New York City

By Christin Geße, Eva Bendin, Lilian Kabubei

There are probably only few cities that are more affected by prejudices than New York City. The metropolis which consists of five boroughs – Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens – is the most populated city in the United States.

One reason why we choose New York for our project is its many facets. What instantly came to our mind when thinking about the melting pot were, of course, well-known sights like the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Central Park and the Broadway Theatre, just to name a few. What is seen as a trademark of NYC is most likely the mass of skyscrapers giving the skyline of the city its high recognition factor, but also famous tale of the “American Dream”, which brings many people to moving to the “City that never sleeps” to start a better life and thereby turning New York into a place of high cultural diversity. But to be honest, we do not just associate good things with the region: a high criminality rate and stressed, unfriendly people are images of New York that stick in our heads without an actual explanation.

But where did we learn these ideas? Our group concentrated on two songs about New York City and tried to understand how these stereotypes were used in popular culture.

The first song we choose is “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. Both artists, coming from NYC, in the song demonstrate a very positive, glorifying attitude towards NYC, although the negative sides like crimes are mentioned, too.

New York City is depicted as a city where “…[there is] no place in the world that can compare”, a melting pot that never sleeps, where there is nothing that does not exist. The bright lights are said to exhilarate people, the broad streets very inspiring. In the official music video the bright and vivid image is represented, too. We see the skyline, with seemingly endless illuminated skyscrapers and typical sights, for example.

In the song, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys deal with the “American Dream” in the way that  they say that many people come to NYC because  this is the “…concrete jungle where dreams are made” and that even people from the “ghetto” can become famous or fulfill their dreams in this city, as Jay Z himself managed it to do.  On the other hand the singers state that “half of y´all won´t make it”, meaning that only few people have the chance to live the “American Dream” in New York City.

Secondly we chose the song “New York City” by Among Savages which gives a different and a more negative image of New York. The song is about the reality in the wonderful metropolis and it gives the notion of a city that is always in hectic with the many activities that take place there. Many people desire to at least achieve something in the big city, in order to fulfill their “American Dream”. But, a lot of uncertainties, disappointments, instability due to constant changes in the big city are involved. This makes NYC dwellers never to be contented with what they have. So many people work really hard to achieve something but this on the other hand leads to isolation which again leads to loneliness with no inner freedom. Lack of inner peace often contributes to fear. The fear of not achieving something despite the fact that hard work is involved. In this song, life in NY is presented to be very frustrating. Somehow, the song tries to encourage the people to take each day at a time and make the best out of it and never to give up, even though life in New York City can be really tough. The song insists on individual braveness and toughness. One has to be in a position to face the reality. This could involve certain difficult choices. For instance, to quit the city and not life because even though there are too many hardships in New York City there are still lots of chances to change the illusions into dreams.

In the Savages’ song, the American Dream “from rags to riches “is being challenged. By this we mean the myth that through hard work everyone has the potential to lead a happy successful life and that America is a land of freedom, fulfillment and meaningful relationships. The song tells us (you) to “Follow your dreams, but beware of the illusions.” This makes it clear to us that life in New York City is a reality and not a fantasy. By walking through the city, with its many skyscrapers, it gives somebody the feeling of being helpless “in the midst of all those buildings.” This can be an experience that can even make someone to “(…) feel like a child in a world that seems shapeless.” Somebody can also get a feeling of loneliness because it’s “hard enough to find a friend”. But “Where do you find peace in the middle of the City?” This is a difficult question to answer. For the city does offer any other alternative. The hectic life in the city automatically robs away your freedom. That´s why the song asks “Have you given up on freedom, while you spent your life earning the keys to set you free,” Here the keys can symbolize success.

In this song, we get to see the other side of the metropolis, its glorifying attitude and the reality about the “American Dream”, the dream which was once famous, has with time become a tale, an illusion on its own, to certain people. On the other hand, after we made comparisons with our first song, “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, success through hard work is praised.

It shows how the romantic visions we tend to have of New York City, especially the desire to get rich and successful, is used in popular culture. That does not mean that the dream cannot be a reality.

Finally our group came to the conclusion that the “American Dream” “from rags to riches” can be true. Unfortunately, this does not apply to everybody. Some determinants are involved. One being the society and fate is another. New York as a city has not only a beautiful but also an ugly face. Some people are rich while others have to struggle to survive in the streets of New York City to make both ends meet.