new york – eyes wide shut

we had the opportunity to observe life in new york over a longer period of time. however, no one can have an objective view of things, no matter how extensive the observation. conversations with residents and observations in the streets have led to a personal overall impression.

 

new york is not necessarily a melting pot for us. it is rather a mosaic of fragments. the pictures may seem gloomy, but for many people the conditions in new york are anything but cheerful.

 

philip aniston, the un’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, stated in geneva on june 22, 2018 that “the united states has the highest income inequality in the western world, and (that) this can only be made worse by the massive new tax cuts overwhelmingly benefiting the wealthy. at the other end of the spectrum, 40 million americans live in poverty. … average pre-tax national income per adult in the us has stagnated at $16,000 since 1980 for the bottom 50% of the income distribution, while it has really boomed for the top 1%“.

 

you can perceive new york the way you dream of it. but one has to be very ignorant and blind not to see that america’s poor are becoming more destitute under trump than they already were. never before has the inequality of opportunities been greater than today. for example, many americans cannot afford health insurance.

 

new york stands for hope and dreams. but the appearance is deceptive – at least that’s our impression. many people never have a real chance – especially people of color. fences are borders. there still is a big gap between rich and poor.

 

 

 

 

many people have resigned, have fallen too often. others stand up again. there are also people who are full of hope for a better future.

 

most tourists come to the city staring at their smartphones. in love with themselves, they shoot myriads of – at least in our opinion – meaningless selfies.

 

our impressions come from different places in new york, specially from brooklyn, red hook, harlem, vinegar hill, brooklyn heights, midtown manhatten, chinatwon, east williamsburg, chelsea, and hunters point.

 

 

have a look at our film festival screenings for a list of screenings of “new york – eyes wide shut”.