Movie Review: Invisible City The movie Invisible City focuses on the lived experiences of residents in Regent Park, Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project. Regent Park is located in downtown Toronto, and consists of approximately 2,000 families. It was constructed to reduce the crime, housing, and social problems recurrent in this area, which was formerly known as Cabbagetown. However, these issues soon reemerged and currently almost 70% of residents in Regent Park are classified as low income (). During the time of filming, the area was set to undergo a revitalization project that would rebuild the neighbourhood. This revitalization process would tear down the community within the next 15 years, resulting in the creation of a …show more content…
new space and place for all residents and community members. In the film, director Hubert Davis followed the lives of two black youths, Mikey and Kendall, and their families over the course of three years. The film revolves around the boy’s lives as they struggle to find a sense of identity and purpose, while attempting to avoid risky activities with their peers. The movie contains interviews with the boys, their mothers, and an ambitious teacher who takes on the role of a mentor and father figure, something that the boys lack in their lives. The documentary addresses important topics in social geography such as gender norms, structural inequality through experiences of racism from teachers and police, socialization processes, and how these all influence the social mobility of these individuals, and consequently reinforce feelings of marginalization and self-damaging behaviour. Though a highly captivating film, I believe that the documentary lacks a personal connection to characters. The visual imagery and soundtrack portray Regent Park as a foreign and unwelcoming place. Additionally, the film does not describe the triumphs and progressive scenarios the individuals have undergone over the last three years. It also barely explores the views of community members regarding the revitalization process the area was set to undergo over the next 15 years. Hence, the following is my subjective analysis and review of the documentary, discussing the content in relation to the study of social geography. To begin, Invisible City highlights important topics in social geography, such as the expected gender roles that govern how young black youths in the community behave. The gender roles for women and men are vastly different in Regent Park. This is evident when Mikey mentions how difficult it is for him to walk away from dangerous scenarios with his friends, as he does not want to be seen as “soft”. The emphasis of appearing tough and invincible leads him, like many other young males, to engage in risky behaviour in order to avoid being singled out as weak. Mikey’s mom explains how her son keeps all his feelings inside, and suppresses his emotions in an attempt to not seem vulnerable after his dad’s absence. Mikey’s mom explains how she constantly worries over her son, rather than her daughters, because the boys are always outside late at night while the girls stay home. This shows how gender norms influence how these individuals behave, and how they experience different situations in their social location. Mikey also explains how his mother, and little sister cannot relate to what he is going through because their lives as women are far different than his. This demonstrates the intersectionality of the problems faced by the boys, as both gender norms and generational differences hinder their ability to effectively communicate and relate to their mothers. Furthermore, the documentary also describes the racism and structural inequality that many young black males face. As mentioned in the class reading, Racism and Policing, black individuals are constantly under unnecessary harassment and attention from the police. This targeting of blacks due to their skin colour is evidently displayed in the documentary where Kendell remarks on how the police are constantly watching and stopping him. Furthermore, structural inequality and racism also exists in the school system. Kendell mentions that teachers label him a certain way because of how he looks. He states that how the “teachers handle me is different than how they handle other kids”. These experiences can often become internalized and reinforce feelings of marginalization and inferiority. When the police and schoolteachers expect the young males to behave in a certain way, it can also lead to self-fulfilling behaviour where these individuals display the behaviour that is expected of them, leading themselves into more trouble. Additionally, this can impede the social mobility of these young individuals. The boys want to improve their lives and succeed but feedback from those around them reaffirming that they may not do well, can limit their motivation to move forward. A prime example of this was in the documentary where a teacher told Mikey that academic math might be too hard for him, and too much of a leap from his applied math class. This type of feedback from those in power, can inadvertently limit one’s growth and desire to succeed, whether it be in school or in the community. Lastly, the documentary notes key points on how the socialization process differs depending on your social location.
