hip-hop,ghetto,graffiti,vandalism,subculture,urban decay,1980s,rap,newark, new jersey

The Writing on the Wall (1986)

Poster for The Writing on the Wall

"In this half-hour documentary, Producer Sandra King provides an intimate portrait of a public phenomenon: Graffiti. Over an 18 month period, King and her crew followed the teenage members of a graffiti 'crew,' Vandals on the Street, as they painted and rapped and moved through the streets of downtown Newark. What emerges is a unique glimpse behind the 'tags' at the kind of inner city kids who write on walls, but who also make art; who create out of wedlock children, but who also form binding relationships; who drop out of school and never read a book, but who create their own brand of poetry through the medium of 'rap.'

Cast & Crew

Director
  • Profile picture of Henry Chalfant
    Henry Chalfant

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Keywords

  • hip-hop
  • ghetto
  • graffiti
  • vandalism
  • subculture
  • urban decay
  • 1980s
  • rap
  • newark, new jersey