SLAM (FILM)

'''Slam''' is a 1998 independent film starring Saul Williams and Beau Sia. It tells the story of a young African-American man whose talent for poetry is hampered by his social background. It won the Grand Jury Prize for a Dramatic Film at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.

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Synopsis

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Synopsis

Ray Joshua (played by Saul Williams) is a young man growing up in the Southeast Washington D.C. area known as Dodge City. Despite his talent for poetry and his aspiration to be a rapper, he finds it difficult to escape the pressure to be a stereotypical young black male: violent and prone to drug dealing.
While participating in a drug deal, Joshua is busted by the police and sentenced to prison. When his lawyer informs him that it is unlikely he will leave prison for a while, Ray despairs, particularly as he feels pressured to participate in a culture he does not associate with.
In prison, he participates in the writing classes of teacher Lauren Bell (Sonja Sohn), whom he comes to respect and admire. She advises him to pay more attention to his talents. He ultimately leaves prison and convinces his friends not to participate in any more drug deals.
He reunites with Bell, who urges him to settle his legal troubles. They quarrel after Joshua expresses his fears about his upcoming trial and briefly split, Bell having first invited him to a poetry slam reading in D.C. that night. When he arrives, at the request of Bell, he is invited on stage and delivers an impromptu dramatic poem expressing both his fears and hopes for black males like himself.

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