Underground

I read about the Oakland underground film festival in the East Bay Express. The double feature included a documentary about Playland at the Beach, "Remembering Playland". Playland was a San Francisco icon until my uncle, a real estate developer, tore it down to build beach front condos. I had to go.

I sent a text to my cousin, his son, asking if he and hsi wife wanted to join me - thankfully they did. The film was a series of interviews with people who had gone to/grew up with Playland, and how they felt about it. The film maker did little to bring create anything more than a nostalgia piece on a place that eventually lost its relevance. What he failed to do was to explain why it was important and why it fell out of favor. Sadly, the most relevant part of the movie came at the end when the attendees acknowledged that it went into disrepair after one of the owners died, and it soon became a place where you had to look over your shoulder out of fear of an unsavory element. Much like my experience last weekend at the McCarthy lecture, this was a missed opportunity to create a relevant and interesting experience, offering only a walk down memory lane.

The underground film festival was held in the building which formerly housed Borders down at Jack London Square. The event, partially sponsored by the East Bay Express, was a mish-mash of activities, from free pinball (pinball machines from the Pinball Museum in Alameda), live physical theater by kids from the Kinetic Arts Center, ice cream in odd flavors from a hand-made ice cream place in the Fruitvale district, and of course, the film.

I took advantage of the free pinball and played a few games. The machines ranged in age from early (push the ball up into the slot) to new age with all the blinking lights and sound effects. I tasted a few of the unusual ice cream flavors (corn and cheese) and settled on coffee, and then sat down in a church pew to view the film. Sadly, book stores aren't built with acoustics in mind. The high ceilings and cavernous building with glass windows around did nothing to dampen the sound and no matter how loud they turned it up, the sound was only muddied by the space. But, in spite of poor sound and a mediocre film, the evening was not a loss. I got to spend it with my family and we had a great time together.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone