cops are largely against this activity. You might get arrested, beaten, or just crash and die. So, you might wonder why he want to do this? Well, that's partly what the documentary exists for and of course the answer is complicated.

The bike riding is a way to blow off steam and feel powerful, even when that bike is all you have. You can ride around and feel like a king for a little while. Since the cops are involved, there's an adversarial feel to it. Now they have to, to show the cops they can't be pushed around. On top of all of this, they have a self-perpetuating mythology, fueled by YouTube. Pug tells us of "the legends" and talks of people I've never heard of. That's the tension of the documentary: this is what Pug loves to do to the detriment of his grades, his health, his family, and there's no future to it. He says he wants to be a veterinarian, but I think he means it in the same way that I'd sort of like to be a movie star: without the remotest hope of achieving that goal and without any consideration of what that would actually take.

Anyway, we follow this kid as he tries to ride with the big boys. His mother disapproves and despairs. The other, older dirt bike guys smile at him and treat him like a mascot, sympathizing with his mother, but one day he won't be cute and funny anymore. I feel like we're seeing the start of a life lived fast. The filmmaker at one point asks him what he's really going to do when he grows up but Pug responds "why plan? I could drop dead tomorrow."

To complicate this whole thing all the more, one of the ways these guys can make it is as influencers and youtube persons and this documentary certainly helps towards that goal. I looked up what Pug is up to these days and here's his Instagram. He seems to be doing okay!