Bruce Davidson: Illuminating the Outliers

By Alexandra Martin

Bruce Davidson, Brooklyn Gang, 1959, 1959.

The men and women in Bruce Davidson’s photography are gritty, uninviting, and most of all captivating. Currently on view at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, Bruce Davidson: Gifts to the Collection showcases several series of his photography that spans his career beginning in 1958 till 1998. Davidson was born in 1933 in Oak Park, Illinois. He is most famous for documenting the lives of New York City’s social outliers with a blunt attitude. The subjects narrate the photo which speaks to Bruce Davidson’s humanistic style and is supported by his bold composition. Bruce Davidson’s work dissolves class boundaries giving the viewer access to the dirty, ugly, raw lives of outsiders.

Bruce Davidson, Cafeteria 1973, 1973.

While filming a short film in 1972, Davidson was introduced to a Jewish cafeteria on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Walking into the space the viewer greeted by three gentleman captured by Bruce Weber for his series Cafeteria (1973). The man in the flat brimmed hat stares down the camera while sitting alongside a gentleman who is pulling away. The man’s demeanor is completely off-putting but focused on the photographer’s lens. Davidson captures a rhythm between the three men that creates space and propels the man forward into the viewer’s space.  

Bruce Davidson, Cafeteria 1973, 1973.

Much like Manhattan Transfer, Cafeteria is a collection of narratives within New York City. Individualism is so engrained in the New York Culture, despite being in a shared space, the public spaces are still popular for lone visitors. As a series, each photo speaks to Bruce Davidson’s mission to provide a comprehensive view at the lives of his subjects. As a Jew, Davidson said the experience in the cafeteria brought him “closer to unseen and forgotten worlds,” an ethos reflected throughout his work.

Untitled. Times of Change 1962.

Bruce Davidson has an ability to capture the facts while bringing forth complex emotional responses to human suffering. He documented the Civil Rights Movement from 1961-1965. In this time, he traveled throughout the south and photographed protests, freedom marches, as well as the mundane. From this series entitled, Time of Change, one image draws major similarities to the room Bigger and his family inhabit in The Native Son.

Bruce Davidson, Trickem Fork, Alabama. Time of change, 1965.

While documenting the March for Voting Rights, Davidson was traveling along Route 80 between Selman and Montgomery, Alabama. Titled Trickem Fork, Alabama this photo captures a parent and child living in squalor. The pair are illuminated by the doorway that is reminiscent of religious iconography. They are placed in the center of the photograph and their surroundings make up most of the image. T. he walls covered in newspapers, dingy furniture, and cramped quarters, starkly contrast the almost holy portrait of this family. Bigger Thomas’s mother was a fair woman who genuinely worked to make her children’s lives better.  As a black person, their living standards are far from what most would consider acceptable, yet goes unnoticed and unchanged.

Bruce Davidson, East 100th street 1970, 1970.

One of Bruce Davidson’s most famous series, East 100th Street (1970), focuses on an extremely impoverished East Harlem neighborhood that he spent over two years working with. In assimilating for such a long period of time, Bruce Davidson is able to cultivate personal relationships that allowed him to photograph intimate moments that are normally unavailable to the public eye.  Davidson captures naturalistic portraits of the forgotten and neglected members of society. The candid nature of his photography acts as a critique to the circumstances these people live in. In the above image, the girl is only wearing underwear that does not appear to fit while standing on a fire escape. Her innocent yet troubled expression beckons the viewer to investigate her poor circumstances.

Bruce Davidson, East 100th street 1970, 1970.

Bruce Davidson focused much of his career on telling the stories of the socially alienated communities. In the summer of 1959, Davidson followed a street gang called the Jokers and developed a series entitled The Brooklyn Gang (1959). While Davidson was 26 at the time, the average age of the gang was 16 years old. The series optimizes teen angst amidst the containment culture in America at this turning point in history.

Much like Holden Caulfield, these teens recoil from mainstream society and operate outside of it. Davidson’s documentation of these teens who act like adults give us great insight into the attitudes and behaviors of the emerging counter culture. In the above photo, we are visiting with two gang members on the beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn. The teens stare down the camera with disgust, as if the viewer just reminded them they had responsibilities. Their restlessness and boredom while in their youth is off-putting and depressing, which speaks to the same teenage angst J.D. Salinger is working through.

Bruce Davidson, Subway 1980, 1980.

Before exiting the exhibition, Davidson’s most critically acclaimed work comes from the Subway (1980) series are on display. The high contrast between the cold subway train and the warm colors on the people of the subway brings life to these people and the culture they represent. The gentleman featured are tough and unapologetic, the perfect symbols of the New York City subway system in the 1980s. While they never intimidate, their idiosyncrasies still live on in the people who dance, sell, and ride the New York City Subway system.

Bruce Davidson, Subway 1980, 1980.

