Peopling of New York City, Spring 2012

Though the main protagonist of the film – Sol Nazerman – is Jewish and the story seems to mostly focus on how he deals with (or rather, refuses to deal with) life after the Holocaust, there are a number of other ethnic/racial groups represented in The Pawnbroker as well – Hispanic (Jesus Ortiz and his mother), black (Ortiz’s girlfriend and the talkative Mr. Smith), and non-Jewish white (the social worker Marilyn Birchfield). And whether it is Jesus Ortiz and his mother struggling to assimilate into a world known for making it difficult for immigrants to assimilate, Ortiz’s girlfriend turning tricks (and showing her breasts to anyone willing to watch) in order to earn a living, Mr. Smith searching for someone who will finally listen to what he has to say, or Sol Nazerman dealing with memories and emotions he does not want to deal with, all of the characters depicted (and the ethnic/racial groups they each represent) are suffering in some way. These individuals and these ethnic groups share this quality with each other.

The epicenter of all of this collective suffering is the “ghetto” in which all of these characters live in (or, rather, are trapped in) and in which the film takes place in for the most part – present day Harlem. The other “ghetto” that is represented in the film is the concentration camp Nazerman’s family (and numerous other Jews) are forced into by the Nazis during the Second World War – the ghetto of the past. And while some viewers may find it strange that Sidney Lumet chooses to relate one ghetto – and its collection of suffering people – to the other, it is important to consider that the director is not trying to equate the two ghettos (and, thus, the suffering of Jesus or Mr. Smith to the horrors experienced by the millions of Jews during the Holocaust). Sidney Lumet is simply trying to reveal the similarities between the two ghettos – the presence of suffering and the entrapment of individuals that is in both – and thus, the universality of the features that are common to both.

The director crafts this connection marvelously through the use of flashbacks at key points in the film. An example of this is when Ortiz’s girlfriend shows up at the pawnshop and flashes her breasts at Nazerman and the old man responds by flashing back to a memory of being pulled out of line by a Nazi soldier and being shown how his wife is being forced to prostitute herself out to other Nazi soldiers. This scene alternates between brief cuts of the topless black woman whispering, “Look” and increasingly longer cuts of the events that unfolded in the concentration camp – from the soldier asking, “Willst du was sehen?” and pulling Nazerman out of line to dragging him toward the shed and smashing his head through the window pane to a cut of Nazerman’s wife’s face as a Nazi soldier has his way with her. From this flashback, it is clear to the viewer that the wife is suffering because of what she is forced to do, but it is also clear that Ortiz’s girlfriend is suffering as well. She may freely show her breasts to Nazerman, but what is this small act in comparison to the things she is forced to do by her pimp?

The overall experience of the film is greatly enhanced for the viewer by this unique visual technique; and it is certain that the pace of the film, the emotions that are elicited in the viewer, and the final message that is received (that suffering is universal), would not have been the same had this daring – as it was considered at the time – flashback technique not been used.

The Pawnbroker focuses on Sol, a man who is haunted by his tragic past and has become emotionless and vacant, as a result. He can’t forget all his suffering, which affects the way he treats those around him. As a Jewish man, Sol is unable to relate to anybody around him, either that’s the man he hates, Mr. Rodriguez, or Jesus, who works and cares for him or the three members of the gang, or Ms. Birchfield. Sol treats everybody equally but with hostility. He hurts Jesus’s feelings when he claims that he means nothing to him. He refuses to give the people who come to his shop a decent amount of money. He stands up against Mr. Rodriguez when he finds out that the money comes from prostitution. Regardless of whom Sol is dealing with, he has a harsh exterior. Mr. Rodriguez and the three gang members come off as strong and intimidating personalities but they don’t scare Sol. They treat Sol in a rude manner as Rodriguez threatens to kill him and the gang attempts to rob his pawnshop. However, he still stands up to them because of everything he’s been through, which causes a clash with them and results in the loss of Jesus. Jesus is the only character throughout the movie who gets along with everybody or at least he tries to. He idolizes Sol and really wants to learn business from him. He truly cares about him, which is why he sacrifices his life. He is somewhat friendly with the gang members but there is still some hostility on their part. Sol doesn’t welcome Ms. Birchfield’s interest and is hostile to her as she tries to get to know him but he wants her to stay out of his life.