The young males in the documentary both were raised in single mother households, and did not have the presence fatherly figure in their lives. Their mothers work tirelessly to provide for their families, which leaves little time for family bonding and a lot of time for the boys to either be alone or socialize with friends in the community. The school teacher, Ainsworth Morgan, also grew up in Regent Park and describes how the individuals behaviour and way of navigating things is different based on their socialization in Regent Park. The boys are constantly surrounded by young men who have dropped out of school, been in trouble with the law, and resorted to selling drugs as an easy means of living. The appeal of engaging in risky activities in times of boredom or hardship is all too familiar. Morgan describes how the temptation of the streets is much more attractive than what is occurring at home. He elaborates on several aspects of the spatial organization of the Regent Park community including the “lure of the streets” and the neighborhood’s tendency to overlook positive achievements. Morgan says in the documentary, “When you come back to the hood, you get more respect getting out of prison than you do getting your Master’s”. If this is what these individuals are constantly exposed to, it becomes the norm. This demonstrates how the socialization process among …show more content…
those in Regent Park vastly influences what these young males believe to be valuable and how this governs their behaviour and aspirations. Invisible City does an impressive job in highlighting the challenges faced by two young black adolescents within a public housing community. It provides a captivating description of the lives of these individuals, in a community that has been stigmatized by many media reports. However, the presentation of the area in the film portrays Regent Park as a foreign and unwelcoming place. This is set particularly through the tone used from the start of the documentary. As the camera pans in to a desolate construction zone in Regent Park, a haunting soundtrack plays in the background. This music, alongside the use of faded colour and dull lighting, sets a cold tone from the beginning of the documentary. Though this cinematic effect intrigues viewers, it presents Regent Park as an isolated, eery, and unwelcoming place, building upon the stereotypes set by past media coverage of the area. To add on, the documentary resonates a lack of care for the characters, and a distant, impersonal involvement with the lives of these individuals. While watching the documentary, I felt that the directors presented the information through an outsider perspective, as though the viewers were looking through a glass lens in an attempt to understand the lives of these individuals. Though they did interview these individuals and their mothers, I felt that there was not enough dialect show between individuals and their friends, classmates, siblings, and teachers. Additionally, the film barely explores the views of community members regarding the revitalization process the area was set to undergo over the next 15 years.
The boys states that they were going to miss the neighbourhood, and showed Ainsworth and his views of the project, by filming him as he visited the home he was raised in. However, neighbours, friends, or other community members were not interviewed on their opinions of the revitalization project. I think this would have been very interesting to hear, especially if certain residents had contrasting opinions of the plan. Moreover, the documentary could have focussed more on the triumphs, and progressive choices these individuals have made, rather than portraying their stories as hopeless. The documentary shows how Kendell was arrested, and Mikey getting into trouble with his mom, and their struggles in school, but fails to acknowledge that these individuals made positive choices, and are bright individuals regardless of what others believe of them. The director followed these individuals over the past three years, and could have highlighted the strengths of each character. I felt that their positive choices, such as commitment to school, and continuing to live with their mothers, despite the countless conflicts they experience, were underrepresented in the documentary. Ainsworth, during the graduation party for highschool students, notes that there are a lot of successful students who are doing things in the community
and the importance of commemorating those students. I do not think the accomplishments of the two boys were as celebrated in the film to the extent that they could have been. In this manner, it felt as though the director was attempting to engage the audience through pity, rather than personal connection and interest. The ending of Invisible City feels incomplete as it leaves viewers with no insight of the characters’ future. This could have been avoided had the director included a brief description of the current situation of the two teens, a common feature of documentaries. This incomplete ending of the documentary also emphasizes this lack of personal connection towards the characters. In conclusion, though there were certain aspects in the presentation of the film that could have been improved, Invisible City brings substantial awareness to important issues in social geography. The film remarkably demonstrates the intersectionality of issues affecting the lives of Kendell and Mikey. This includes the interplay of gender norms, generational differences, structural inequality through experiences of racism by authority figures, and how this influences ones social mobility and reinforces feelings of marginalization. Though the director, Hubert Davis, does not provide the viewers with information on the future of Kendal and Mikey, this can be seen as a symbolic representation of the unpredictability of black youth in Regent Park. Overall, Invisible City was a compelling film and I would recommend it to viewers who are interested in learning about the lived experiences of those in Regent Park.