Bruce Davidson’s honors men and women that society ignores. His work is a timeless critique of society’s discrimination and dismissal of people that are poor, different, or of color. The people Davidson introduces all regain a sort of agency and are in control of how their life and circumstances are presented to the public. They are not pitiful and sad; they are presented with dignity and respect. Much like the writers of the time, Davidson captures reality, not an idealized cliché while giving voice to alienated communities.

Chicago

By Tong Zhang

My friend came to visit me from Boston. She had bugged me to take her to see a musical for over a year. I could finish this writing assignment and watch a musical! Totally not miserable. Since everyone like “The Humans” so much, I decided to take her to see “Chicago”.

Chicago is a musical written by John Kander. This musical is based on a real-life story and trail by Maurine Watkins back in 1926. The concept of this show is to mock the criminal justice system. Housewife Roxie Heart planned to sleep her way to the top of celebrity. However, things went wrong when she slept with Fred Casely who promised her a big break at the next show. She killed him and ended up in prison with some mankillers who treated them wrong. In prison, she met her hero, the famous double-homicide and nightclub performer Velma Kelly. They both had Billy Flynn. He was the lawyer who extorted women prisoners for living. His plan was to make his clients celebrity, which Roxie was obsessed with. Eventually, Roxie realized that beyond fame, her life was also on the line.

The first realization I had was to treat my future girlfriend well, I don’t want end up dead like those guys. That was actually my first time of musical experience. I was surprised that I didn’t fall asleep. This musical was as addictive as intense and as unforgettable as any show I have ever seen. The musical got me thinking because the media’s fascination with the criminal celebrity and its entanglement with the juridical was unbelievable. What made Roxie a women who refused to be a housewife but decided to pursue her dreams? Was the growing independence and freedoms of women or the greed of being famous?

    

  

Living in New York

By Xincong Chen

In recent days, I have been to Met to view famous paintings. In fact, I must admit I really have no talent in appreciating artworks. So while I was viewing in the museum, I was unable to understand most of the paintings in the museums. However, when I found those exquisite paintings which was created by the artist Edward Hopper, who was born in Nyack, a town located on the west side of the Hudson River, I felt so familiar to those special paintings because those paintings were created according to the New York City in around 20th century.  I discovered that those paintings lively represent the view of New York City in the past as I learned from the books. Those old buildings built by the bricks, the tiny small apartment, the streetlamps and lots of details of the paintings show us a comprehensive view of the great city. What’s more, those characters in the paintings were really typical working class people.

First, I found that most of the characters were those working class people from their clothes and living states. In the first painting, the background was dark. We could see a girl who was naked and looking out of the window, it seemed like she was lost in the city. Living in the tiny apartment, alone, this girl maybe had lots of sadness in her heart. It was normal at that time because in that period, people who were not born in New York City, they all had dreams to come to this city. However, reality was so cruel that not every one could be successful. This might be the reason that why she was perplexed. Similarly, the man who was in the last picture, who seemed like not happy. He was looking at the view far away from him. He might be an apprentice that was studying some craft skills. This explained why he wanted to look the view far from him because in his working place there was even no window there. He really wanted to move to those center place. We could find American dreams in their mind because in the city like New York City, people all had chances to be successful. They all hoped to achieve great careers.  

Second, it was so obvious that among those paintings, we could only find white people. It also could be explained in that special era. As we all knew, though President Lincoln liberated the south and aborted the slavery, black people and white people were still not equal in the society. They lived in different places and black people was segregated by the white people. So, in the second painting, in the café, there were only white people there which also very precisely describe what the real situation was at that time.

Looking at those paintings really impresses me a lot because they tell the stories that that people tried their best to achieve their dreams in America. I  believe that the stories will repeat and never stop.

Wise Man Say: "Ask Not For Seconds, For You Shall Only Get Thirds. Ask For Two-Fourths, Instead, That Always Fools 'Em." Wise Man Fluent In Basic Fractions.

By Josh Ptak-Pressman

A few months ago, I had the privilege to see Allegiance in theaters with its original cast. I say “privilege” and not “pleasure” because in all honesty, it wasn’t that great, but that’s besides the point. For those not in the know, Allegiance is a musical starring Japanese-American George Takei of Star Trek fame about the experience of several people either born in Japan or to Japanese parents, living in America during World War Two, facing anti-Japanese discrimination and having to suffer through the unjust internment of all Japanese people living on the West Coast. As far as musicals are concerned, it’s not bad, sporting a great cast and some nice numbers, but the writing is definitely subpar and the plot pretty bare bones. As it relates to our class of Class And American Culture, I see Allegiance as something of a mirror of Manhattan Transfer:  The former takes place on the West Coast during the early Forties, the latter in New York in the Roaring Twenties. One is fairly optimistic with some perhaps overly patriotic tones, the other written by a bitter communist with a bone to pick. A toe-tapping musical versus an all-over-the-place modernist text. Most importantly, the focus of this post, is that Allegiance is largely about race in America with a little hint of economic class, whereas Manhattan Transfer is by and large a book about social class with some suggestions of racial conflict. While it’s perhaps unfair to compare the two head-on, on the basis of their analysis of early twentieth American society alone, Manhattan Transfer is a lot more stinging and arguably a lot more accurate. Allegiance arguably not enough of either. Between the two, I believe there must be a balance of criticism that fairly and truthfully considers both the negative aspects of American society and the positives, without being biased in either direction for whatever purpose.

