It’s weird looking back on the semester as a whole. You almost forget how many things we saw, read, watched, or listened to until you’re forced to. It’s interesting because despite liking or not liking each piece of art, I feel that everything we interacted with during the semester was useful in our journey to understand New York on a deeper level.

Now, anyone can talk about the pieces they really liked. (Intringulis and Maria Full of Grace for the record) I thought it would be more interesting to look back on a few of the things that I wasn’t as fond of.

We can start with Anthony Caro. To be fair, my view of this exhibit was a bit biased. Because the event on September 11 was cancelled, it was the first class outing. Exciting right? Except I wasn’t able to go.  So while everyone else was able to discuss the beautiful sunset over Central Park and the interesting posh New Yorker scene, for me, the art was left to stand on its own. Needless to say, I was a bit annoyed, so when Zohar and I met on a Sunday to go check out the exhibit, I might not have been in the best mood. Whether because of this, or simply because it wasn’t really my style, Anthony Caro’s sculptures did not speak to me. However I do think they made an interesting statement on the industrial nature of New York City, especially against the backdrop of Central Park. Additionally, for everyone else it definitely fit into the Haves and Have Nots unit.

I’ll group the plays together. I was not the biggest fan of God of Carnage or In Arabia We’d All Be Kings. However I think they were such great representations of caricatures of New York inhabitants. Interestingly enough, they were total opposites. God Of Carnage gave us a sneak peak into the over privileged, back stabbing, pretentious group. (I’m not sure if was ever explicitly said, but I assumed the play took place on the Upper East Side) In Arabia We’d All Be Kings then took us on a trip to the opposite extreme. The people with no money, no education, and no hope. Since I assume few people in our class belong to either of those categories, I think the plays were worth reading despite my not enjoying them. [The same type of thinking can and should be applied to The Bald Soprano. Great social commentary, but I wish I would have understood it more while I was watching.]

Do The Right Thing was the only movie I actively didn’t enjoy. No character was actually likeable. There were too many and yet not enough things going on.  It just all in all dragged on for way too long. And yet the message still resonated with me. I can still remember the scene where each character just stares straight at the camera spewing racial stereotypes. I think it was an especially interesting movie to watch from the viewpoint of people living in Queens, one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods. No matter how understanding we are, there will always be times when sparks will fly, and we have to watch where they land or they can start a fire. (Did I go too far with the metaphor?)

Now I could keep going, discussing the pieces that deepened my understanding of New York as a center of art, a residential area, a tourist attraction, and a mythical wonderland, but we’d be here all day. Call me an optimist, but I think everything we saw this semester was worthwhile.

Although the dense cloud of Jewish holidays in October was a bit inconvenient, missing a lot of the performances afforded me the opportunity to go on some nice adventures around New York City to see the performances: Zohar can attest to that.

Also, if anyone is actually still reading this, I just want to thank you all for a terrific semester! I loved hearing everyone’s thoughts. They were actually really helpful in understanding things on another level. If you ever feel like your opinions don’t matter, you should just know that Zohar and I bought tickets to see Asuncion on Wednesday night because of the rave reviews you guys gave it.

(I just read that back and I think I came off sounding a bit too cheery, but you know what? With finals coming up, I’ll take any opportunity to sound really happy!)

Hola! Namaste! Hello! to all my good friends of a multiplicity of ethnicities. My how time flies! It’s already the final blog post…I remember when I was just a tiny zygote differentiating into a myriad of complex structures (OK, that’s way too far back). Well, if there is one thing I can say with much assurance it is my experience of New York City changed dramatically via this course. I have learned to witness New York City in ways I would have never imagined before, both good and bad. Through this course, I definitely gained a profound appreciation for the arts and realize the tremendous amount of work required to be successful in the spheres of drama and theater. Kudos to all the performers out there for their industrious efforts! Now let me share with you my scintillating journey of the arts in this class.

