The Arts in New York City

When I was five, my mom enrolled me into Mrs. Morton’s kindergarten class at St. Mary’s Elementary School in Manhasset. There was a parish closer to our house in Floral Park, but my mom and dad worked full time and St. Mary’s was the only school with an afterschool program that lasted until 6 pm. Plus, my mom wanted to do everything she could to keep me out of the New York City public schools. She didn’t want me to be exposed to violence and racism at five years old and she wanted me to have the simple, sheltered childhood that Catholic school would provide. For high school, I chose to continue my Catholic education at Archbishop Molloy, where once again I was extremely sheltered. So, because of my shielded childhood and adolescence, the New York Cities depicted in “Do The Right Thing,” and “Mad Hot Ballroom” are both unfamiliar to me personally.  I have only really seen them in movies or on TV.

In “Do The Right Thing,” there are four communities clearly represented the black community, the white/Italian community, Korean community and the Hispanic community. Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” completely plays into racial stereotypes. The Korean grocery owners, pizza dough slinging Italians, rap-blasting blacks, and Hispanic baby-mama all fit common racial stereotypes to a T. The stereotypes, sad to say have not changed at all. My only exposure to them has been from television. The media influences racial animosity and stereotypes more than anything else. Take the Jersey Shore for example: the Jersey Shore reinforces the stereotypes shown in “Do The Right Thing.” The dumbass, hothead Guido image had been passed down for generations.

Side Note: The problem with stereotypes is that majority of them are somewhat based in truth and that is why people get so defensive. For example, my family fulfills the majority of Italian stereotypes. My aunts all know how to make pizza, my dad has a terrible temper, and my family is extremely close and fiercely defensive. While we may not go as far as sending people cryptic messages with dead fish or leaving threats in the form of horse heads in some ones bed while they are sleeping, my family would do anything for me and I would do the same for them.  Plus, a few of my cousins with super frizzy hair have a tendency to go through a couple bottles of hair gel in less than a week and my a few of my uncles in Sicily own barber shops. No one would buy into stereotypes if they weren’t partially true.

In “Mad Hot Ballroom,” there are many different communities represented, except unlike “Do The Right Thing,” the community groupings are based more on socio-economics than on race. The film, which features 11 year olds from well-funded public schools and from poorly funded public schools, shows the vast difference in quality of education for kids living in underprivileged neighborhoods. With fewer supplies and resources, the kids coming from the poorer school districts are exposed to much more than those in wealthier school districts an are given fewer programs with which to express themselves.

Side Note: I think that the dance program showcased by this documentary was a great idea and wish that I had had something like that in my school. Unlike the characters in “Do The Right Thing,” the kids in “Mad Hot Ballroom” were able to overcome their societal boundaries and all compete together harmoniously. Despite their differences in racial backgrounds, the kids in “Mad Hot Ballroom” all get along just fine. The New York depicted in “Mad Hot Ballroom” is closer to my version of New York because it was filmed more recently. The 2005 documentary, with Blacks, Asians, Whites, and Hispanics all working together, juxtaposed along side Spike Lee’s 1980’s film shows just how far society has come.

I wouldn’t say I’m naïve, no, that is not it. I am just fortunate enough to be able to see New York through a more magical and idealized lens. Spike Lee’s New York, his community, is not the New York I know.  In my New York there is no blatant and violent hatred or loud incessant banter that bombs the eardrums, but rather an electric harmony that somehow just works. Obviously, my view of New York is extremely peripheral. I have lived in Northern New Jersey my entire life. Though I visit Manhattan and Brooklyn a lot, I have never lived in New York before this year. It makes sense that I mostly see the good and beauty in the city, rather than the social tensions and violence.

Yet, even with my sugarcoated vision, the New York portrayed in Mad Hot Ballroom makes more sense to me. It is more real and more balanced than Spike Lee’s New York.  I guess my comfort with the New York in Mad Hot Ballroom has to do with the fact that it deals with a child’s New York. The level of innocence I see in the city is still upheld. For these kids, no matter which neighborhood they are from, Tribeca, the Heights or Brooklyn, each of them are content with their own lot, and seem to be well adjusted to their surroundings and their fellow students. Even when a young girl from the Heights, begins to speak about the how guys will look at her differently in the streets now that she has matured, there is a level of acceptance that is barely visible in Do the Right Thing.

Then again, the two styles of the movies are each completely different. Spike Lee has made a movie about extremes, extreme communities, peoples, and extreme reactions.  While the director of Mad Hot Ballroom, made a documentary, meant to depict real life. Both carry a message, but while Lee releases his message through a story of “What if…” Mary Agrelo’s message is completely based in reality.