The main problems with Allegiance are that they dilute the tragedy with convoluted plots of true love and family drama and that it manages to both make the experience seem worse and bleak than it really was yet at the same time make the people experiencing it more hopeful and patriotic than they really were, giving it a very sentimental “proud to be an American!” feel even when a true critique of the Japanese internment camps would emphasize the anger and disillusionment felt by people coming out of the camps. No one would think to make a Holocaust story that ends in anything more than a somber, grim acceptance of a cruel reality, so why wouldn’t the same hold true for internment camps on the other side of the war? George Takei himself lived through the internment camps as a young boy, so it confuses me that the musical paints a picture of such unquestioning faith.

On the other hand, John Dos Passos was a Harvard graduate who travelled all over Europe during his youth, yet has almost nothing good to say about the American society that gave him such luxuries. In Manhattan Transfer, the happiness people feel is portrayed as shallow and meaningless, with a character’s understanding of the world around them inversely related to how happy they are. White, wealthy, educated people such as Dos Passos himself feel unfulfilled and lacking in purpose, drifting around New York aimlessly. But the fact that they can do so is a luxury few enjoy, the speciality of the idle rich. Had they the tiniest understanding of what a minority, be they black, Asian, Catholic, Jewish, etc. faced at the time, they’d never complain again. Yet Dos Passos does. The son of a trust lawyer thinks himself worse off than a man who lived through the Japanese internment camps. Perhaps oppression is a state of mind. Or perhaps those with privilege construct self-imposed tragedies on themselves, what one might call “first world problems”, to shield themselves from accusations of privilege and that those at the bottom of society, be it socially or economically, downplay the severity of their suffering as to feel less crushed by the weight of their hardships. In that sense, these stories tell us that while physical oppression is forced upon by others, mental oppression is self-inflicted.

The Humans

By Leilei Liu

“The Humans” is a play written by Stephen Karam, and is currently playing at the Laura Pels Theater. This comedy-drama features a dinner scene of a typical middle class family gathering at a younger sister’s new apartment in Chinatown, Manhattan, on a Thanksgiving night. Brigid’s new apartment is old and noisy. It only contains one broken window on the first floor and a dark basement. The only stairs are located on the far end of the stage. The setting of the stage is interesting, because it is the cross section of this dark duplex. It allows the audience to watch two stages at the same time. The family that includes Brigid’s parents, older sister and her grandmother, who took the train from her hometown to visit her. The beginning of the gathering is heart-warming and hilarious. They talk and joke while preparing for dinner like a normal family. But as an audience, it is not hard to predict that there will be a breaking point for this family, but I could not anticipate its the cause.

During the show, I could not stop comparing it to “Manhattan Transfer.” Obviously, both stories happen in Manhattan. A country girl from Pennsylvania comes to New York alone in hope of pursuing her dream. After years of school, Brigid cannot even find a decent job in the city. In order to live in the city, Brigid and her boyfriend have to move into this tumbledown place, in which there is always something broken, and pretend they are pleased with the place. All the unhappiness arises because of money. Brigid’s father was forced to retire with no pension, because he was caught having an affair at his workplace. Brigid’s mother has to work extra hours to make more money. The family has to sell its lake house to pay the mortgage. Brigid’s grandmother needs extra care, but the family cannot afford to hire a nurse to take care of her. Brigid’s sister is out of a job. Brigid cannot find a job either to pay back her student debt. After revealing all the secrets behind this family, the heartwarming dinner turns into a scene full of conflicts and chaos. Brigid is accusing her dad, and asking him he he could do such a disgraceful thing. Brigid’s sister is crying because she broke up with her girlfriend and is out of the job. But from my point of view, the essential reason for all these conflicts is money. Similar to “Manhattan Transfer,” many characters in the book reflect how capitalism affected them. Bud ends his life because he cannot make any money in the city. Blackhead is corrupted to make more money. Dutch Roberson spends twenty years in prison for stealing money. It is all about money. In “The Humans,” all the characters are under great pressure because of their economic status. Each individual feels unsafe and unstable in the society. And to no one’s surprise, all this pressure reaches a boiling point, and explodes in the end. An interesting thing to add on this point is that Brigid’s boyfriend is named Rich. He is already 38, but he is laid back, and seems to have no worries at all. He has no work and is still in school. He dreams of being a social worker in the future. He seems to be in a totally different world that that of Brigid’s family, and does not need to worry about reality or the future. Well, of course this is all because he will have a trust fund when he turns 40 in two years. How ironic. 

