Location expectations: List six things you found unexpected (specific to the location) and six things you had expected (specific to the location)

  • Expected
    • Plenty of street vendors (merchandise & counterfeit goods)
    • A large variety of different and interesting food (fruits, dim sum, etc)
    • Aggressive/worried vendors not wanting you to take their picture
    • Tourists
    • An interesting array of buildings with some Chinese inspired architecture
    • Dirty sidewalks
  • Didn’t Expect
    • Streets to be so packed because Daniel said they were most likely going to be empty due to Coronavirus
    • A large number of elderly people
    • Crowded restaurants since we went there late afternoon after lunch but before dinner
    • A crew of cyclists riding their bikes in the street which came out of nowhere
    • Plenty of noise, traffic, people, music, etc
    • A large number of birds (seagulls and pigeons)

 

Film ideas: The film I imagine has a very steady but constant rhythm to it, you don’t really notice the cuts because it is so cohesive both in sound and in the image. I want it to feel classical with the black and white images which would contrast the colorful nightlife in Chinatown perhaps the music could reflect that too with a crescendo towards the transition between the black & white and the color. I feel that the film should focus a lot on the people who reside in Chinatown and how they have been there for a while, how they speak Chinese amongst each other because that’s what they’re most comfortable with, how they spend weekends at the park gambling, that kind of stuff.

 

Narration

As soon as you get to Chinatown you’re transported into a different world. 

As a tourist, you definitely stand out, a few steps out of the subway and you are already confronted with people trying to sell you counterfeit purses and jewelry, you have to politely shoot them down and keep walking. You see, being a tourist in Chinatown makes you a target, you become vulnerable to purchasing paper mache heads, paper Chinese dragons, red Chinese lanterns and maybe even a doll. There is no escape from the constant hustle that is Chinatown. 

 

Street vendors are a very peculiar crowd, they want your attention but don’t appreciate your camera lens. When they are seen by your lens they either say no photos or what are you doing? In an intimidating way to fend you off while not scaring you away from a sale. 

 

Although there is a constant electricity to Chinatown there are moments of tranquility, you mostly see this in the elderly people of Chinatown. They slowly wander the streets avoiding large crowds on the sidewalk, they are everywhere. Most keep their heads down and try to avoid being seen as if they were moving buildings, they’re there but you don’t necessarily notice them. 

 

The food at Chinatown is also very unique not only in the flavor but how it’s presented to you. One minute you’re window-shopping and you come face to face with a dead duck hanging from a hook or you’re blinded by powerful bulb lights which belong to the fruit vendors who light up the street not only with their powerful lights but also with the beautiful fruit they sell. 

At night the entire landscape changes, cars become more noticeable, stores bring you in with their bright lights, the vendors are less aggressive because they’ve been working all day and you can finally have a nice stroll through Chinatown

I’ve been to Chinatown many times over the last few months of living in New York. Sometimes to walk around, sometimes for the food, some times for cheap gifts. Im always blown away by the hustle  and bustle on the streets. 

Visiting because of the assignment without a purpose but looking for something was disorienting.  The thing I found most shocking s the difference between the tourists and the locals.

If a person was taking photos or selfies or was browsing among the million knock offs, tourist. If Their eyes ere permanently searching for something to look at, tourist. Tourists look like they are endlessly amazed by every sign, store and smell. 

Theres a fascination in their face. 

Locals are way past that fascination. If a person was a local they were searching for something specific, if searching at all. They weren’t bothered with everything but seemed concerned with their goal.  They seemed more relaxed and knowledgeable, like they could categorize everyone they looked at.

In this case we were tourists. Searching, but for nothing in particular. A little disoriented and lost, but searching nonetheless. 

During the day the scenery was full of people, but they seemed washed out by the day. The colors seemed more gray and light. There was more old people running their errands, who frowned upon us recording them. Sometimes everything would blend together seamlessly and people would disappear.

During the night the lights came out to play. Every spotlight enhanced. Lights would bounce off the cars and the windows. More younger people looking for some fun adventure. Stores still open but now they refused to blend and everyone seemed special and fascinating

Maybe at night I became more of a tourist. Everything was fascinating. I was holding a camera. It was beautiful and enchanting and I couldn’t get enough of it. 

Its pretty amazing to think I live a couple of train stops away from such dazzle

I kind of wish I could spend every night there

 

Additional Research

  • As Manhattan Chinatown changes, food vendors keep a bit of the old with the new

Author: Elaine Chen

Summary: The article is several personal stories of businesses in Chinatown and how they have adapted during the years. The author describes her personal connection to the place, and introduces the vendors.

“…And Mr. Wu loved it. Choosing products and seeing what sells at what price was like running little experiments for him.

So while his sisters went into medicine and dentistry, he chose the family business.”

“One shopper considered a box of strawberries and asked, “Is it sweet?”

‘Sweet like you,’ replied Ms. Truong, 51, almost instinctively.”

Our take: To infuse the narration with personal stories and ethos and pathos, to give it more emotional power.

  • Chinatown Revisited

Author: Bonnie Tsui

Summary: The narrator grew up in Chinatown as a child with her family, in the article, she does a reconnaissance of how the place has changes in the decades that have passed

“Years ago, they were dense neighborhoods in cities like San Francisco and New York, serving as refuges from racism, entry points to America, residential and cultural epicenters of Chinese-American life. This is the rule no longer.”

Our take: Similar to the last one, if a piece is infused with personal experiences, the reader is more attracted and intrigued.

 

  • Five Reasons New York’s Chinatown is resisting Gentrification

 

Author: Nick Tabor

Summary: 1. they own the place since immigration started and refuse to give it up (rightfully). 2. No-one truly leave, it passes down through generations. 3. even more immigrants keep coming in. 4. Great array of restaurants for tourists. 5. It’s presence is a matter of permanence

Our take: It shows the resilience of the workers, and the strength of those who live there, which we wanted to represent in our movie. 

Photographic/Film inspiration from NYPL Collection

These were picked because the are common shots of chinatown life. The people are carrying on with mundane tasks, not particularly extraordinaire, but somehow beautiful. Also, we decided to do daytime photos in black and white, because the color seem more dim, and then daytime scenery in color, and then contrast will enhance it even more. 

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. “New York, NY” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1940 – 1979. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0d6fb2d0-12ad-0133-c231-58d385a7b928

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. “New York, NY” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1940 – 1979. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/e763e5b0-12b3-0133-132a-58d385a7bbd0

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. “Block 334: Mott Street between Canal Street and Hester Street (east side)” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1999. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-f8df-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

 

 

ROUGH Draft of Film: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ExI7VtR7C0uOgstBuygU00215WdVMUYB

 

Semi-Final draft of the film: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NSbZFEAxJV-4A-EXiyj_H73LvuHqH0Mf

 

FINAL VERSION: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rmyzkgscyAf4u-sd2di0M1do1HvcR6KV