The Arts in New York City

Coming into this class, I didn’t know what to expect. At first I just knew it was the seminar class we all had to take as freshman Macaulay students. Arts in New York City sounded like something I already knew about, but never really experienced. Living in Queens my whole life, I knew that the city was inhabited by a variety of artists such as singers, dancers, painters, and costume designers. This class forced me to look deeper into the city from a new perspective. I liked the way Professor Healey separated our discussion into distinct units: Uptown and Downtown, City of Immigrants, City of Dreams or Urban Nightmare, and New York after 9/11. I felt that each one of these units told a specific story of New York through the different art works presented.

We began and ended our first unit on two very opposite ends. We started with Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” that portrayed the life of rich white New Yorkers that spend their nights partying at the museum. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see Anthony Caro’s exhibit, but became more amazed to see rich snobby people on the roof of the museum. These two experiences tied in very well as they both expressed the epitome of wealthy New York. Then we delved into more middle class affairs through the work of Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage” and “The Bald Soprano” performance. We still saw the minimal quarrels and convulted conversations of upper-middle class adults. It was only until we saw “Taxi Driver” and “Do the Right Thing” did we see stories of the have nots in New York. We read “In Arabia We’d All Be Kings” which featured characters that would not mix well with those of “God of Carnage.” The New York portrayed through these artworks expressed the economic divide of the city and how art of this genre must illuminate one of these divisions.

After experiencing art through an economic lens we began to view the immigrant culture of New York and its impact on the artwork of New York. This was my favorite unit because I feel deeply about the immigrant culture of the city in that it makes the city unique from any other place in the world. Carlo Albán told us his immigration story and put a face to a group that is openly discriminated against. I thought it was an especially important piece because it discussed the important issue of illegal immigration from a side not portrayed in the news. The similar theme of illegal immigration was portrayed in the film “Maria Full of Grace.” I thought the film had the strongest message out of all the other pieces we experienced. “Maria Full of Grace” is my personal favorite artwork because it educated and evoked emotion within me to the struggle that some people must endure to fight for a life worth living. Although I enjoyed “Asuncíon,” “A View from the Bridge,” and “In America,” they did not top the message of either “Intringulus” or “Maria Full of Grace.”

We began to discuss whether New York was more of a dream or a nightmare from the very first day of class. I felt that Adam Rapp’s play fit well into this unit because of Dennis’ mother’s last wish to experience New York as she continued her decline into the worst stage of terminal cancer. The dream of Dennis’ mother was the nightmare for Dennis himself, as he couldn’t stand to see his mother suffer. We experienced the dreamy Metropolitan opera in all its wonder to the highest seats in the theater. It was the dream experience that the wealth of New York can offer and even though I particularly didn’t like “Don Giovanni” itself, the opera itself was something I only saw portrayed in movies.

I felt like the last unit about 9/11 was something important to the current culture of New York City because of the shift of history since that day. I didn’t think I was going to learn much from this unit, but Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” got me thinking again about how 9/11 is still a relevant topic. The shift of recent history is important to that day and New York was the iconic city that was impacted most. I felt that “The Mercy Seat” and the Peace Quilt did not boast a strong enough message to a still current issue.

The artworks we viewed and discussed all evoked messages about New York through different media and genre. I found the films to be the most effective of these pieces because I felt it to be easily accessible compared to plays, performances, and fine art. I also thought film was straightforward and I was able to understand it better because I grew up watching movies. The plays, performances, and fine art were also expressive in their messages, but it was more work for me to uncover the message behind some of these works.

I’m glad that I was forced to take this class because it opened me to a new side of the New York City that I hadn’t experienced before. The photojournal forced me to look at my everyday life through a different lens and I still end up taking pictures even though it’s over. Thanks Professor Healey for taking us on these performances and exposing us to different artworks in the distinct units.

I will be honest and admit that coming into this class, I wasn’t all that enthusiastic since I never really was a fan of opera, theatre, or pretty much any type of aesthetic art of performance. This might be because I have had little to almost zero amount of exposure to this type of art but that is beside the point. Although I did not absolutely love anything in particular that we watched in this course, the experience and cultural awareness that this course has brought me is very valuable to me. I had the opportunity to experience the high side of New York, which I had never experienced by going on the rooftop of “The Met”(which I have newly incorporated into my vocabulary) while seeing all of these fancy people with their drinks. I had the opportunity to go to the Metropolitan Opera House and view my first Opera, and the opportunity to explore one of the many cultural epicenters of New York, Chinatown. Having said this, I think it is finally time to reflect on the works we have experience in the class, individually and collectively.