Regarding the performances, each actor is excellent at developing his or her character on stage. The character Erik, Brigid’s father, is a complex figure. He is a typical American father who is a huge fan of baseball. He drinks beer and comforts his daughters when they are experiencing sadness. He appears strong and caring for his family. But he is not. After working in a private school for 30 years, Erik was discharged from his position because he had an affair. All of a sudden, he had no pension, no work, no income, nothing. I think he is a total bastard, who is not responsible for his family. After he has the affair, his wife has to work even harder to make money for the family. As a man, Erik needs the woman he betrayed to make up for his faults. I cannot understand him, and dislike this character. However, at the same time, he is still a good father. He cares about his family in every way. He says he still loves Brigid’s mother. He is real person.  And he is a complex person. I do not think I can use a simple word like good or bad to describe him. This character reminds me of many similar characters that I have encountered this semester, such as Holden Caulfield and Bigger Thomas. Holden is a complex kid, too. He says he hates the society and people. But he behaves in the exact he does not approve. Bigger accidentally kills Mary and feels guilty. But he later burns the body and finds excuses for what he did. When I first read these books, I found it hard to understand why those characters would do things that contradict themselves. After watching “The Humans,” I kind of understand that people are complex. It is hard to define a person using good or bad.

Lastly, I want to specifically talk about the setting of the stage, which I think was is brilliant. The cross section of the duplex apartment divides the stage into two parts, the upstairs and downstairs. They are connected but independent at the same time. For audience, we can watch both stages at the same time. However, for the characters, they can be whispering secrets upstairs that need to be hidden from the downstairs. The characters can cry or show their real feelings upstairs when everyone else is downstairs. The stairs connecting both levels is a pathway where characters have to hide their feelings and fake their smiles to face the family. I think it is an excellent way to express the individuals’ emotions and push the story forward. 

The MET

By Natalia Rosario

Over the weekend – on Friday to be exact-  while choosing what to do or where rather where to go for this writing assignment I felt as though I had hit a creative wall. Literally crossing things out of a list as to what to write about, like, I know class systems are real, it’s clearly a “thing” in today’s society but how can I find a place where its overwhelmingly present enough for me to be able to spew out words for. So, it would be wrong for me to say that going to Starbucks and simply people watching wasn’t a front runner on the list but I ultimately ended up going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Initially, I chose the MET because I thought I’d be able to observe the types of people attending the opening of a new exhibit ideally. But, when I went there was no new exhibit opening so I wasn’t going to see interesting people like explorers from Australia or England or wherever that I could write about or so I thought. It was a typical day at the museum at least from my prospective of what typical day at a museum consist of. But there were somethings that upon entrance hit me right away, 1. there were a lot more children than I expected and I got a moment to ring up some conservation with one the chaperons for these children. We got to talking and she told me she was a 6^th grade teacher for Bronx Early College academy a Public / Charter school and that her class was able to go to the museum for FREE. I thought that was incredible because I associate places like museums to before the “big spenders“and by that I mean these places that typically house a lot of priceless heirlooms and things of that nature are not typically free or open to the public. 2. In order to get into the museum as a regular person recommended fee is $15 for students but please notice that I wrote RECOMMENDED once you get in the museum you can pay literally any amount you want that is over 0.00 so if you pay 1 cent that’s absolutely fine.  

That small notion got me thinking because it’s almost as though the Museum itself or rather the people running the museum recognize that this place houses all kinds of items that are probably vital to a college students final research paper, or a trip to this establishment is vital in helping mold a young 6^th graders mind as to what else has gone on around the world that he/she is a part of. Be able to inspire or provide a different prospective as to what is art give visual to what art was then and the common themes coursing through each painting be it from the same era or not. So, for a place as a big and recommended for a well-rounded educated person to visit as a museum to be practically free to anyone who wants to go is almost like the class system placed in society to be used as a way to differentiate between people doesn’t exists to the museum. The museum only sees people that want to benefit from the experience of being inside. 

The Tenement Museum

By Meredith Malloy

The Tenement Museum offers a multitude of mid 19^th to turn of the century story based experiences of the one thousand plus immigrant residents that have resided at 97 Orchard Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I participated in the Hard Times tour, which tells the stories of a family that is lead by simply that ‘hard times’. I would say this exhibit is a true depiction of how a woman’s identity is shaped in accordance to that of her husband and never really independent of her husband until she no longer had a choice. The modernist literary pieces displayed how character identities were shaped during the same time that Natalia Gumpertz life in America was created. Here’s what I have found.

