Series from 2009
Tribes of the 21st Century opens the door to fascinating sub-sets of modern humanity, from stand up comics to bike couriers and body builders. In each…
Stand-up comedy is Canada's edgy new Vaudeville, an industry built on the unlikely dreams and all-night driving of hundreds of men and women who travel across the continent in an endless succession of silly yet sobering one- night stands. They come from every province and every walk of life, united by an unquenchable desire to drown in a wave of laughter and recognition.
Like all modern tribes, bodybuilders are drawn from both sexes, and many different classes, colors and cultures. They share a supreme obsession - an all-consuming desire to no longer be what they once were - small, weak, and unformed. For the members of this competitive yet fraternal tribe, it is a re-invention that is intimate and personal, yet proudly public.
They are the Pony Express riders of the gridlocked downtown core, a defiant nation of solitary cyclists hell-bent for speed, freedom, and the adrenaline rush of a daily race against traffic, tradition, and time.