Style Wars

Style Wars is an early documentary on Hip Hop culture, made by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant, made in New York City in the early 1980s. The film has an emphasis on graffiti art, although breakdancing and rapping are covered to a lesser extent. The film was originally aired on PBS, and was subsequently shown in several film festivals to much acclaim, including the Vancouver Film Festival. Style Wars shows both the young artists struggling to express themselves through their art, and their points of view on the subject of graffiti, as well as the views of then Mayor Ed Koch, a graffiti writer's mother, a policeman, art critics, a train worker, and people on the street. Style Wars gives a remarkable view into the graffiti subculture, and shows that its members were a racially and ethnically diverse group of creative young artists.