The various ghettos that the film depicts are definitely related to each other. His past has defined the person he has become. As he lives his life, he is constantly reminded of his past by events that happen throughout his day in Harlem. The dogs barking remind the pawnbroker of when a man was trying to run away from a dog in the camp but instead runs into the fence. He is reminded of his wife being raped by the soldiers when the prostitute wants him to look at her naked. He remembers the crowded train heading toward the concentration camp when he’s traveling on the train. These memories have been imprinted in his mind and he can not let go of the horror that he went through 25 years ago. He associates everything in the present with something that happened in his past and caused him to lose those he loved. The connection between the past and present are crafted with the help of flashbacks. These flashbacks occur in a different style as no clues are given to the audience; the flashbacks are unexpected. The flashback starts out very quickly and the scene is very short, so short that the viewer is unable to understand what’s going on. Gradually, the flashbacks build up and become decipherable so the audience can make the connection between the current situation and Sol’s past.

The Pawnbroker follows the life of Mr. Nazerman, a Nazi concentration camp survivor.  Because of this, he obviously has very strong feelings towards ethnic groups other than his own.  His experiences have led to certain prejudices and the racism shown towards him in the past translates to his racism towards others in the present day.  In his Harlem pawnshop, he encounters people of various cultural backgrounds and often refers to them as “scum” and “rejects”.  Once in a position of oppression, in his pawnshop he is in power and can exert that power over the people who come in to try to sell anything for money that they need to survive.  He can offer his clients payment much less for their items than what they’re worth and people will accept these unfair offers because they have no other choice.  It is obvious that they are desperate and would do anything for the needed the money to survive, just as Nazerman probably would have done anything needed to survive in the German concentration camp.

The quick flashbacks show how emotionally damaging Sol Nazerman’s time in the concentration camps really was.  It just about killed him- both literally and figuratively.  The “ghetto” of the concentration camp led him to live a bitter and unfulfilling life in his current ghetto of East Harlem and the Bronx.  Things that he sees near his place of work and where he lives causes him to have flashbacks to his life in Europe.  He simply can’t escape the oppression and violence occurred in his past life.  When he walks past the gated park area where someone is getting beat up, he has flashbacks to brutality in the concentration camp where he lost everything that was important to him.  I think that it is important to note that everyone just walks by this fight and no one even takes notice. It seems routine, or not worth any notice and certainly no one tries to stop it.  Even though Mr. Nazerman does take note of this and seems somewhat disturbed, punctuated by quick flashbacks, he also just continues on his business as usual. Another poignant scene that demonstrates the power of the flashback to connect the past and the present is the scene with Mr. Nazerman and the prostitute in the pawnshop.  During this encounter, Nazerman experiences great distress from the recollection of being forced to witness his wife’s forced prostitution in the concentration camp.  Ironically, the thing that killed his spirit in Germany is the same thing that basically fuels his livelihood in New York. The short, quick flashbacks cause the viewer to feel the distress and the panic experienced by Mr. Nazerman.

When I first tried to approach the question of ethnic groups in The Pawnbroker it was difficult. I couldn’t think of any except for the most obvious one: Judaism. It was clear how the main character, Sol, was suffering. He was cold to everyone he came in contact with. His customers and even his family weren’t excused from this either. However, as the film continued on, other ethnic groups were present. The African American and spanish populations are represented by Rodriguez and his prostitution ring and Jesus and his family.

Each group can be related to one another through the idea of being trapped. All of these identities are trapped within the boundaries of Harlem. Sol finds solace in his pawn shop because there the streets are mean. His ability to be coldhearted to its inhabitants is easier because he considers all of them scum. Jesus is considered trapped because he wants to be exactly like Sol. He idolizes a man that does not give a damn about him or what he does. Jesus is trying abolish the rules that say he has to work in the pawn shop all his life. Rodriguez, however, is trapped by his love for money and power.

