The documentary film Dawg Fight, came to our attention through a "qualified" word of mouth recommendation. By qualified, I mean having been told that watching it is like driving past a the scene of a horrific car accident...you might not want to look, you might intend to not look, but in the end you you will find yourself looking intently because you just can't help it.
Dawg Fight was directed by Billy Corben, one of the founding partners of Rakontur, a content creation company based in Miami, Florida. Those not familiar with Corben by name, or the name of his company, may recognize some of his productions. Cocaine Cowboys, Cocaine Cowboys 2, The U, Broke are a few of his more widely known titles. You may notice a common denominator in following Corben's work; the subjects of his films tend to be based around subject matter occuring in the state of Florida. It does not take away from the quality of his projects, it's just an observation.
That having been said, the subject matter of Dawg Fight, which is a documenting of the underground prize fighting matches taking place in West Perrine, Florida is captivating to say the least. Corben wastes no time in plunging the viewer into the universe in which Dawg Fight is centered, and the circumstances that have contributed to it. The first being a ghetto in southwest miami-dade county, and the second being a crime and poverty stricken area with a population that is more than 70% black, with a reported unemployment rate of one third.
The story is shown mainly through the point of view of Dhafir Harris(street name Dada 5000), and his crew, who run a promotion known as "Backyard Fights". In watching how Dhafir and his cronies manage and manipulate the fighters into putting on a show for the fans, risking life and limb for a disgraceful amount of prize money, one cannot help but see him in a bad light. However, in listening to many of those around him that speak highly about who he is and what he is doing for the West Perrine community, the perception becomes less and less clear. Then, when considering the background of many of the fighters, and their perspective on the situation, opinion gets real fuzzy.
After all, people have been prize fighting, for about as long as people have been fighting, and if prostitution is the worlds oldest profession, then prize fighting has to be the second oldest.
Dawg Fight can be a bit depressing at times, as well as heart wrenching, embarrassing, and wholly entertaining at others. It is thoroughly disappointing - but only in the sense of the sociology at work, and the picture of our society that we see reflected back through the lens. There are few success stories, and more than a few tragedies, but such is the commonality of the struggles to rise out of poverty.
If you're a thinking, empathetic person, Dawg Fight will leave you with many unresolved thoughts and feelings. If you're not, then you will likely find it interesting, at the least. After the end credits I wondered: What was Corben trying to present? I asked myself what his perspective was, because to me it wasn't clear what HIS position was. Initially, I considered it to be a flaw of this production, but then I remembered that it is not the job of a documentary filmmaker to take a position. The job is to document the subject matter, and then present it in a manner that will hold the viewer's attention, while simultaneously educating, informing, and with luck, entertaining.
To that end, Dawg Fight does that, hands down...or should I say, hands up? (pun intended)
