Unreserved trailer

Unreserved: The Work of Louie Gong“UNRESERVED” is an intimate profile of artist Louie Gong (Nooksack Indian, Squamish, Chinese, French, Scottish) who has long worked as an activist on mixed racial identity. In March 2009, he began merging Coast Salish design with pop culture art to create custom skate shoes that represent his complex cultural identity and the concept of “walking in two worlds.” While many are drawn to his shoes because they represent the confluence of multiple worlds, others simply appreciate the shoes’ freshness and originality.

Comment:  I watched the 0:52, 1:25, and 2:54 versions of this trailer. Sorry, but none of them grabbed me. Maybe it was the cool jazzy music, which doesn't seem the right choice for a video about shoes and skateboarders. Or the extended shots that gave the video a leisurely pace.

I watched the longest video first without knowing if it was the whole thing or just a trailer. When it was done, I thought, "Okay, it's done. I don't need to learn any more about the shoes."

Maybe this is because I've already read a lot about Gong and his shoes. Maybe it's because a few million Indians also have stories about "living in two worlds." If I'm going to listen to another of these stories, it has to be different...compelling...unique.

For more on the subject, see Gong's Shoes in Fashion Showcase and Gong's Shoes Take Off.