The comparison between these two films brings me back to my first blog, the one about The Indian Wants The Bronx. In this review, I pointed out something that struck me about the play, the idea of communication between different people. Communication is what brings people together or tears them apart. I think “communication” is an interesting theme to look at in the two films.

In Mad Hot Ballroom, the smooth communication and the graceful flow between each school’s stories can be attributed to two things. One is the fact that these people in the film are mainly children. No matter where you are from. How much money you have kids will be kids.  Children have a language of their own that unites them. Once children get older this understanding is sometimes shattered.

Then, there is dancing. Dancing is a language, a form of communication in itself. This dancing brought the children together, and got them excited for a united cause.

Do the Right Thing’s only communication is through screaming profanity, and eventually violence. Unlike Mad Hot Ballroom, it depicts many different communities within a single neighborhood. There is a current article in New York Magazine that speaks about rap lyrics. The article mentions lyrics from the rap group De la Soul, which formed in the late 80s. They say, “Neighborhoods are now ’hoods ’cause nobody’s neighbors.” This idea of living together physically but barely civilly, reminded me of Lee’s film. All these people live together but they can’t get over themselves and be civil. There always has to be fighting and shouting and derogatory statements. I found it poignant at the end of the film when the Asian storeowner simply said, “You, me, same! We same!” But sadly, as history truthfully projects, man will always find something wrong with those that are different than him.

Side Note: I have one more interesting point to make. Something I found in both movies is the literary idea of the child, old man, and crazy person, speaking the truth. I found the mayor, who was considered to be an old drunk, to have the most understanding and clarity.  And the Asian man, who owned the store, said, “we are the same”. With the children in Mad Hot Ballroom, all of them just seemed wise beyond their years.

The End 🙂

What is it about you. You’re big. You’re Loud. You’re tough NYC.

I go years without you, then I can’t get enough.

Enough of the cab drivers answering back in the language far from pure.

Enough of [the] frankfurters answering back [too].

Brother, you know you’re in NYC.

[It’s always] Too busy, too crazy, too hot, too cold, [and] too late.

I’m sold again, on NYC (Annie – N.Y.C.)

I know exactly what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. It isn’t because I ran out of ideas. Pfft it’s far from that… ish. But the real reason I decided to paraphrase these lyrics from Annie was because it just so happens to be the first thing that came to mind after reading the prompt.

And from what I can remember, Mr. Warbucks’ singing wasn’t half bad. For me he was probably the first male actor I remember singing [well] in a film.  What attracted me to his part in particular was the way he described our city. He had managed to fit in glimpses of the city that were familiar to me—assembling them into a cheerful and fairly convincing song.

It’s a shame that it doesn’t always work out that way. From what I’ve heard, the sounds of New York can be loud, deafening in fact, and even scary. Even scarier than politics. The sounds of gunshots, rape screams, and street violence. There are portions of New York that I haven’t seen and have only heard about from the news and word of mouth.

In the films Do The Right Thing and Taxi Driver, I was able to see the darker side of New York that was previously unknown to me. I took into consideration that the films were shot in the past, but it’s still hard to believe that it’s the same city I grew up in.

The incident that occurred at Sal’s pizzeria (Do The Right Thing) was a tragedy. Knowing that it was all scripted didn’t change much, I felt disgusted at all the racism and hate that was spread throughout the community. Although forms of racism still exist today, it was nothing like what I had seen, like there was two different definitions of the word.

How is it possible for something to balloon to new proportions and literally burst into flames like that? I am familiar with Korean deli owners, Italian pizzerias, Latino and Black delinquents, but I have never seen them that pissed off at one another. It was like each group had something negative to say about the other—attacks on even the most ridiculous of things, eating habits for instance. How could New York, the place I have learned to love, be so painful to watch?

Taxi Driver exposed an entirely different darkness, characterized by prostitution and under-aged sex. The idea wasn’t unheard of, but I didn’t REALLY think it was that bad until all the excessive violence and murders were shown. It seemed so surreal, one minute a guy is chasing love, and the other he goes commando. The fight scenes were a tad exaggerated and left me skeptical, but I had gotten a feel for the history that was being shown to us. It wasn’t pleasant and I didn’t expect it to be. I don’t think murder can ever be justified.

I can’t really say I’m accustomed to seeing films about New York. I haven’t been into the city enough to understand anything besides its hustle and bustle, and I haven’t been exposed to the so-called violence existing in Brooklyn, the Bronx, or Harlem. Neither one of the New Yorks felt real, and perhaps it’s a refusal on my part—I refuse to believe that the city we live in now could of existed in such a state of turmoil. I’m just too damn prideful.

I hope these films are just magnifications of regular street violence, just some work of fiction, just a source of entertainment.

I really do. It’s a shame if the New Yorkers of before had to live like that.

A real shame.