The most important relationship throughout this film is the one between past and present. I sincerely believe that the past and present “ghettos” are significantly related. Whenever Sol has another memory it is directly correlated with what is going on in the present. For example, when he’s on the train and he remembers his son dying or when he sees the black man getting beaten while the dogs are barking. The use of flashbacks is a very important part of creating this relationship. Most of these memories are exact images of the present but with a different ethnic group involved.

This story of a surviving Jewish man would not have been as strong if it didn’t show his struggles on the streets of New York. The relationships between ethnic groups were also important in establishing the severity of the Sol’s hard life.

The story of immigration has been told numerous times in a plethora of ways. I’ve read books and I’ve seen plays on personal experiences of immigration and the premise of all the stories begin the same: the characters come to America in search of a better life, in search of change. West Side Story (1961) and Brother from Another Planet (1984) go in completely different directions in portraying the life of an immigrant. The immigrants in West Side Story found that their expectations of America had been a too high. Opportunities are not so easy to attain, and the welcome was not the one that had anticipated. While in Brother from Another Planet, “The Brother” comes to America expecting nothing, and finds it to be better than anything else he’s ever known.

Brother from Another Planet is one of the most interesting movies I’ve ever watched. I didn’t expect to fall in love so quickly with a character that couldn’t speak, but I did. The Brother can’t talk, so when he landed on Earth, he wasn’t able to tell any lies about where he was from or what he was about. He couldn’t explain his story if he wanted to. Instead his new friends had to learn about him through his actions and relations with others. The Brother was able to learn about them too, just by observing. I watched, completely fascinated, as the Brother connected with New Yorker after New Yorker, sometimes without even realizing it. There was something about the Brother that made people love and trust him. Though he wasn’t very sure how society was on Earth, he slowly assimilated. One of the key parts of the Brother’s assimilation was near the end of the film, when the authorities from his home planet finally tracked him down. They came into the bar to catch the Brother but instead they found themselves in a fight with the Brother’s new friends.

The atmosphere of the bar is relaxed. The patrons are laughing and throwing a ball around. But as soon as the Men in Black enter the bar the relaxed atmosphere gains tension. A low song with a teasing beat is heard in the background “she’s a bad, she’s a bad, your mother,” as the one of the Men in Black catches a football and squeezes the air out of it with one hand. The patrons of the bar stand up to defend their new friend. Two of the men simply share a glance as they attack the Men in Black in unison.  Their movements are sure and confident, though some of their hits miss their targets. The bar has dim lighting, which creates shadows on all the actors faces, making them all look more threatening than the have before. Though the patrons put up a good fight they are huffing and puffing as they attempt to hold back the Men in Black who in the meanwhile keep stoic, sure faces. The patrons are are calm and confidant as they go up against the aliens. The most frantic of all the characters is the Brother who throws billiard balls at the Men in Black while trying to escape.

I found it surprising and completely amazing that these men, who really haven’t known the Brother for that long were willing to fight these strange, super-strength men just to defend him. The Brother hadn’t done anything in particular to cause them to go to the lengths that they did, but they still treated him like he was their family. To me this was one of the most important scenes of the movie because it showed that the Brother had assimilated so well into society, this social group in particular that they saw him as one of their own, and defended him as such.

While the only thing holding back the Brother was his past. The immigrants of West Side Story, though much less alien than the Brother, had more than two individuals on their backs pushing them to go back to their country of origin. Engaging in a much different way than Brother from Another Planet, West Side Story tells the tale of immigration from the viewpoint of Puerto Rican immigrants living in New York City. They cannot seem to appease their new neighbors and so they separate themselves from the rest of the neighborhood, forming a gang and calling themselves the Sharks. The sharks become the rivals of the American-born group, the Jets. And the two gangs often get into small fights that sometimes result in trouble for the entire neighborhood and even death.