The story of Natalia, a young lady from Prussia, immigrated to New York City’s lower east side which at the time is a German-Jewish community. She found her husband, Julius, in this neighborhood, settled in 97 Orchard and the two had four children. The six member family lived in a three room apartment and had their share of troubles. While Julius worked several odd jobs nothing lead to stability and the family needed to rely on religious based charitable assistance several times throughout the years. Eventually the burden of being unable to adequately care for his family began to be too much, Julius up and disappeared, leaving his family behind and having to fend for themselves. With the sudden absence of her husband, unemployed and inexperienced Natalia had to figure out how to survive and keep her children clothed, fed and sheltered. Luckily soon thereafter, Natalia was able to receive enough charitable assistance, that lead her to receive a foot pedal sewing machine allowing her to become a dressmaker, which resulted in a stay at home business for herself making clothes for those in the neighborhood.

The story of Natalia Gumpertz’s family resonated closely to me to the modernist times in literature. The story of a young girl migrating from her homeland to a foreign land, is the epitome of what the modernist movement portrayed. Each piece had to do with the characters finding their place within their community in hopes of building a better life for their family. I would say the story of the Gumpertz family shares elements of Manhattan Transfer for one. Similarly to that of the fictional character Jimmy, husband and father, Julius can’t take the his life in New York and decides to leave. I found it ironic that even though Jimmy and Ellen divorce and there was knowledge amongst all, he seemed to have no shame is traveling far far away from New York leaving his family behind without any further thought or consideration as did Julius. I began to wonder if there was a trend among men at this time that would leave their family behind with no resources due to the pressure of not being successful as they once set out for.

As well, I felt of Natalia as I did Janie from ‘their eyes were watching God”, although Janie did not have the same story of a husband that left, she did want to find her own identity and I wondered if this was the same for that of Natalia. Hearing Natalia’s story, she seemed to have been the one that kept the family together, even when Julius was present, however she was restricted by the identity of her husband as was Janie with Jody. Once Jody died, Janie got to move on a live a life as she truly hoped for, even though she hit a few bumps in the road in the end she seemed well at peace. Even though Natalia’s husband disappeared, she was able to make a fulfilling life for herself and her family even able to leave her family an inheritance upon her death. No longer overshadowed by her husband’s identity or even lack of achievement, Natalia was able to go on and give her family a life that many would have hoped for during this time. 

Dignity and Social Class

      Dignity is defined as the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect. It is a principle that forms the underpinnings of the idea of class inequality. Joe Chuman's talk on the essence of dignity offers a philosophical look at the value itself. Chuman cites examples of what he calls "violations of human dignity," such as the massive loss of life in religious conflicts in the Middle East or the degradation of living conditions that occurs with economic deprivation, and argues that in order to understand the true scale of these issues, one must first understand what dignity is, and what it means to violate it. 

      Chuman, in the course of this discussion, addresses the issue of social class as it pertains to dignity, claiming that it is only through our subconscious understanding of dignity that social classes can exist. These classes are ordered hierarchically, with clear distinctions in perceived societal worth. As Chuman demonstrates, the idea of 'worth' with regards to human beings is inherent in the very definition of dignity. To have dignity is to have worth, to be a valued member of the human species. This is in direct contrast to the stark reality of hierarchical social structure, the idea that some human beings are worth more than others. 

      This conflict between the concept of dignity as a basic human trait, and the simple fact that social class exists, Chuman argues, is a direct by-product of society's refusal to recognize consciously the fact that all human beings have dignity. To prove this, Chuman uses seemingly obvious yet telling examples such as racism, religious discrimination, and extreme poverty. Each of these issues clearly demonstrates the dependance of class structures on the conscious refusal by dominant classes to recognize the humanity, and the dignity, of lower classes.  

      Chuman argues that to truly alleviate or end this type of inter-class conflict, society must begin, on the individual level, to consciously recognize the dignity of all human beings, regardless of their class affiliation. To do so would subvert the basic principle upon which social class is built. In order to create this hierarchical structure, Chuman argues, there must be some determinant for worth. Whether that determinant is economic, racial, or otherwise, it is maintained as a variable. According to this model, an individual's worth can be graded or valued as as being below or above any other individual's worth to society, based upon this determinant. These individuals, and the classes that they belong to, are thereby placed above or below other classes in a structure that affords respect to those on top, but very little to those on the bottom. 

      It is to render this determinant irrelevant, Chuman argues, that we must understand and recognize the dignity inherent in every human being. By doing so, we expose the fault inherent in assigning worth based upon class structures, and rediscover the basic humanity within individuals of classes other than our own. 

