I am not a movie person. I really am not, and for good reason. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that my first semester in college would include the viewing of seven R-rated films carrying warnings due to their shameless sexual indulgences and carnivorous displays of violence, just like cigarette packages’ general surgeon’s message warning of death. I feel dirty after viewing such films, as if emerging like a rat from a cesspool, covered in feces and urine. By viewing, recognizing, laughing, and commenting on aspects of such films, I am forced to lower my moral and educational standards to suite an audience, similar to a highly educated adult that is forced to speak to a three year old child. You can futilely attempt to argue otherwise, but guess what, this is how I feel and thats something that’s not going to change. I am not posing a debatable claim, I am interpreting my feelings, and no one can do that except myself. I am forced to accept a moral standard that deeply conflicts with my core values, just to offer any valid objective analysis of the film. And to be quite honest, that makes me quite angry on the inside. In fact, when you think of it closely, watching a movie is only one means of recognizing social inequality, racism, or privilege within an environment.  An objective analysis of such aspects can be gained through documentaries (which I love), statistics, history, and social experimentation.  For someone to tell me that he watches a movie to gain such “insightful information” is like someone telling me he drinks wine for the purpose of hydration. I’ll let you digest that ludicrous statement.  Whatever possible messages a movie is trying to get across, there is one element, one thing, one ingredient that MUST always be present…an aspect of entertainment. And oftentimes this necessary aspect distracts the viewer from any potential messages a film had to offer.

For the sake of this blog however, I will put this aside regardless of my feelings and provide an analysis of the works with my true feelings out of the picture, and simply assume the place of the main character in the film. I must emphasize ardently that my ability to do such a task not only makes me uncomfortable, but automatically detracts from the expression of my real underlying feelings about the film, its actors, and messages. I hate to start of the blog on such a sour note, but I feel compelled to provide such an explanation to relive my conscience and provide an earnest, complete reflection on my thoughts and analysis.

With the exception of The Muppets take Manhattan, every other film I have seen in this class has affected me by reinforcing my realistic/cynical (whichever word you prefer to use) view of the city. The films provide a depressing, struggle of survival among the poor and the rich, among the White and the Black. Most of the films are simply a mush in my head, partially because they are so similar to each other. The reoccurring theme in all the films was the status of an individual. In some films, this took on the lens of racism such as Do the Right Thing and Taxi Driver. Other films addressed on the question of status through materialism such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Wall Street.

I feel that one specific scene was enacted in three of the films ( if my memory serves me correctly) which an “F everyone” mentality was portrayed. In taxi driver, the the scene took place when the lead character (I can’t remember his name) described the scum of the city. In Do the Right Thing and The 25th Hour, the scenes were almost identical as the director showed people of different nationalities with the main characters shouting racial slurs in the background. My first instinct was a feeling of amusement, havibg come across practically all the statements in the past. Even though we all carry such thoughts in our heads ( or at least know that they exist), most choose to keep such thoughts to ourselves to avoid potential trouble.  The interesting thing for me to ask however was if such a vast array of stereotypes exist in less diverse areas. And if they do, how can someone make any type of generalization against any group they have never seen in real life? What about is? Would our views of a certain ethnicity hold if we visited a person’s country of origin? Or do such views exist only within New York? All quite interesting questions to contemplate if you ask me.

What does seem to be clear from the movies and my personal experience is that tension due to differences does exist, and will continue to exist just like it has from the beginning of time. NYC definitely serves as the Madison Square Garden of potential racial tension in the world. It is no wonder all these films choose to depict some form of it in such a diverse environment

It has always been strange to me the attraction that everyone has for New York City. It’s where I’ve grown up for most of my life, but it never really felt that interesting. Watching all these films about New York City this semester and focusing on them as they pertain to the social issues present and the image that the city has to everyone, I realized that there’s so much more to it than I had ever thought before. There is something about New York that either attracts everyone who is not from here or brings disgusts. New York City has a spectrum for us to view it in, there is the glamour, the wealth, the big flashy lights and tall buildings and then there is the poverty, the filth, and the tenements. There is definitely something about New York City that no other place in the world can emulate.

Despite some of the horrific images of New York City in Taxi Driver, The 25^th Hour stood out to me personally. The scene where Travis Bickle shoots everyone was to say the least deranged, yet the monologue that Monty gives while looking at himself in the mirror was the most impressionable moment in all the movies we have seen so far this semester. The vulgarity of stereotypes present in his speech could not have highlighted the images of different groups in a more powerful way. His reference to the Wall Street brokers being like Gordon Gekko and trying to steal everything from those that work hard also demonstrated within the context of this movie the greed that is present in New York in addition to the grimy environment. The contrast in the movie is that through all the filth present, and Monty even being a drug dealer, it showed that there was hope. Monty doubts Naturelle, but she loves him and is willing to wait seven years for him to come back from prison. In all the shabbiness of the world, you would expect Frank to do something about his possible attraction to Naturelle, but he remains loyal to his friend. When he defaces Monty by beating him so badly, the second most impressionable moment in the movie, most would find it horrific; ultimately, he was being a good friend. What he does to Monty is much less than what they would do to him in prison, and he helped him. After this vivid scene, Frank bursts into tears and Monty, who is beaten horribly, makes his way over to Frank to comfort him. In all the corruption and the greed and the filth that we have seen in so many of these movies, The 25^th Hour does show that there is justice and hope. Monty does go to jail to pay for the crime he has committed, and the few relationships he has formed have been true to him.

A movie that finds itself on the other end of the spectrum compared to 25^th Hour, is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It is one of the more classic movies of the image that New York City is thought to uphold. I had never really watched movies from that time period, and it really created an image that very flashy yet elegant. Holly comes to New York to create the life she dreams of. She goes about it in a misguided way by attempting to marry a wealthy man, but she wants to find the glamour that the city is known for. The façade that everyone puts on, like Holly exhibits, is the mask that many people put on. Her real name is not Holly, its Lula Mae, and she has no money despite her lavish appearance. This is something evident in society all the time, in order for us to belong, we focus on altering the appearance we give off to the world.

The overarching theme in all the movies we have watched is that no matter what all the negative images of New York City are and no matter how filthy, unjust, or greedy it may be, there is more to life here; there is hope in love, in friendship and in life.