Most of the Puerto Rican immigrants seem to have the idea that the only way to survive in America was stick to “with your own kind” and all of the immigrants except Maria believe this. But there is a point during the movie where Maria convinces her friend Anita of her love with Tony, and Anita agrees to run to the drugstore to send Tony a message. But when Anita she gets to the store, the Jets are there and they begin to harass her. A Jet whistles “La Cucaracha” as a slow mambo playing on the radio gains tempo. The rhythm of the song hints at the chaos that is about to ensue and as Anita asks to see the drugstore owner, the Jets rudely tell her that the owner isn’t there. Anita remains cordial though she doesn’t believe what they tell her. As she tries to move past the sea of Jets the trumpets of the song blare in the background. They pull off the scarf wound around her head, leaving her vulnerable. Her hair and shoulders are now exposed and it is this point of the scene that the viewer is keenly aware that Anita is the only woman in a room full of incensed young men.

The Jets call out “tramp” and “pig” and they throw her back and forth across the room. Tension mounts as they play with her dress and tug on her body. The mambo is playing at full force now and now we can here that the trumpets of the mambo are blaring “In America,” mocking the positive viewpoint Anita had of America earlier in the film. The song then turns more menacing as they push Anita onto the ground and prepare to mock-rape her. Just as they are holding up a boy to thrust on top of her the band suddenly comes to a stop as the storeowner yells out “stop it!” It is silent now as Anita stands up and makes her way out of the store. “Bernardo was right,” Anita says as she makes her way out of the store. “If one of you was lying in the street bleeding, I’d spit on you.” The behavior of the Jets let Anita know that despite what Maria might think there is indeed a huge different between immigrants and natural born citizens, no matter what Maria might think. Even if Anita decided she wanted to be accepted by the Jets, it wouldn’t be as easy as that because assimilating in America isn’t always that simple. And try as they might, just like Anita was not welcomed into the drugstore, some immigrants will never feel fully welcomed within America. 

These movies portray some of the reception new immigrants receive when they move to a new country. Some are accepted quickly and whole-heartedly, while others don’t find the acceptance they may or may not be looking for.

I immigrated to the United States when I was 8 years old. Therefore I can relate to the main characters in both Brother from Another Planet and West Side Story. Two of the biggest obstacles that these characters faced were language barriers and the fact that they look different from others. I was unable to speak English when I first arrived.

Brother from Another Planet is “a film about a “Brother” who escapes slavery on another, more technologically advanced, planet, and takes refuge in Harlem with the active support of its black, Latino, and welfare white inhabitants.” (Guerrero, page 45) This statement shows that even though the Brother does not have the capability to speak, he is able form friendship through various ways. He is able to befriend people of African American decent because he is of the same skin color. He is able to befriend the Latino worker who works at the video game store because he was able to understand Spanish. Finally he was able to become friends with some white individuals because he has the amazing ability to fix machines and he has the ability to listen. Thus even when his former masters arrive in search of him, his friends delay them from finding him. His tenant stated that he just comes, and his friends from Odell’s bar (that helped find him a job and a place to live) help him escape from his former masters. Although they do not really know the Brother, they stand by him, give it their all to protect him, only because he is (almost) the same as them. The scene in which the aliens are about to catch the Brother after a long chase is the scene that portrayed how should people stand together they can overcome suppression. I believe that the people who stood there waiting for them were other runaway slaves. I like how the director kept the scene minimal, in other words the director did not add objects. The dark lighting that was kept throughout the chase and how the camera did not actually follow them running shows this scene through the scene of a third party viewer, not one of the characters. In addition, shining the light behind the group of African American people who later chased the aliens was an effective way to show the power that they had.