In our first unit, we went through the “Haves and the have nots” of New York City and my favorite piece from all the works we discussed in that unit would have to be In Arabia We’d All be Kings Stephen Adley Gurgis. This piece appealed to me more than the other’s because I thought that it was one of the more truthful depictions of New York, and one that I could relate to more than the others (definitely not to that extreme but you get what I mean). To me, the characters were very realistic, and you couldn’t help but feel bad for them, because they were trapped in their world of poverty which is very hard to break free from if everybody around you is the same way. Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee also had a parallel affect on me. Reflecting back on the film now, I realize that in the movie there were many racial subtleties that I had not noticed before. I adore Spike Lee (other than the fact that he is a die-hard Knicks fan) because I think he accurately depicts the racial tensions in a specific part New York during a specific time (sorry but I can’t leave this out since the season is finally starting, GO KNICKS!!!).

Although I did some-what like the first unit, I liked the immigration unit more than any of the others because after all, New York is the city of immigrants. Immigrants make up a large population of New York and I think that they are the one’s who give New York a lot of its unique culture. The heartfelt stories of the characters in Maria Full of Grace and In America, are what New York is made up of. New York can be both, a “City of Dreams or Urban Nightmare,” it depends all on what you make of it. In both of these movies, the main characters have to make the decision to move to New York in order to provide for a better life for themselves and their sons/daughters. On their journey’s to create a better life, they must endeavor through a myriad of obstacles, which is the reality for many New Yorkers.

My favorite piece of work this semester would have to be Asuncion, but I don’t really want to count that because I don’t think that it was really truthful to New York, all it did was make me laugh as there wasn’t too much meaning to the play. Discounting I would say that my favorite works for the semester would be those that I have already mentioned above. They are the views of New York which I find the most truthful.

All in all, I would again like to repeat myself saying that I really did appreciate this class for all of the art that it has exposed me to, and the opportunities that it has provided me with. Now I most definitely won’t say that I will be ritually attending the Opera, going to the museum, or attending a performance just for fun, I might actually think twice next time if an auspicious opportunity does present itself, which I believe is a big step for me.

Before I even started this class, upperclassmen left and right were telling me “You’re going to have so much fun in this seminar. It was my favorite one!” Indeed, they were all correct. This seminar was by far one of the best classes I’ve ever been in. We’ve been exposed to so many different kinds of great shows, plays and movies that I never would have given a second thought. I really gained a new perspective and learned a lot about New York from this seminar. Out of all of the units we’ve discussed, the Immigration unit had the most effect on me. Although I can’t relate to most of the characters we were introduced to, they taught me the importance of pursuing one’s dreams, no matter how difficult the journey can be.

My two favorite pieces of the semester were definitely Maria Full of Grace and Intringuilis. Maria Full of Grace, besides being a very entertaining movie, taught viewers that many people, especially immigrants, deal with great burdens everyday. The film was very realistic in showing that many teenagers in many countries go through extremes in order to survive. It also showed a darker side of New York, one that isn’t always optimistic, lively and fun. It gave me a better-rounded perspective on the city. More importantly, this movie gave me a new respect for immigrants. Intringuilis is similar to Maria Full of Grace in that the main characters are both immigrants coping with daily struggles when in New York. I was actually quite surprised with Carlo’s touching performance. I really wasn’t expecting much from this show, but I was extremely impressed by how he was able to pull off such a phenomenal show by himself. Carlo put the audience on an emotional roller coaster, with heartwarming scenes when he sings “Los Hermanos” (I hope that’s the name of the song!) to more carefree, relaxing scenes when he just casually drinks and plays cards. I admired how strong he was when arriving to America. As a teenager, he fought through loneliness and discrimination and still managed to make it as a successful actor, influencing people all around the country. Maria and Carlo were the two people who really intrigued and affected me throughout the semester.

Oh wow, I just realized, these two pieces also answer the second question to this blog. “Which view of New York City is the one you find most truthful?” I think they perfectly portray a very “truthful” side of New York. Unlike God of Carnage and The Matchmaker (these two plays both show a very trivial part of New York), these two pieces show that this city, as prosperous and glamorous as it may seem to many, it is also a place where people struggle and strive to fit in and live a normal life. It also shows that New York is a place that opens many new doors for people and allows them to start fresh. New York is a symbolism of hope and ambition for many.

On a final note, I’m really glad Macaulay offered this class to us. I really learned a LOT from this seminar, beyond the arts in this city. I’m going to miss attending all these amazing shows and performances (for free!!). I don’t think I’m ever going to come across an opportunity to see an opera such as Don Giovanni free of charge again. Although I didn’t exactly enjoy the performance, I still really appreciate the new experience. I doubt our next seminar will be nearly half as fun as this one, but who knows? I might be pleasantly surprised, just like I was with many of the works we’ve read and seen in this class.

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!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-euE70YCzc

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.