When I first read the play God of Carnage, I was thinking “Oh my goodness, these adults are so sophomoric.” Personally, I was just shocked about how indecisive and childish the parents were in this play. Rather than making a peaceful attempt to solve their problems, the two families exacerbated the situation by vilifying one another. Furthermore, the play In Arabia We’d All Be Kings was a great example of the haves and have nots in New York City. Nevertheless, I was astonished at the amount of profanity utilized. I do not use profanity myself and maybe that is why I did not enjoy the book as much. But when I think about it, I believe the author had to incorporate the vulgarity in his play to demonstrate a “realistic” view of New York. I feel that the other plays read in class, such as Mercy Seat, The Matchmaker, A View from the Bridge, and Yellow Face all did their fair share in describing to us various vantage points of New York City. I do not think that one play did more than the other in delineating New York because they all discussed about different aspects of New York, such as immigration, haves and have nots, and fantasy/nightmare. In my opinion, I enjoyed The Matchmaker the most because of its humor and the fact that it had the happiest ending of everything I have read or seen in this class. Honestly, reading some of these plays just made me more cynical and depressed because of how low some humans can stoop to be satisfied. I’m just glad I had the opportunity to read these plays because it was indeed an eye-opener. I think it’s about time we jump ahead to the movies part of the class.

After watching Manhattan, Taxi Driver, and Do the Right Thing, I was contemplating over “WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO?” So many negative events transpired in these movies and I could not handle it anymore. My innocence was gradually being reduced to zilch viewing these films. There is too much corruption and many immoral deeds in this world. These films showed to me a side of New York that utterly made me speechless (yes, in a bad way…). All I could think was reform is necessary in New York. Moreover, when I viewed the films Maria Full of Grace  and In America, I noticed how difficult it was for immigrants to adjust to life in New York City. Sure it may be the city of opportunities and magnificence, but many immigrants struggled to become successful in this very city, including my friend Carlos in Intringulis. Seeing Maria swallow the drugs down her throat made me commiserate with her. Yes, Maria was doing the wrong thing, but only to enhance her life. Also, In America revealed to me the struggle of an Irish family to assimilate with the environment and life of New York. The Irish family may have been off than Maria in the end, but they still had to work arduously to earn a living.

Finally, let me talk about the performances I have seen. Asuncion was by far my favorite performance all semester. I never laughed so hard before and it was the first chance I ever had to meet celebrities! Even though I liked Asuncion the most, I feel it was not as successful as the other performances in conveying its message due to the large amounts of levity in the play. I think that Intringulis by Carlos was the most powerful performance because through his music and acting he manifested to us college students the hardships he and his family endured as an immigrant. Very meaningful, indeed. In addition, I loved the Supernatural Wife because it portrayed Greek mythology in such an entertaining form. Yes, some portions of the dance were awkward, but Hercules playing the drums and his witty remarks made me laugh out loud. Even better were the amazing seats we had in that theater. You may be wondering why I left out Don Giovanni, but how can I say anything if I was asleep half the time watching it?!?! All I recall, is the extremely cool fire effects, in which Don Giovanni perished (yes, he deserved it big time!).

Overall, my favorite work as a whole was Asuncion because it made me laugh and not depressed like some of the other things read or seen in this class. Nevertheless, the view of New York City I found most truthful was the one depicted in the film Maria Full of Grace because some scenes were so graphic that I could vicariously feel the pain of some of the characters, especially Maria’s. I think that all the films, performances, and reading demonstrated a new side of New York to me and were all successful to some extent in transmitting their messages. I really appreciate it Ms. Healey for exposing not just me, but all my other fellow classmates to the two different sides of New York City. I feel that your explanations regarding these performances, movies, and plays elucidated several things for me. I am very happy I had the opportunity to take this course because now I feel more educated about New York City. Once again, thank you very much Ms. Healey and I can say without hesitation that I learned soooooo much in this class!

What was my favorite work from this semester?  If we’re talking about performances, I’d say Intringulis or Asuncion.  But I’ve already written blogs about how much I loved those, so…what about the plays?  My favorite of those was The Mercy Seat, but I don’t think I have enough else to say about it that would fill an entire blog.  That leaves me with the movies, something we really didn’t blog about, and my favorite of those was definitely Taxi Driver.  So now I’ll finally get my time to profess my love for Robert De Niro!

