MOVIE REVIEW: The Central Park Five

"Tonight alive, let's describe the inscrutable
The indisputable, we New York the narcotic
Strength in metal and fiber optics
Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips
For profits, thirsty criminals take pockets
Hard knuckles on the second hands of working class watches
Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of living is preposterous
We stay alive, you play or die, no options
No Batman and Robin, can't tell between the cops and the robbers
They both partners, they all heartless
With no conscience, back streets stay darkened
Where unbeliever hearts stay hardened
My eagle talons STAY sharpened, like city lights stay throbbing
You either make a way or stay sobbing
The Shiny Apple is bruised but sweet and if you choose to eat
You could lose your teeth, many crews retreat
Nightly news repeat, who got shot down and locked down
Spotlight to savages, NASDAQ averages
My narrative, rose to explain this existence
Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance"

The above quote comes from rapper Mos Def off the song “Respiration.”  Released in 1998 on the album Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Blackstar, many hip-hop enthusiasts consider this verse as one of Mos Def’s best.  The appeal of his words comes from his illustration of life in New York City in the late 1990s.  Specifically, Mos Def presented listeners with his images of crime, corruption, greed, fear, and apathy created by the media, increased police presence, and growing gap between the have’s and have-not’s during an alleged economic boom.  Credit for this New York environment is given to former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and his administration.  His premise in handling crime in New York was to crackdown on the minor crimes and increase police presence throughout the city.  This strategy would serve to deter all crime and decrease the crime rate in the city.

According to statistics collected during his administration, the crime rate in New York did decrease.  However, critics claimed that since the police were the ones responsible for providing the statistics, police officers often underreported the crime stats.  Furthermore, there were multiple high-profile cases of police brutality during the Giuliani era, which many rappers from New York often referenced in their music even though the stories did not get national coverage.  Many people forget that before the September 11 attacks, Giuliani’s popularity was plummeting due to his policies as well as controversy involving his personal life.  September 11 allowed him to save face and legitimized his policies on police presence throughout the city.   Depending on whom you talk to about him, Giuliani’s New York City was either a blessing or a curse.  When I moved to New York, I would talk to one person and he or she would complain about how fun New York used to be before Giuliani came in.  I would then talk to another person, and they would say how bad the city was before Giuliani came in.  In fact, on my first job, a co-worker explained to me Giuliani’s plan.  After he was finished, the first statement that I made was, “Sounds like a police state to me.”  In response, the co-worker emphasized that in order to feel safe, such measures are necessary.