Friday Kanopy Movie Pick: Roller Dreams

You can watch movies via Kanopy at any time. To watch Roller Dreams now, click here, then sign into your account.

If you do not have a Kanopy account, you can create one. Click here for instructions.

Our Friday Kanopy movie pick features Roller Dreams, a documentary about the roller dancing craze that took over Venice Beach, California in the 1980s. The ocean side community became a refuge for young people of color seeking to escape the tumult of inner city life.

Known as Disco Alley, dancers Sally, Duval, Terrell, and their leader Mad, performed elaborate dance routines on the asphalt. This attracted men and women of all ethnicities, leading the dancers to believe that the prejudices of the past were behind them.

As roller dancing became increasingly popular, rivalries between old and new dancers escalated, drugs crept into the lifestyle, and police presence became oppressive. A once thriving multicultural activity was dismantled by gentrification and societal injustices.


How to use Kanopy 

Kanopy is a streaming service that is free to use with your WPL card.Your account has 4 watch credits per month. If you do not use your credits, they do not roll over to the next month. You will see a "play credit tracker" at the top right of your library's Kanopy platform to alert you of how many play credits you have remaining for the month.

To use a play credit, you must press play on a video and have the video play for at least 5 seconds. Once a play credit is logged, you will have a full 3 days (72 hours) to watch the video as many times as you would like without using another play credit, even if a new month starts and your credits reset. Your Viewing History will show any video that is still available to view in your 3 day window. After the 3 day window has expired, another play credit will be used if you press play on the video again.

Kanopy is currently offering credit-free viewing for select films. If you watch any of the movies on this list, you will not be using your credits. Once you log into your account, click the “credit free viewing" link on the top.