No, seriously.  I love Robert De Niro.  I’ll admit that originally I actually wasn’t too thrilled to have to watch Taxi Driver.  I was expecting it to be another one of those “classic” movies that I wouldn’t love but would feel important for having watched.  Needless to say, I was really surprised to find myself hooked.  Taxi Driver made me think about the Vietnam War and its consequences—we always hear about the questionable politics behind it, the protests, and the death toll, but what about the people who physically survived but were mentally ruined?  It’s a thought that really affected me personally, because my dad would have served in Vietnam had he not gotten deferred.  If he’d actually had to go to war, would he be a completely different man?  Would he have become like Travis, wandering lost without a purpose in life?  Would he have even survived?  Of course, it’s crazy to get into hypotheticals like that when he never even went to war in the first place.  But Taxi Driver actually made me think about those things.

I feel like in Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese was really able capture that post-Vietnam turmoil.  America was still reeling from Watergate, there was an oil shortage, and inflation was getting out of control.  In short, we were in dire straits.  And in the middle of all that is Travis Bickle, up a creek of his own.  He’s an unlikely hero at best, and I don’t even think I would call him a hero.  Rather, he’s a man who is completely and utterly lost.  He needs help, but who’s going to give it to him?  Not the government—the government has too much on their hands right now to deal with veterans like Travis.  Not Betsy—she really wanted to like him, but I don’t blame her for backing away.  Certainly not Iris—she’s got her own issues to deal with, and she’s only 12 years old.  Ironically, the one man in the film who wants to bring about social change and help people like Travis is the very man Travis plans to kill.  So Travis really is stuck rolling in neutral with no place to go.

I actually watched Taxi Driver twice:  once with my brother and once with Natasha and Alyssa.  The first time I was on edge nearly the entire movie, waiting for what I thought was the inevitable assassination of Palantine.  The second time, since I knew what was going to happen, I was able to focus more on the way the movie was put together.  I love the creepy paranoid shots of Travis looking through his rearview mirror, the sleazy jazz music that plays throughout, and the way Scorsese always cuts off part of Palantine’s face when his ads are in the background.  I feel like it’s kind of strange to say that I loved Taxi Driver, because I don’t feel like it’s the kind of movie you’re supposed to love—it’s definitely not a fun film you’re going to watch with your friends on movie night.  I think what I’m really trying to say is that I love the way that movie made such an emotional impact on me.

I also feel like Taxi Driver is the movie that displays what is closest to the most truthful image of New York for me.  On one hand, we see it as a place for where people succeed and thrive, like Betsy and Palantine.  But we also see that nightmarish side it has as well, where those who aren’t up to speed quickly get left far behind.  Although I’ve said that New York is my personal Eden, I also definitely realize it’s not that perfect place that Hollywood wants you to think it is, and I think it’s incredibly intelligent for a Hollywood film to acknowledge that.  So I can’t be the only one who finds it pretty ironic that Robert De Niro is now starring in New Year’s Eve.  Poor, poor Robert De Niro…what has your career been reduced to?

Now, for the title of the post- I sat for the longest time trying to think of one that fit.  I finally settled on the opening lyrics from the Strokes song “I’ll Try Anything Once”.  To me it fits both Travis Bickle and my experience in this class.  Travis’s decision not to try killing Palantine and to instead kill Iris’s pimp made the city view him as a hero when what he really needed was help.  His life would’ve taken a completely different shape had he pulled the trigger at the rally.  As for me, being in this class was one of the best decisions I never knew I made.  I pretty much just picked this class at random, but I’m so happy that I did.  My first semester at QC/Macaulay was made even better by our class!  I’ve had so many amazing experiences this semester that some people don’t even have in a lifetime, and I feel really lucky to have met everybody (and Professor Healey too, of course!)

Sentiments. The photojournal has closed. The blogs have ceased. The final class approaches. It’s amazing how fast time flies…I remember meeting everyone on the roof of the Met, staring at metal thingys, rich folk with there fancy drinks and conversations, Ray planking, and my interview with the random dude who couldn’t speak English. -__- It goes to show you how ephemeral things are and how we have to take a moment every now and then to reflect and really soak up all our experiences.

