Minding the Gap

This is a famed 2018 documentary I should have viewed much sooner, for a specific reason: 

This documentary was filmed in the town I was born in (Rockford, Illinois) which was also right next to Belvidere, the city I grew up in. One of my two sisters still lives in the area; she and her beau have nice jobs so this is why they haven’t moved away from a city that is still suffering from the effects of being hurt by the decline that all the other Rust Belt cities have… or while the crime rates have improved, for years Rockford was infamous for being at or near the top of the list for crime in the nation, as the documentary explained in one scene. Thing is, Gap’s main themes could have been presented by similar kids in many different cities across the United States.

Minding the Gap covers three youths who have formed a bond via their shared love of skateboarding; the viewer follows them through the years. The opening minutes-where they skateboarded around their city-several locations were already recognized by me. Director Bing Liu filmed his buddies Keire Johnson and Zack Mulligan—they and their ancillary friends do typical teenage things. This includes cursing like sailors, general hooligan behavior and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon despite being teenagers. The PBR thing was at least popular in Belvidere when I was a teenager and apparently it is still popular in the region!

This documentary is serious; among other moments, there is teenage pregnancy, the introduction of Nina-a woman who becomes involved with one of the main players-racism (Keire is Black) and the realization that all came from fractured life at home as children. Other revelations are made, which I dare not spoil. They try to make it in a city where unemployment is rife; it was a bad problem when I lived around the area too. Skateboarding is not my thing; Lord knows I’m not coordinated to do such a thing. That activity is presented as a time when they can forget their troubles, whether romantic relationships or any other struggles.

Minding the Gap is compelling as unfortunately, I imagine many people around that age in the past decade or so have dealt with similar struggles. This includes the most disturbing allegations made in the film. The film is in general downbeat although not every main player ends up in a bad spot or constantly does bad things throughout. I am glad that while my family life wasn’t perfect, at least it was not chaotic like what they experienced. Not that I’m saying this to sound “superior”; I have varying degrees of sympathy towards them. Likely, one of them you’ll not like due to their behavior and what they state on camera. It’s all complicated, like real life is. The movie is shot and edited quite well, especially considering this was Bing Liu’s debut.

I was happy to have finally tackled Minding the Gap. The documentary was quite the rewarding journey, even through all the difficult moments. For all of its faults, Rockford (and Belvidere, for that matter) can be a fine place to grow up; fate more than anything else will determine your childhood. Me, I still miss a variety of people who I grew up with-many of them stayed in the area and for the most part they’ve been doing fine.