Rather than throwing our chips onto the pile and say x, y, and z are the best of the year, EMERGE is going to try and identify a half dozen exemplars from the worlds of music, fashion, film, and art that made at least a few people stop, sit up, and take notice. These are works of creativity and conviction that dared to tell unusual or amazing stories, or maybe just told mundane stories in remarkable ways. These are the kinds of things that inspired, impressed and excited EMERGE over the past twelve months even if our fascination was more sociological than aesthetic.

For the first installment of Six of 2006 we have six films and filmmakers that we believe any thinking person should be all over:

(in no particular order)

1. When The Levees Broke directed by Spike Lee
Four gut-wrenching hours of raw footage and heartbreaking interviews probing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the anemic response to the greatest natural disaster in American history. Also highlights in bold relief just how far this country has to travel to truly fulfill the hopes, promises, and obligations of the Civil Rights Era. A masterpiece by a director who's own racial agenda has often prevented EMERGE from getting behind him. After this, we're prepared to let the antisemitism of films like Mo Better Blues slide. Buy the DVD here.

2. American Hardcore directed by Paul Rachman
A long overdue peek into the incredibly influential and vibrant hardcore punk scene that continues to influence both mainstream and underground culture to this day. From hipsters' ongoing fetish for the Misfits (check out the "Madfits" and "Recoverlutionary" shirts here for proof), to Emo blowing up so big it's landed in the "Made For Work" Mac vs PC spot, the iconography and attitude explored so thoroughly in this documentary continue to color popular culture in remarkable ways. And a little nostalgia for the rage and idealism of adolescence never hurts either.

3. The music videos of Ben Dickenson
EMERGE has written about Dickenson before, but as we reflected on our year-end wrap up of film talents, we realized that the young master deserved a spot in our Six for 2006 feature. With videos for EMERGE favorites like The Rapture, Supersystem, The Juan Maclean under his belt as well as countless "sharts" for MTV's cable empire, Dickenson's production company, Waverly Films is on a roll like never before. His colleague Jon Watt recently directed the clip for TV on The Radio's "Wolf Like Me" and the gang have lots more in store for 2007. EMERGE can't wait to see what they come up with next.

4. Borat starring Sasha Baron Cohen
At this point, there is nothing that hasn't been said about Baron Cohen's rogue Kazhak journalist or the comic masterpiece he sprung on a largely unsuspecting universe. Rather than echo the sentiments of the film's legions of fans, suffice to say that EMERGE hasn't laughed so hard in a long time. And the fact that Baron Cohen was able to elicit such a response while so brutally exposing the biases and bigotry of everyday Americans just makes the comedy all the more substantial. Let's hope 2007 doesn't unleash a million imitators. Kids recreating their favorite catchphrases has been bad enough.

5. The Vice Guide To Travel
The first in what looks to be a series of DVDs, Vice's travel guide won't be that helpful planning a vacation, unless you are planning to visit Kabul, Chernobyl, a Nazi town in Paraguay or maybe Beirut. It will, however, make you laugh, think, and even fear for the fate of humanity. Catch the trailer here. A two sentence blurb can't really do this DVD justice. Buy it here

6. Awesome; I Fucking Shot That! directed by Nathaniel Hornblower
EMERGE can't even listen to that last Beastie Boys album without getting frustrated, but we still got a lot of love and respect for these dudes. They were more than a decade out in front of the current streetwear craze, big in Japan well before Japan was big with the kids. So it's not so surprising that these old timers are the first band to reinvent the concert film by passing 50 digicams out to fans in the crowd and then cutting all the footage together. At times frustrating and certainly not a masterpiece of cinematography, Awesome shows that even as the Beasties shuffle off to the peripheries of the musical landscape, they remain far smarter and inventive than anybody initially gave them credit for. Cop a copy here.

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