Mia Sullivan
Staff Writer
Pepperdine hosted Reel Sessions last weekend, a surf film festival documenting the history of surf cinema over the past 60 years. The festival featured an eclectic mix of surfing films such as the modern hit “Riding Giants” (2004), the classic film “The Endless Summer” (1966) and “Gidget” (1959): the mainstream Hollywood phenomenon. The festival also included displays of vintage woodies, L.A. County Beach vehicles and Volkswagen Bugs and Buses. “Reel Sessions” was free and open to the public.
A surf film festival was appropriate given Malibu’s location, and rich wave-riding history, for Malibu is known for surfing and surfing pervades Malibu’s culture. It was also a valuable experience for locals. According to Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner, owner of Zuma Jay Surfboards in Malibu, “Anything the university can do to open its hand to the community is a good thing.”
Since the establishment of Pepperdine’s Malibu campus in 1972, there has been some animosity between the university and Malibu locals. During the 1970s, locals resented that many oak trees had to be razed for Pepperdine to be built. Once Pepperdine became more established and grew in size, locals resented that Pepperdine uses Malibu’s infrastructure, but does not pay taxes to the city. Most of Pepperdine’s land is technically outside of Malibu city limits. Moreover, University traffic causes congestion on PCH.
Within the surfing community, locals resent “Pepperheads,” as Pepperdine surfers are snubbed, primarily because transplanted students and teachers cause breaks to be more crowded. Locals especially don’t like when beginners crowd the breaks.
Events like “Reel Sessions” that bring locals together with the Pepperdine community are a positive step to smooth the split between Malibu and Wagner, having attended and spoken at the festival, expressed that it was a “valuable event to the surfing and general community.”
Events like these help locals who question the benefit of Pepperdine to realize that the Pepperdine community cares about the people of Malibu, enjoys opening up its facilities to the public and wants to develop a good relationship between the university and the city’s locals.
“Reel Sessions” was especially appropriate for Malibu because local surfers often only see the negative byproducts of Pepperdine, such as crowded roads and surf. At the same time, it would be too optimistic to think that opening up the campus will cause some locals to suddenly be pro-Pepperdine.
While Pep may get a bad rap and does contribute to the community, the locals have valid woes. Malibu is a lot more congested because of Pepperdine. Students increase Malibu’s population by over a third. Malibu surf breaks are crowded enough, and the influx of surfers, including a large pool of beginners, does not help the matter. At the same time, some believe Pepperdine surfers lack the maturity of seasoned local surfers.
Hawaiians were the pioneers of surfing, beginning to ride waves in the 18th century. Hawaii is also famous for pervading the aloha spirit, encompassing care and hospitality toward those around as well as respect for their personhood, even in the face of stressful environments, occasions and people.
The line-up at Surfrider Beach is certainly a stressful environment with upwards of 50 people trying to take off on one wave. The best surfers are those who make their fellow surfers at every level feel comfortable out in the water because they are the surfers with the most confidence. Surfing, as the Hawaiians understood it, was a natural, beautiful interplay between man and nature. The waves were not given human ownership; rather they belonged to Mother Nature.
Malibu’s waves do not belong to the Malibu locals. They belong to everyone. Until local Malibu surfers understand the true beauty of surfing— that God provides an amazing ride for all those who want to take it— they will never develop the aloha spirit toward the Pepperdine community despite the number of public events we organize.
03-22-2007