The documentary ‘Sidewalk’ focuses on the daily lives of homeless book vendors who are based along 6th Avenue between 8th Street and Washington Place in New York City. It not only exhibits their ways of living but also brings forth their struggle to be able to survive. The main characters in the documentary, although having different identities and lifestyles, had the same problem, same struggle. Primarily financial issues that led them to selling books and magazines on the street just continue to worsen and create more problems. The lack of money would mean lack of reliability and trust for anyone to give them a job followed by shelter issues. The sidewalk then becomes a sort of downward spiral for anyone to climb the ladder and bounce back to an ordinary life. The stigma attached to drugs in relation to vendors on sidewalks makes them more prone to having a criminal status. This becomes a part of their lifestyle, having people give them stares, going to prison repeatedly and earning money this way; they get used to it.
Jane Jacob in her book describes that sidewalks make the neighborhood alive or dead. And having these vendors interacting with new people every day, having their own independence forms a community. Although the main characters did have changes like no drinking, working at 7-eleven and being deported, it is the freedom that they enjoyed on the streets. Some people would argue against them but it is a part of their life and makes them a social organization unintentionally. They become public characters that are seen every day. Mitchell Duneier and Barry Alexander Brown have used ethnography as their main method of documenting this film. By shadowing, interviewing and just being around with the vendors for a long time, they intervene and know more about their life. It is even more interesting in the way they observe these people behave in ways that haven’t been stated. Also, how camera could play in role in the reserved answers the vendors give that may not necessarily even be true. Observing also made them notice and question things that one would generally take for granted. Through all of these behavioral changes in addition to the video clips, they showcase the type of life the vendors are living.
It was fascinating to see how people have different attitudes and levels of tolerance in different places, like New York and Jamaica. Wherein one place could let strangers enter their homes and help, the other could offer nothing. What strikes in my mind is the relation of race with the people on sidewalks and how this could be an ethical problem in the society? How do these people move past the sensitivity of the higher status and yet continue to live on the streets with same attitude? How do these people try and get back on their feet when the society treats them unfairly and unjustly? While some try to help it is the entire community that would need to stand up and help them by understanding why do they do what they do. As a person who uses the sidewalks often, it is difficult to know that these people are homeless and can’t afford most of anything. It is education that is key and must be provided to every individual to mitigate this problem.
