The other day, while snooping through the scrambled mess that is Netflix instant streaming (that’s right), I came across a surprise gem I wouldn’t expect to find in there. The film I caught was Infamy, a documentary style film that displays a different perception of taggers/street artists and the lives they live, and risk, in order to spray their emotions onto the next wall throughout big time cities like Philly and SF. Infamy offers an inside look into the everyday actions of SABER, TOOMER, JASE, CLAW, EARSNOT and ENEM, showin’ us what drives them to do this medium of art, even in times when graffiti seems to be the root of their problems. Impressed much?

The film makes no effort to hide the main stigma that surrounds street art: some truly see it as vandalism. In comes the man Joe Connolly, known as the Graffiti Guerrilla, who buffs out graffiti around his town for free. Yeh, from the name the guy seems like a G.I. Joe wannabe, but the dude is completely serious. So the film offers two sides of the story of street art, a smart move to appeal to an audience who might just be beginning their trek into this taboo world.

What really drove my interest was watching Saber walk down the LA River and discuss the nights he spent painting his iconic piece that would become a symbol for artists everywhere. After it all, I was left with this message: to do street art successfully is to live it, thrive in it, and sacrifice for it. It is not a livelihood, and you won’t make millions off it. Instead, others will be bringing in money in order to take you down. So you have to keep running, and let the love of the culture be your fuel.