West Side Story has a couple of scenes where the Jets and the Sharks show their dislike of one another and there are those moments where a Jet and a Shark will compromise their differences and become friends (or in this movies case, lovers).  One of those scenes is the balcony scene. The differences between the two characters were shown whenever Maria had to talk to her parents. She spoke in Spanish, a language that Tony did not understand. This movie did not emphasize the language barrier between the two groups of people, but it does show how physical features and accents can serve as a way to discriminate against people. However in this scene, language becomes the method that the director uses to represent the compromise between two enemy groups. During the end of that scene, Maria is on the balcony while Tony is about to leave. Tony told Maria that he loves her just as he was about to leave and Maria said “te adore” to him after some distance was between them. The director might have done this so that to signify that although they love each other, the tension between the two groups separated them. In addition, this scene was very intimate for the shots were mostly close-ups. It was filmed in order to show the affection between these two people, showing that people do not have to dislike one another just merely based on where they were born.

There were instances of harassment, especially on the scene where the officer comes in the candy store after the rumble details were settled. The officer states that  “you get what you have been itching for….use of the playground, use of the gym, the streets…so what if they turn this whole neighborhood into a stinking pigsty”  In addition, that scene increased the tensions between the Puerto Ricans and those of Caucasian descent.  The close ups of the frustration that Bernardo felt when the officer told him “it’s a free country, but  I have a badge” made the audience sympathize with the Sharks. Even the Jets felt kind of bad as a shot of the scene captured a Jet’s worried face. When the camera zones out, the audience sees the Jets and Sharks stopping each other from beating up the officer. This can be viewed in real life, for enemies can put away their differences and join together in order to defeat a common enemy. This glimpse of compromise shows that these two different ethnicities have the capability to make peace. (This is something that doesn’t happen until they realize the devastating effects of their rumble, i.e. Tony and Bernardo dying.)

I noticed an interesting similarity between West Side Story and The Brother from Another Planet. In both movies there were two groups that could be classified as “marginal immigrants” that joined forces when confronted with representatives of those in the country possessing a level of authority and a sense of belonging that the two groups could not seem to attain.

This clearly fits for The Brother from Another Planet but what about West Side Story? One need only examine one particular scene from West Side Story to determine that the two warring groups had an alliance of sorts. While it seems that the Sharks are the ones who aren’t given a place in the country, the Jets are shunned just as much. Their parents were immigrants and thus they are relegated to a lower status as well despite the fact that they were born in America. This common bond causes the groups to come together when faced with Americans who they see as those truly holding them back from having a place in the country. While the two groups are fighting over physical space in the country, both groups are fighting with society in general for acceptance. For example, after the first row between the two groups in the playground, the police drive up, breaking up the fight. While the two groups stand on opposite sides, they speak in a way that makes them seem as a single group. For example, each gang greets one of the two policemen in a sing song way, almost as if they were speaking collaboratively. In addition, despite having obtained injuries by the hands of the Sharks, Baby John, the Jet most likely to confess to the cops, refused to tell the police who attacked him. In fact, the other Jets even suggested that a policeman was the one who did the damage. This could be seen, symbolically, as the Jets expression that it was discriminatory men like the police in that precinct that were harming them in ways that really mattered. Upon further reflection, it would seem that the two groups weren’t standing on opposite sides, but were rather acting together to surround the police, presenting a united front. In Florez-Citizens vs. Citizenry, the author gives several examples of how documented immigrants assisted the undocumented in opposing the authorities. We can clearly see a very similar situation in West Side Story, and, as I will now prove, The Brother From Another Planet.

Again, two underprivileged groups join forces against those who discriminate against them. The people of Harlem, specifically those in the bar, all go out of their way to help the Brother. A lot of the divisions between blacks and whites in  The Shadow of Slavery can still be seen in The Brother from Another Planet. For example, when the two white men get lost in Harlem, they become fearful and stand out like sore thumbs. This scene is meant to demonstrate the enduring division between some black and white communities. The aliens searching for the brother clearly represent both his oppressors and the oppressors of black individuals for they are portrayed as being white. In the bar fight scene, it is interesting to note how bravely and determinedly the individuals in the bar fight for the Brother. First of all, three rounds of fighting occur involving different individuals of all ages and personalities. None of the individuals flee and despite seeing previous allied combatants defeated, they resolutely join the fray. Its even more impressive that they keep fighting considering the strength of the aliens. I mean really, one of them snapped a baseball bat with his bare hands but the drunk patron and elderly man joined in the fight!!!!! Why did these men risk so much for a man they barely knew? Because of the common bond they had, the hardships the Brother faced elicited a great amount of sympathy in those in the bar, and those in Harlem in general.

