The achievements of female athletes are generally undervalued in the sports world. Case in point: the frequently dismissive attitude towards women's big wave surfing. Filmmaker Dayla Soul's documentary concentrates on a group of women nicknamed the Outer Bar Babes, who have challenged the waves on San Francisco's Ocean Beach, as well as other California sites such as Mavericks and Maui's Jaws. The film's title refers both to often expressed denigrating comments and to the misguided media notion that the women should be expected to conform to a standard of bikini beauty that is hardly compatible with the muscular physiques that they must develop in order to thrive in the sport (or the wetsuits that they wear). Soul includes footage of the surfers training and taking on the waves, as well as excerpts from interviews in which many, including Andrea Moller, Keala Kennedy, Jamilah Starr, and Bianca Valenti (who serves as the focal character), describe their intense enthusiasm and hard work. The film also captures the controversy that erupted over a campaign to add a women's competition to the Titans of Mavericks, the world's premier big wave surfing event—a struggle in which Valenti took a leading role. A documentary likely to inspire aspiring female athletes, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
It Ain't Pretty
(2017) 70 min. DVD: $59.95 ($199 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors). Volume 32, Issue 5
It Ain't Pretty
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