The book In the Neighborhood, by Peter Lovenheim is a very interesting look into the lives of residents in modern suburban neighborhoods. His neighborhood in Rochester New York mirrors many communities across the country. He paints a familiar picture of a community that waves at each other as they drive by, yet do not know the person they are waving at. This disconnection of people that live their lives so close to one another was completely unnoticed by Lovenheim until tragedy struck his community. One night in 2000, a routine activity that Lovenheim practiced, walking his dogs, exposed his consciousness to the lack of association he shared with those who live in close proximity to him. As he approached his street he observed emergency vehicles
Elijah Anderson’s Code of the Street book depicts two opposite communities within Philadelphia, the poor inner city black community and the residential middle class community. The majority of the book revolves around describing how the inner city functions on a ‘code of the street’ mentality, respect and toughness. Crime, violence and poverty run high in the inner city and following the code is a way to survive. Having a decent family or a street family greatly influences the path an adolescent will take involving delinquency. Anderson divides the book up into different themes and explores each one my not only giving factual information, but he also incorporates real life stories of various people who survived the inner city life style. Some of the themes include territory, survival by any means necessary, toughness, separate set of norms, campaign of respect and the mating game. Some criminological theories are also noticeable that take place in the inner city community.
Harding, D. J. (2010). Living the Drame: Community, Conflict, and Culture Among Inner-City Boys. Chicago, IL: The University Of Chicago Press.
The book emphasizes the idea of how difficult it is to leave the gang lifestyle. There are frequent cases of relapse by individuals in the book, who were once out to again return to gangs. This case is brought by what gangs represent to this in the book and what leaving entails them to give up. The definition of gangs presented to the class was, three or more members, share name, color, or affiliation, or must exist in a geopolitical context. To members associated with gangs, this definition can include your family members, neighborhood, everyone that they associate with. Take for example Ronnie from Jumped in by Jorja Leap it states,” Ronny’s role models are gangbangers. His family is a hood. His mentors are older homies in county jail.”(102). Ronnie and other gang members like him do not
Another noteworthy urban sociologist that’s invested significant research and time into gentrification is Saskia Sassen, among other topical analysis including globalization. “Gentrification was initially understood as the rehabilitation of decaying and low-income housing by middle-class outsiders in central cities. In the late 1970s a broader conceptualization of the process began to emerge, and by the early 1980s new scholarship had developed a far broader meaning of gentrification, linking it with processes of spatial, economic and social restructuring.” (Sassen 1991: 255). This account is an extract from an influential book that extended beyond the field of gentrification and summarizes its basis proficiently. In more recent and localized media, the release the documentary-film ‘In Jackson Heights’ portrayed the devastation that gentrification is causing as it plagues through Jackson Heights, Queens. One of the local businessmen interviewed is shop owner Don Tobon, stating "We live in a
The four parts in Travis Hirschi’s theory are attachment (“being connected with those around you”), belief (“sharing values with those with whom you associate and care about”), commitment (“a desire and understanding that abiding by the norms and values of society are the right way to het where you want to go”) and involvement (being involved “or other forms of interactions that reinforce beliefs and behaviors”). The reason why this theory goes with the documentary is because the people who join gangs lack some or all the factors that according to this theory prevent crime involvement. Some examples include when it is mention how most the teenagers who join are always left alone because their parents work. Instead of relying on their parents, they seek affection and sense of belonging somewhere else. Apart from that, the belief and commitment part of this theory comes into play when the members share their belief of wanting to protect their turf from their enemy gang rival and reinforcing their limit lines. Meaning they avoid crossing their “turf’s” dividing line into enemy territory. Lastly, the lack of involvement is seen as they –the people who became gang members— are not involve in healthy activities such as volunteer programs/ clubs and instead are attracted to the gang
For this assignment I decided to read the book Code of the Street: decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city by Elijah Anderson. This book is about how inner city people live and try and survive by living with the code of the streets. The code of the streets is basically morals and values that these people have. Most of the time it is the way they need to act to survive. Continuing on within this book review I am going to discuss the main points and arguments that Anderson portrays within the book. The main points that the book has, goes along with the chapters. These points consist of Street and decent families, respect, drugs violence, street crime, decent daddy, the mating game, black inner city grandmother. Now within these points there are a few main arguments that I would like to point out. The first argument is the belief that you will need to accept the street code to get through life. The other one is the belief that people on the street need “juice”. For the rest of this paper we will be looking at each one of main points and arguments by going through each chapter and discussing it.
The first student we meet is Nate Marshal from Whitney Young Magnet High School on the west side of Chicago. The school uses standardized test scores and grades to determine who gets in. The kids that go there are smart, and eager to learn, which is a stark contrast to most of the other schools we see. A good school however does not prevent Nate from seeing the bad side to Chicago. He takes the camera crew to an area around his neighborhood where he points to places he’s gotten jumped, or seen a dead body.
