Identity In the City

 Garrett T. Marchant

Prof. Saphire

COM. 126.01

12/03/2020

Identity In the City

Through the constant rushing surroundings, endless blur of faces, and elaborate architectural landscapes, the city of New York offers filmmakers a unique setting like no other. Yet, despite the endless visual settings filming in New York has to offer, the most impactful offering may be the city's diverse societal structures existing simultaneously. Much like J.D. Salinger’s book, “The Catcher in the Rye”, the films, Do the Right Thing, Mean Streets, and Annie Hall, leave audiences with the daunting identity questions, “Who am I?”, and “Who am I to those around me?”. These films' authentic representation of New York City pulls audiences away from the Hollywood display of a beautiful bustling city, covered in lights, and shoves them into the harsh reality of living in a city that holds a seemingly endless amount of identity. 

In Spike Lee’s, Do The Right Thing, the audience is dragged alongside the film’s main character, Mookie, during one of the hottest days of the year. The film, which takes place in the beautiful city of New York, following a low tempered pizza delivery boy, suddenly has it’s door kicked in by the monster the audience knew was hiding around the corner, racism. The constant irritation of the sun’s scorching heat, seems meaningless when the very real topic of racism introduces itself onto the screen. Sal, the once likeable owner of the pizza joint Mookie works at, has a racist outburst which unintentionally leads to the tragic death of a neighborhood teen. A riot ensues, and the movie’s anti-romanticism reveals itself. It ends with two contradicting quotes by black civil rights leaders, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. The usage of these quotes  insinuates that these ideas, though contradicting, have both failed in their method of resolving the issues of racism in America.

In the film, Mean Streets, by Martin Scorsese, a seemingly close knit italian community, reveals itself as a breeding ground for racism, misogyny, crime, and violence. The movie's setting, and inevitable corruption of its characters, reveals itself as a film of anti-romanticism. This theme of anti-romanticism is a result of the new american cinema movement. A turning point in American film making that shined a light on the more realistic lifestyles of its citizens. 

Woody Allen’s, Annie Hall, displays a much lighter side of society, but still represents a unique style of anti-romanticism. Instead of focusing more so on the issues within society, it focuses on the pessimistic perspective of one of its members, Aldy. Aldy, and few other characters, have the ability to break through the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience. This offers an opportunity for comedic relief, and more importantly connects the viewer more directly to the characters perspective. These shots tend to have the viewer see the character in a tunnel vision like state, separating characters from the outside influences of the world. 

In conclusion, these movies portray characters dealing with taboo social realities, while living in an extremely renowned city. By introducing audiences to several different communities all living in the same city, viewers are able to see the separation between them. Ethnicity, race, and religion, are used as tools in which characters identify themselves with. The films each show several shots of people living in harmony, however it is when we are forced to recognize our differences, chaos often ensues. Instead of introducing the viewer to situations in which humans overcome, and unify, the characters are shown walking together, but standing as one. These films focus on the identity of it’s characters, who they truly are as individuals, and how they play certain roles within their communities. A harsh, but necessary perspective into the genuine lives of humans.