Reflection. 7 Plays. 6 Films. 3 Exhibits. 5 Performances. 4 Themes. As the semester comes to an end let us reflect on the various images that represent our beloved New York. I find it very difficult to pick one piece that was my absolute favorite, not only did we see 21 different works, but it is incredibly hard to compare a performance to a film, a written play, or an exhibit. Thus, I’d much rather choose a favorite from each category.

Drum roll please…

The Favorite Play Award goes to…Arthur Miller’s A View from a Bridge for its interesting characters and accurate depiction of immigrant New York. Unlike some of the other plays I sympathized with almost all the characters in this play (to varying degrees of course) and I found a lot of the elements very realistic and relatable.

The Favorite Film Award goes to…Maria Full of Grace for its talented actors & actresses and captivating story/scenes. First of all, I didn’t even know people did stuff like eating drug pellets to sneak them into the country. Second, the way the scenes were shot was extremely captivating and helped parallel the engaging plot. I still remember the scene where Maria and Blanca go to get their money; I honestly thought the drug dealers were going to pull out a gun on them. I even saw some of the scenes with the director’s commentary and the details and thought he put into making these scenes is impressive to say the least. I have even more respect for him and other directors as we are currently making our own films. Every angle, light, prop, etc. can play a significant role in how a scene is perceived or presented.

The Favorite Exhibit Award goes to…Nicola Lopez’s Intervals. I remember going to the Guggenheim and thinking is this really it? But as I was walking up and down the levels I actually grew to like the exhibit even more. There was a simple beauty in its chaotic nature. I perceived it as an interesting commentary on our lives, how there are different levels, there is confusion, etc. After we discussed the exhibit in class I grew to like the piece even more.

The Favorite Performance Award goes to…Intringulus for it’s amazing story, intimate set design, and memorable moments. This was definitely the hardest category, except for the Opera I loved everything we saw. But there was something different about the performance at Intar. It was the most meaningful and memorable. The others seemed more esthetically pleasing and entertaining pieces, less meaningful.

What about the themes? I think they were all amazing lenses to view New York City, each with their own degree of validity and accuracy. I honestly cant say which theme best or most truthfully portrays New York City because they all do. New York is home to the wealthy and spoiled, but also the poor and deprived. As we saw through the neighborhood blogs and in our own classroom, it is home to several immigrants. To some it is a city of dreams and opportunity while to others it is nothing but a chaotic inferno and nightmare. Lastly, art reflects time periods and change, so when something as tragic like 9/11 happens of course art will at least try to reflect it.

If I was forced to choose I think the award would go to the theme of NYC as a city of dreams or urban nightmare. Due to the fact that it encompasses all the other themes under its umbrella.

Acceptance. All things must come to an end. I will say that I’ve lived in New York for 18 years, visited all of its boroughs and I’ve never thought, seen or analyzed New York in the ways we have in this class. It’s amazing how much art, of all different forms and styles, can tell you.

Remember my friend Bennett? The one who inspired my first photo journal entry of the clock tower because it reminded me of Big Ben? So the other day I asked him, “Bennett, am I too cynical for my age?”  He responded, “Zohar, we’re the same age.  I think you’re just too cynical in general.”

Yeah, so I am…and I’m working on it, okay?  But for now, my cynicism affects and influences my opinions, and particularly on the “artsy,” often non-conventional works we saw this semester. I like things that are down-to-earth, real, speak from the heart, so it was difficult for me to relate to some of the pieces that were less…standard?  Whose main points or messages weren’t as clear on the surface? I guess that’s one way of describing it.  I’ll admit, class often helped explain the messages, and I often did gain somewhat of a greater appreciation for them as artistic works, even if I didn’t agree with the method through which that method was expressed.  But it was interesting nonetheless.

