Micah Frazier Lani Riccobuono DJ Dyloot

Brian Botkiller, fwank.net/botkiller, November 16, 2004

When the RAVE (Reducing America’s Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act was passed into law on April 30, 2003 in a gross misuse of our law system, I knew that music of all kinds, not only Electronic Music, was going to be under the gun of the D.E.A. and other government groups from then on out. I had spent a long time campaigning against the RAVE Act, passing out flyers, spreading word, and sending petitions. Unfortunately, the RAVE Act was passed, and without the knowledge of much of the American people. Some, if not most, of our political “leaders” didn’t even know what it was. Le Sheng Liu’s documentary film, “Generation E,” sets out to change that.

The film follows a tried-and-true method of documentary filmmaking: interview, present facts, interview some more. However, Liu changes the formula by sidestepping the use of narration, opting instead to allow his subjects to narrate through conversation, adding a personal touch to each meeting. Liu works to meld information on what the RAVE act is and what it means for everyone in America, while bringing its effects closer to home by talking to musicians and people involved in their own scene. There are some great conversations here, especially those with Liam Shy of the San Francisco Youth Commission, who works to explain that even in San Francisco you have to fight for your right to party; and Lani Riccobuono, formerly of the ACLU. Couple this with interviews with patrons waiting in line at a club, security guards, musicians and DJs, and here you have a lot of film.

In a way however, this detracts from the point of the film. Tangents sometimes get in the way. An interview with a man recounting the destruction of his body from liquor comes at the wrong time. Sometimes it feels as if we are listening to the opinions of the interviewees rather than being presented facts, the driving force behind documentaries. Some editing could have kept it more to the point: that the RAVE Act is not doing all the good it was supposed to do. Liu would also do well to subtitle the subjects with their names and titles, as throughout most of the film I had no idea who was talking.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. There are not many documentaries covering the subject of Rave Drug use objectively. Every piece of media you catch on Ecstasy is going to tell you about how bad it is, while at the same time demonizing the music that it rides along with. “Generation E” gives us a view of those behind the scene, those making the scene. We need more of this, and we need more filmmakers to talk honestly about drug use, presenting usable fact and educating rather than building on fear. If you have a chance, I highly suggest picking up the film from his website, LeShengLiu.org. Pass the word around and get to know more about what is already affecting your scene.