      

Practicing Utopia

            On February 26, I attended a women’s conference called Practicing Utopia: Feminism and Activism in Institutional Contexts held by the Columbia Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality. At the conference, professional women discussed their ideas on what a feminist utopian society would look like, and how they act to achieve it. The speaker who interested me the most was Jean Howard. She is a George Delacorte Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, and her talk focused on how she works within her community at Columbia to reach her own idea of utopia. She began by mentioning Thomas More’s novel Utopia. His society is riddled with vast income inequality, justice for the rich, enclosures to drive off the poor, and general greed and corruption. Howard argued that this is not the sort of utopia modern society should look to create. Although she did not directly define utopia, she said that the idea of utopia is an invitation to thought and then action. It begins with an idea and from there must become something tangible. The ability to make an abstract thought, like gender equality, concrete is in itself utopia; being able to create change where it is needed is a paradisaical notion. She mentioned how in her own life, it is difficult to be intentionally involved in transformative politics as a result of the bindings that come with her place at the university. Yet, Howard said that it is simple to unintentionally make a change. For example, she may be unable to directly speak out against Columbia’s policies but she can skip meetings or events in protest, as even small steps like this recalibrate the power structure within an institution. In her everyday life she works toward finding a feminist utopia where a woman need not fear her gender will inhibit her career, such as a pregnancy announcement harming her chances of earning fellowships. Howard focused on the ideas that incremental change leads to radical change and that this change must be collectively made as opposed to handed down from a single person.

            The speech reflected on the idea that the formation of greater equality will not be achieved in grand leaps, as we have seen in works we have read this semester. Looking from John Dos Passos’ Manhattan Transfer to Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, progress can be seen. In Manhattan Transfer female characters such as Ellie felt trapped by their gender as it limited the power they had over their lives. Dos Passos understood the struggles of women, so his novel reflected society’s mistreatment of them in the 1920s. Thus, his characters were complex women still entrapped by their time period and position in society. In The Crying of Lot 49, women are still not equal to men, but Oedipa is uncovering the conspiracy on her own accord and with her own intelligence; she is the driving force behind the plot and she is more respected than the women in Manhattan Transfer. Yet, Oedipa is still an oversexualized character who needs the help of several men and in the end cannot handle the pressure and breaks. Pynchon creates a helpless female in order to reflect the way women were portrayed in his 1960s world, while at the same time showing a woman’s need to escape this archetype. So, while progress is made, it is made slower than the ideal.

            The event taught me about the collective work needed to create even these small changes. It is easy to get frustrated by the seeming lack of progress made in modern society, but ­­Howard’s talk helped me see the importance of small happenings and recognize the triumph in them. Now, within the course, I can see that a character as flawed as Oedipa can still be a step forward. Also, I can recognize that this progress has been achieved through the joint effort of many; whether they be outright activists or simply regular members of society who recognize its problems. For example, the feminist movement which surrounded the events of The Crying of Lot 49 was the shared effort of thousands of women and allies, and would have contributed to Pynchon’s understanding of what a woman is capable of and how she can function in a man’s role. When passionate people work together to enact positive change, utopia gets just a little bit closer.

The Last Column

 In the massive space of Foundation Hall in the 911 Memorial Museum stands the final, thirty-six foot column of the World Trade Center. The Column is covered head to toe in the most colorful, thoughtful mementos, memorial inscriptions, and missing posters. In bright red/orange and yellow letters reads “FDNY 343”, “E214” and “L111” in memory of the 343 Firefighters belonging to different ladders and engines all over NYC that lost their lives. In blue reads “PAPD 37” and “NYPD 23” for the 37 Port Authority Officers of New Jersey and 23 Police Officers from different precincts of New York that passed away on this day too. In addition, countless names of the innocent people that passed away are written in bold sharpie or craved into the column. Badges hang high in a room filled with colorless space where this column stands as the main focus, standing tall, beautifully decorated with meaningful inscriptions from loved ones and millions of Americans whom will never forget this day. The inscriptions are evidence of a difference within the people of New York; all belonging to different socioeconomic classes; the rich, the middle class and the poor,  were all effected by this major tragedy. The heroes were those belonging to the middle class, holding the blue collar positions in the work front. These uniformed city workers that perform countless hours of manual labor daily were working closely in and out of the rubble and deathly conditions. President at the Time, George W. Bush, and Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani stayed in close contact with their people to provide protection and confidence that the situation was under control. This was truly a time where everyone rich or poor set aside their negative generalized assumptions of one another and their pride to unite as citizens of New York State. Maria Peralta, employee of Jane Kahan Gallery on the East Side during the time of 911 said, “Walking down the street even weeks after this horrible incident, people would be stopped at a street light and just say “Hey, how are you doing?”  The communities – everyone was so united.”

In the 911 Memorial the Last Column is described to “… encourage reflection on the foundations of resilience, hope, and community with which we might build our  collective future.” (911memorial.org)  In other words it is used to inspire community and unity. The museum was created to honor the lives of the 3,000 people killed in the terrorists attack of September 11th, 2001 and to educate all those that visit of the terrible incident New York and America was able to surpass. 