Anyways, so because of this mindset, I really loved Intringulis.   Okay maybe I’m a little biased because Intar liked my post, but honestly, I liked Carlo’s one-man show even before that happened.  Nicki and Ebrahim can attest to that.  It’s that purity, that simplicity, the heartfelt story that impressed me, and the various methods he used to tell it.  The acting, singing, drawing on the board, video clips–all that multi-media made it such an interesting show– I doubt anyone can say he/she was bored.  How Carlo connected the elements, guitar comin’ outta nowhere, chalk out of his pocket, I think Ebrahim would call that “magical.” Also, I had never seen a one-man show before, and I was impressed with the abilities one person could have to run an entire show on his own while intriguing and entertaining his audience.  It wasn’t anything fancy–low budget, minimum props, but that simplicity just worked so well because he was so honest.  And the message was current, relevant, made me feel something–among those feelings, sympathy.  It was definitely successful for me as a work, and as a “cynic,” I couldn’t be cynical.  Sensible and realistic, you did amazing work, Carlo.

It’s this immigrant view of New York that I find the most truthful, with bits and hints of the post 9/11 views, and the Eden/Inferno ones.  The city is a city of immigrants, and even if you were born here, and your parents were born here, and your grandparents were born here, ultimately, one of your ancestors came here from elsewhere.  Unless you’re Native American, but that’s a subject for another post.  The immigrants–all of us–are the foundations of this great city.  In New York City,  I would definitely say that it’s the people who make the city, not the other way around.  What’s more, the immigrant view is different for each immigrant here, so it allows for unique, individual experiences of the city, all which are correct.  The diversity of New York City is reflected in these individual views, and I think that’s what makes our city what it is.  September 11th has created new views and shaped our city for the past 10 years, so I think that that view is also truthful now, in our time.  Furthermore, NYC as an Eden/Inferno is a view that’s present in our everyday lives; you can see aspects of both sides all over the city (i.e. the glitz and glamour of Upper East Side vs. the poor and homeless sleeping on front stoops). What’s more, immigrants have often been faced with this divide, often because of their expectations vs. reality of the city, so ultimately, I believe it comes back to them, and other views are often secondary to theirs…ours.

Finally, thank you to everyone for the class that it was.  I really enjoyed hearing your various opinions; even if  I didn’t agree, I found it very interesting and many of you actually changed my opinions on certain things or pieces.  I really enjoyed this time we had together and it was a great start to my college career 🙂

This is my umpteenth attempt at starting this blog, I was really trying to find an edgy way to start. You know, like, a way to signify that this was our last blog (*tear*) and to really get it going with a big ol’ POW! But, then I realized that I had no idea how to go about doing that. So, rather, I am just going to dive headfirst into what I want to say, and try not to get too gushy over this.

New York City is the greatest place in the world to be, or at least, that has always been my view of it. I mean honestly, what other place could possibly get people to travel hundreds of thousands of miles and spend unfound numbers of dollars on airfare just to stand next to a concrete building? Let’s get real here, eh?

That being said, this semester I saw New York City through a lot of different viewpoints. Viewpoints of an immigrant, prostitute, cab driver, drug addicts, (New Yorks Finest Ladies and Gentlemen!) underprivileged minorities, political activists, modern artists, weird dancers and also that of the wealthy, cocktail swilling, tuxedo wearing monkeys who like to stand around and complain about their first-world problems. Needless to say no rock was left unturned in our evaluation of New York City.

A lot of these views led to negative portrayals of New York City, a city of urban trash, deadbeats, racists, or even worse, overly-pretentious yuppies. And guess what? That’s what New York is. No place is perfect, at least, no places that human beings inhabit; New York City is no exception to this rule. In Taxi Driver  we saw Robert DeNiro chauffer the scum of the red light districts in NYC, in Manhattan we saw Woody Allen don his penguin suit and hobnob, in “Arabia We’d All be Kings” we saw the worst of the worst. These indeed all  depict someone’s New York, these artists and directors and dancers and performers, they all saw different New Yorks because they were all different people coming from different places. Diversity of perception reflects diversity of the residents.

This is where my personal opinion comes into play, I think the most honest evaluation of New York City can be found in the movie In America Ariel’s view that is. It’s easy to overlook all of the good things in New York City, but Ariel saw everything with this open-ness and innocence that I think every single person should be envious of. She saw the lights, the people, and she saw how truly beautiful and magical NYC is. That’s New York. Yeah, there are bad things in New York, as a matter of fact there are terrible things in New York. But should we harp on them? Ariel was surrounded by filth and deprivation, yet she loved everything and everyone. Should we see New York only as this wasteland? Or should we stare at the lights in Times Square and never lose sight of the wonder hidden in those neon pipes?