Immigrants come to America with the hope of a better life, one that’s full of freedom, happiness, financial prosperity and opportunities. Even though this land offers a lot to immigrants, it also requires absorbing its unique culture. Sometimes, as hard as people may try to become an “American,” stereotypes and racism make it harder. It can be scary to become part of a different culture but it’s scarier when you’re faced with discrimination, which can block access to many of the opportunities America offers.

In West Side Story, the experience of the Puerto Rican immigrants is molded by the discrimination they face from the white American gang, the Jets. This discrimination becomes a huge part of the way these gangs interact with each other, or the only reason for their interactions. There is a lot of hatred and tension between these groups because of the differences in their cultures. The discrimination the Puerto Ricans face becomes obvious in the beginning of the movie as the lieutenant remarks “as if the neighborhood wasn’t crummy enough,” after he breaks up the fight between the two gangs, referring to the Sharks. This scene takes place on the streets where the Jets and Sharks have marked their territories by writing their gang name on the ground, buildings, and walls. It becomes obvious that the Jets are in charge of their area while the Sharks have their area, and there is no crossing over into the other gang’s territory unless someone wants trouble. This scene marks the tension between the two gangs as they snap their fingers and perform their choreographed fight-scene. The Jets share an ethnocentric attitude throughout the movie as they are constantly making fun of the accents of the Sharks and their language. Flores makes a really good argument in Citizens vs. Citizenry that race, language and culture are what denies someone equal rights, because those same things are what makes them different. The stereotypes and racism become very apparent to me when the Puerto Ricans were singing about America on the roof. The girls are praising America for how much better it is than Puerto Rico while the guys are mentioning the racism that exists in America. Anita and Bernardo go back and forth: “buying on credit is so nice/one look at us and they charge twice,” “life is all right in America/if you’re a white in America,” “free to be anything you choose/free to wait tables and shine shoes.” These lyrics in the song really stood out to me because it goes to show that even though America is about equal opportunities to success, the color of your skin changes the way people look at you and treat you. As a result, the two gangs prefer to stay amongst their own kind.

Brother From Another Planet, was an interesting movie because it highlighted the troubles faced by immigrants once they arrive to a new country in a different way. Unfortunately, stereotypes engulf Brother wherever he goes. In the beginning of the movie, he does not know that in order to eat some fruit he has to pay for it with his own money. This scene takes place on Brother’s first day since he landed, and he’s wearing clothes that are basically rags. He does not realize he has to pay for the fruit he wants and is chased by a police officer because he’s thought of as attempting to rob the store. This scene clearly depicts the racism associated with blacks and how the cop thinks he’s going to rob the store because he’s black and is dressed in rags. Brother can’t find a decent job because he can’t speak to anybody and he is forced to do menial tasks to pay for things that he really wants. After Brother finishes washing the car, he only receives a few coins whereas he expected a little bit more. The one scene that stood out to me was when Bobby’s old lady is talking to the two white Men in Black, and she says how it’s really sad that there’s a kid who overdosed downstairs and may die but the only thing that matters is if someone has a paper saying they’re a citizen or not. Even though illegal immigration is a huge issue in America, there are some things that may be a little more important like a kid dying because of drugs. Throughout the film, Brother does try to assimilate to the culture he’s being exposed to and tries to help the people he meets by fixing video games and healing those around him.

Assimilation becomes hard when people are discriminated against as they’re trying to learn the ways of a new culture. It becomes necessary to absorb the culture in order to have access to the many opportunities America offers, but it’s important to balance the two cultures because you can’t forget where you came from as it’s apart of your identity.