In connection to themes related to Class and American Culture, this event and exhibit embodies communication and rationality, some ideas that characters in The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon or The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath do not. Not only was this a time to set aside the prejudgement and the need to conform to societal expectations but especially to communicate with one another, which shows that if done correctly the community can have a strong impact. In this time of crisis their was not a concern for the prior social divide that existed between the economic classes. The country as a whole became concerned for their safety, therefore everyone was willing to work harder to see results. 

Class in the Classroom

In today’s age of standardized testing and increasingly privatized education, the current education system is leaving urban, impoverished schools in the dust. Speaking at the Schomburg Center in Harlem for the launch of his new book, “For While Folks Who Teach in the Hood.. and the Rest of Y’all Too,” Christopher Emdin spoke to a room of educators, calling for them to rethink traditional schooling.

While the title of his book may appear somewhat aggressive to some, Emdin said the title is geared towards teachers from a higher social class who enter urban schools with a “savior mentality” towards their job. These teachers, armed with Common Core curriculums and Teach For America education, the teachers walk in to classrooms expecting them to function like the ones they attended. What they fail to recognize is that the socioeconomic divide between the suburbs and poor urban areas creates a cultural divide. As Emdin said, “After Brown v. Board of Ed, we integrated the schools, but we never integrated the curriculum.” Furthermore, teachers entering this new environment go on to place blame on the students themselves, creating a hostile, even traumatic setting that children must return to every day, according to Emdin.

The prevalence of this broken education system is evident in the fact that while 70% of New York City public school students are of color, a whopping 80% of teachers are white. Although being white certainly does not necessitate being disconnected, most white teachers are and are not connected to their students. As teachers obstinately stick to their curriculums verbatim, they do not personalize their teaching methods and adapt them to the needs of the students as Emdin calls for.

Emdin gave a historical perspective to the current education crisis, comparing urban schools to the Carlisle School, which was ostensibly for the education of Native Americans. However, the schools were actually focused on assimilating natives. Emdin projected before-and-after pictures from the Carlisle School. Those who attended the school looked radically different from when they first entered, with their traditional clothing replaced with new suits and dresses. Mr. Emdin then labeled modern urban education as “neo-indigenous,” focused more on assimilation into whiter, upper-class culture than on actual education and students’ needs. He exemplified this with a hypothetical question: “How many times have you seen a teacher say to a student, ‘Pull up your pants’ before asking ‘How was your day?’”

So what can be done to close this cultural chasm ripped open by a socioeconomic gap? Emdin strongly encouraged teachers to get creative with their teaching plans and adapt to the classroom that they teach in. One example is a system that Emdin himself created, called Hip Hop Ed. Students work together to write songs about the material they learn, and perform their work at an annual competition. He also encourages white teachers to acknowledge their “whiteness” and to learn to adapt. Emdin criticized teachers who work in schools they wouldn’t even send their own children to in areas they wouldn’t live in themselves.

Teachers cannot go on isolating themselves from the students they teach and cannot force their systems on them. Modern education needs to change to fit the needs of students and prioritize their education and understanding of material. Only by changing the fundamental aspects of today’s teaching models can this education gap be fixed. 

Matthew Dear x The Swimmer

Sporting a tutu and a pair of rollerskates, Jeffrey tumbled out of Verboten and into the Brooklyn sun just past 7am. “Look at those fucking assholes,” he whispered motioning to the friends I came with. “We’re here for the music,” I told him, which apparently wasn’t good enough. As he skated away, he screamed “ Well, the music’s not here for you.” This was Brooklyn in a nutshell, a mix of brain fried young people blowing off steam, over wired semi-adults, and international techno heads that came to New York to burn it down. We had just seen Matthew Dear and Delano Smith deejay at SUBVERSION, Dear’s monthly residency at Verboten. My head was still throbbing, there were no cabs in sight, and I still couldn’t figure out how I was the asshole. 

The previous Thursday, Verboten was seized by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for tax evasion amidst rumors of sexual and racial harassment behind the scenes. The club didn’t release a statement and all their social media went dark. That is, until Friday evening, when they instagrammed a video of a disco ball shining over an empty dancefloor, with a caption reading “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated - Mark Twain.” As one commenter put it, “@bkrav @hankinit @sea2292 battle stations!!!!” 

I had been ready to go to Flash Factory to see David Morales DJ his legendary Better Days party, but Verboten had too much going for it. I arrived at 1230, a respectable time for this sort of thing, but as it turns out the club was already packed. The lights seemed to shine brighter than before, the wall projections trippier, and of course, the music sounded better. Everything about the night felt earned, as if we collectively overcame a great evil, and in a way, we all had. Verboten was something of an institution, and it was all thanks to the loyal patrons. Even though no one helped Verboten file their taxes, it was the weirdos and diehards that forced it to keep going. Verboten was home for people that loved music, dancing, and being really, really intoxicated. It had the cool, underground atmosphere that made New York’s golden years, whether it be the Roaring 20’s or the Sleazy 70’s. This is why people came to New York. 