That being said, In America wasn’t the best piece overall. For me, what I enjoyed the most this entire semester was definitely The Mercy Seat. This may seem a complete contradiction to how I view NYC, being that The Mercy Seat is dark, cynical, and very serious. I just think that what Neil Labute did in that play took a lot of courage. He said, what if we viewed this differently? He completely turned around the perception of 9/11. It was very daring, but I think it really paid off. The book took the tragedy to a different level, and I loved every second of it.

That seems a fitting way to end this blog, and so you will have to excuse me while I repeat myself. I experienced a lot of new things in the NYC this year-having hailed from boring-town, Suffolk County- and it’s safe to say that I loved every second of it.

Although I’ve never lived any where other than New York, I had never analyzed the city before this semester. I didn’t think that I needed to; I thought I knew everything. I was clearly mistaken.

Let me start with Woody Allen’s portrayal of New York. Allen’s New York is the dream of many, yet, the reality of few. It depicts the elite of New York, which may not be the majority, but is still a crucial part of the city. After reading In Arabia We’d All be Kings, it is much easier to appreciate the gentrification of the city rather than scorn those who benefit from their fancy penthouses.

Truth is, before this semester, I did not know the ugly, scary past of New York City. I’d heard of tourists being scared of the city, but I never understood why. New York as I know it is a relatively safe place. I don’t fear the public transportation system, and as long as I have some grasp on my surroundings, I don’t worry too much about getting mugged. Maybe this is my own oblivion, but until seeing the New York depicted in Taxi Driver and Do The Right Thing, I was happily living in my bubble of New York being this amazing place that people would be paranoid to fear. This semester opened my eyes to the history of the very city that I’ve been living in for the past 18 years as well as the struggles of those who live here.

Our section on immigrants in New York was also eye opening for me. To learn about the struggles of Carlo (who technically lived in New Jersey, but we’ll let that slide), and to watch the hardships in Maria Full of Grace gave me a broader sympathy for those hoping to make a better life for themselves here. Yes, I knew coming to America in general was both dangerous and a hassle. But gaining insight to the extremes of both drug smuggling and the journey to obtain visas was very shocking, especially once I was able to put a face on the issue, and establish a connection with those going through these struggles. This segment showed the hope that I had always associated with New York City. However, it also allowed me to appreciate being born here and not having to go through the same hardships that face many immigrants.

That being said, I think it is safe to say that Intringulis was my favorite work/performance this semester. I liked the intimacy between Carlo and the audience, and found his way of enacting his one-man show to be very engaging. But most importantly, Carlo had a clear message and meaning to express to the audience. It is for this reason that I think Carlo’s performance was the most effective and will stick with me for the longest time. I felt that I was able to connect to Carlo and travel with him through his journey as a Sesame Street star to where he is now. It was a very informative performance that kept me wanting to learn more. Plus, I loved his singing!

As strange as this may sound, I feel that Asuncion most accurately depicts New York City. Before I explain my reason for saying this, I must agree with Emily when she said that she does not feel that any of the works depict “my” New York. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been an immigrant or super wealthy, but I felt that Eisenberg’s play did a good job of relating what I view in New York. Immigration, prejudice, drugs, assumptions, and chaos are just some parallels between the play and the city around us. Wherever you have immigration, you are bound to have diversity. Unfortunately, this often comes hand in hand with prejudice and assumptions. This play portrayed (although it was on drastic and sometimes narcotic terms) how easy it is for one to make assumptions about others and the negative effects of that. In a city as diverse as New York we’ve all done it, whether it is through grabbing our bag a little tighter around certain individuals or assuming that certain individuals would be able and willing to help us with our math homework. Similarly, drugs are an underground commonality among New Yorkers that is depicted in this play. This is not to say that everyone living in New York has experimented, but as in anywhere else in the world, it is not an uncommon occurrence. Even in Carlo’s play, drug use is alluded to. Lastly, I feel that Asuncion depicted New York because of its setting. The small, cramped, yet somehow charming apartment of the protagonists is true to many individuals living in the boroughs, unable to afford the luxuries of Manhattanite life. Overall, I feel that Asuncion was true in many respects to New York life.