“The Deeper Problems We Miss When We Attack ‘Gentrification’”exhibit their opinion on the positives of gentrification and the potential of “revitalization” in low-income urban communities. Badger argues that gentrification brings nothing more than further opportunities for urban communities while integrating citizens of different social classes.Furthermore , she continues to question if gentrification is in fact the monster that brings the prior expressions against gentrification where she says “If poor neighborhoods have historically suffered from dire disinvestment, how can the remedy to that evil — outside money finally flowing in — be the problem, too?”(Badger) Stating that the funds generated from sources external that are brought into these communities can’t be problematic. This concept is further elaborated in the article “Does Gentrification Harm the Poor” where Vigdoor list the potential positive enhancements gentrification can have on an urban area in America ,stating that gentrification can
Boyz N the Hood was a film created to convey an anti-gang message as well as to provide societal members an in-depth look at life in “the hood” so he or she can expand their culturally awareness of identifying societal issues (Stevenson, 1991). Upon the debut of “Boyz N the Hood” violence erupted at theaters across the nation, resulting in multiple shows pulling the film from scheduled showings to alleviate future violent behaviors (Stevenson, 1991). The film profoundly illustrates the realty of the events revealed within the storyline that frequently occur on a daily basis within every impoverish community; however, is overlooked by the individuals who are not directly involved and or affected (Leon-Guerrero, 2016) Children of lower socioeconomic status often are raised in ghetto neighborhoods where they often witness, crime, violence, gang activity, abuse, and drugs (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). Ghetto communities envelop tumultuous cycles of violence and substance abuse creating a pervasive occurrence within the residents of the community. This is prevalent in lower developed communities that unfortunately many children and the youth populace indirectly inherit and sadly conform to, as there are no other means to an end for them (Leon-Guerrero,
John Singleton’s view of social problems in South Central Los Angeles happens in a tale of three friends growing up together. Doughboy and Ricky Baker are half-brothers and have opposite personalities. Ricky is a football player who hopes to win a scholarship and spends most of his time playing football. On the other hand, Doughboy is a young man who looks upon his environment for guidance. He is involved in violence, abusing drugs, and participates in violence. In between is their friend Tre, who actually has a father to teach him what is right from wrong. Furious Styles, who is Tre’s father in the film does everything in his strength to keep his son from becoming another startling statistic. As you can see, it is always important for parents to be a part of their child’s life because it can make a big difference not only in their life but also their child’s future.
These crime-ridden communities (or ghettos) are springing up all through the country, mainly in and around major metropolitan areas. These areas are the most populated, so that means that within these areas are the most people there to be influenced by the crimes committed by fellow people. In Male's reading he shows statistics that prove the fact that once the poverty factor is taken away then teen violence disappears. He later adds, “That if America wants to rid of juvenile violence than serious consideration needs to be given to the societally inflicted violence of raising three to 10 times more youth in poverty than other Western nations.” (Males p386)
In his research Jay Macleod, compares two groups of teenage boys, the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers. Both groups of teenagers live in a low income neighborhood in Clarendon Heights, but they are complete opposites of each other. The Hallway Hangers, composed of eight teenagers spend most of their time in the late afternoon or early evening hanging out in doorway number 13 until very late at night. The Brothers are a group of seven teenagers that have no aspirations to just hang out and cause problems, the Brothers enjoy active pastimes such as playing basketball. The Hallway Hangers all smoke, drink, and use drugs. Stereotyped as “hoodlums,” “punks,” or “burnouts” by outsiders, the Hallway Hangers are actually a varied group, and much can be learned from considering each member (Macleod p. 162). The Brothers attend high school on a regular basis and none of them participate in high-risk behaviors, such as smoke, drink, or do drugs.
This paper will be predominantly focusing on public housing within Ontario. Not only will it look at the basics of Ontario but examine more directly on Regent Park within Toronto. It will discuss what public housing is and the explanation for why it exists, the government housing programs that are present with regards to public housing and the results of the government programs. The Purpose of this essay is to argue that the problem of public housing will never
The documentary follows ten four, five and six year olds, exploring how children make and break friendships, share, stand up for themselves, find themselves, and find their place in a social group.