Bomb the System (2002)

Inner-city commuters who assume that the ubiquitous scrawl of urban graffiti is sprayed into place by gangs of moronic, shallow, and narcissistic young vandals will be in for another think after digesting the knowledge dropped in Bomb the System (2002). Those swirling, multicolored “tags” adorning every subway wall and tenement stoop are more than simple expressions of primitive ego needs. In fact, unauthorized decoration of private and public property is a cultural phenomenon on a par with the manifestoes of the Paris surrealists. Simple crimes of petty desecration are elevated to high drama in Bomb the System. Corrupt and vicious oppressors in blue and the “bombing” crews they pursue have their consciousnesses raised alike, all with the magic contained in an aerosol can. And don’t discount the hip-hop beats of The System’s slamming soundtrack.