To be honest, I am really tired of being an outlier in class. My opinions always seem to single out, but not in a good way. Since this is the last blog, I will be an outlier once more.

Before I begin reflecting on the artworks, I would like to comment on “Supernatural Wife.” This performance has a beautiful and romantic story with a performance that is beyond my ability to comprehend. While the combination of classicism and modernism is a typical technique employ in many dance performances, “Supernatural Wife” doesn’t seem to use this technique successfully. In my Chinglish words, “A too modern performance for a too classic story.” What was very good about this performance was that all dancers were really passionate about what they were performing, not like they were dancing for the sake of dancing in some other performances such as “Jewels” by New York City Ballet.

Enough. Begin to reflect. In my first blog, I said I considered something as art if it can enlighten me, and increase my awareness about arts. I think this is only true for unconventional arts. Throughout the course, I have seen many arts that aren’t necessarily enlightening to me. Nevertheless, they are arts by all means. Perhaps I shouldn’t take the definition of arts overly personal, especially on conventional arts. I cannot dispute an artwork is not art simply because it is unenlightening to me. After all, art is art; I cannot say “Supernatural Wife” or “Intervals” are not arts because they did not enlighten me very much. In this course, I am glad that I can see many “made in New York” artworks. They all portray a New York that is totally different from my narrow view of the city. Although some of the artworks may not be very enlightening and inspiring, they all open my mind on New York City as a center of arts. Before taking this course, arts have always been luxuries for me because I don’t have the resources and knowledge to learn and understand arts. Art is one of the most important parts of New York City, but it is the least important part of my life in this city, a little ironic. Because of that, I appreciate all of the artworks that are included in the class. I truly learn a lot from them (and from Professor Healey and my fellow classmates. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.)

The most important thing I learn from this class is how New Yorkers view New York City. I don’t mind if you laugh at me, I really found it fascinating on knowing how different my views are from New Yorkers’. From the class discussions, I figure out the reason that I am not fitting in. The New Yorkers’ views on New York City are very interesting, and I should continue to learn more about them so I can understand better about New Yorkers as well as New York City.

My favorite artwork, if I have to choose one, is “Don Giovanni.” I like it partly because I love the magnificence of the Metropolitan Opera House. But there is a more important reason. Classic is always classic, no matter where it is performed. While we are becoming so enthusiastic about modern arts, why don’t we just take a moment and examine the beauty of classical arts. It is a treasure that has been passed down for centuries, and spread around the world. As a cosmopolitan city, New York is obligated to preserve these arts. And I think the city is doing well in this. In terms of enlightening, the plot didn’t enlighten me very much, but the other elements of the performance enlighten me in how to appreciate the meaning of opera. The “9/11 Peace Story Quilts” are also good pieces of arts. I was deeply touched by the children’s pictures. Although some of these pictures are naïve, they all voice out their aspiration for peace, and there are also many creative pieces. It is not easy to find an artwork that can move people’s mind in a rather idealistic level.

Until now, I don’t know what is the most truthful New York to me. I have experienced all of the views except for “New York City Before and After 9/11,” because I was not here at that time, so I really don’t know. To me, these views are both true and untrue about the New York City I am experiencing now. I have experienced both sides of the views, the haves and have nots, the immigrants, the city dreams and the urban nightmares. The more I experience, the more inferior I feel. Indeed, having lived in here for more than five years and still don’t know what the city is really like is a shame for me. Yet, I am glad to view and think about New York City in all these different ways, because I can at least give people a satisfying answer when they ask me what New York City is like. Moreover, these views give me some hope to continue living in this city, because New York City is no longer black and white to me.

The outlier’s opinions should end in here. If I say anymore, I will get beat up (only joking). Lastly, if any of my opinions have offended anyone, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me. And I just want to thank Professor Healey again for giving such valuable lectures in class. I am enlightened!