At this point I had already noticed a middle aged rollerskating ballet dancer, but also noticed a number of well dressed folk who weren’t doing much. They bounced to the beat, they had a drink in their hand and maybe they were on drugs, but they weren’t doing really anything. They didn’t look engaged, they didn’t look like they were having fun, they didn’t even look like they were there. Then in a span of two minutes, I saw enough to convince me they truly weren’t present. As a number of small drug deals took place, I saw three separate groups take the exact same photograph in the exact same spot, then all quietly sit. It would’ve been more than three had a fight not broken out. A woman had spilled champagne on some guys sneakers. They hadn’t come to groove till breakfast, they’d come to be seen, to be cool, for bragging rights, and of course, drugs. This could’ve been anywhere and it wouldn’t have made a difference. They simply did not care. 

From this I learned that anyone can be consumed by anything in their own different way. The regulars were sucked into Verboten by music, community and love. This was their playground, a place they could be themselves. To them, real Balmain won’t help you dance better any more than fake will. Others however, were swallowed whole by their lifestyle. While the weirdos danced like no one was watching, this crowd danced as if everyone was. Like Neddy Merrill in Cheever’s The Swimmer, they dove into whichever pool of hedonism they can, rising only to plunge into another one. Like Merrill, one day they’ll wake up, and find everything around them to be alone, decaying and dead, just like they will be. Lucky for me, much later, I realized I wasn’t an asshole. I just looked like one.

NYC Feminist Zinefest 2016

Dozens of ziners featured their personal zines at the NYC Feminist ZineFest,
 held at Barnard College this past February.

            Despite the brisk, wintry air of February 28th successfully infiltrating the streets of New York, it failed to extinguish the warmth emanating from inside Barnard College. Occurring on the third floor was the fourth-annual NYC Feminist ZineFest, where over fifty tables featuring individualized booklets were on display for the public. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term 'zine', they resemble comics; short for magazine or fanzine, zines are self-publications motivated by self-expression rather than profit. Many of the zines exhibited touched serious topics, ranging from personal stories of an author's past to the larger issues that plague our world today. "The event is really representative of intersectional feminism," said Jenna Freedman, the Zine Librarian at Barnard College (which holds over 7,000 zines!) and also one of the five organizers for this event. "Three times the amount of tables we have here today applied to the event, but sadly we can't fit them all," Freedman remarked on deciding who gets their own exclusive table at the event. "We research the applicants extensively, deciding on who would bring an interesting collection to the event. It's hard." As I toured the tables, Freedman's words echoed in my head, and I saw the individuality of every author represented in their works. I made sure to pick up a couple of zines myself, astonished at how blunt and personal they were. Powerful messages and images can be found on every page of these zines, packing heavy ideas within such tiny pamphlets. 

Three zines that  I purchased at the Fest; Preta, 
Sticks & Stones, and Suburban Blight

            Despite the name, the Zinefest did not only focus on feminist ideologies; many of the zines that struck me hit upon the social justice movements that we see daily. Suburban Blight, a zine penned by 'Steph', embraces that we are living in the midst of one of the most potent social movements of our generation, Black Lives Matter. Side-by-side this headlining movement are feminists protesting the rape culture that is infecting society, as well as teachers striking for their own entitlements. Immediately upon going through the pages of this zine and others did I find connections to the themes and works that we've delved into in the classroom. The course illuminates how all of movements —racial- or gender-based, social or political — are not new; rather, they are merely evolutions of past ideologies. In Native Son, we see the racism exuding from the pages both before and after Bigger is convicted for Mary's death. Today, the most influential movement that is taking the country by storm is Black Lives Matter. Countless examples of racial prejudice is fueling this ongoing fire, leaving us to wonder where it will lead in the near future. In The Crying of Lot 49, we see Oedipa not taken seriously and trapped in the traditional gender role of a housewife, as she is a woman in a men's world. Feminists today are taking a stand against the focal point of female oppression today: rape culture. These societal problems have existed for ages, and we are seeing modern versions of them every day, everywhere.

             While the class itself has displayed that the social movements of today are by no means new, the zines reflect their own impact in conjunction with the course itself. Our focus is to achieve a more solid understanding of how social class is represented and its intersection with different issues, something found in the hundreds of zines that were displayed at the Zinefest. Bits and pieces of this central idea are symbolized throughout the zines, with each authors' personal spin on the topic. The Zinefest takes what we are learning in the classroom out into the open, such that the public eye can get a glimpse into the people behind the movements. This event is held all over the world in other major cities and areas, meaning that millions of similar zines are constantly being circulated around with unique, empowering stories and outlooks. We sit in the classroom, studying; the zines are out there, teaching. The NYC Feminist ZineFest provided a glimpse of these stories and their individualities, and I highly recommend getting your hands on one of these magnificent manuscripts, and fast. 

The back cover of Suburban Blight

For more information on this event, visit feministzinefestnyc.wordpress.com