That all makes the park the perfect backdrop for...a television commercial.
I watched four guys spend several minutes trying to get the Lay's Stix bag perfectly positioned in the hat kid's hand. Like this, no like this. Hold it like this. How's that? The hat kid had to hold it just so and not move a muscle. His companions stood by looking bored, just following directions.
actors outfitted like hipsters
When they called action, the three hipster-styled actors, dressed in silver sneakers and ironic t-shirts, walked stiffly past the park's gate, robotically reaching into the bag and bringing Lay's Stix to their mouths, their faces expressionless, emotionless. Maybe they were told not to upset the position of the snack bag.
Behind them, extras outfitted with giant handbags and texting into cell phones sauntered past, pretending not to pay attention. Also following directions.
All in all, a perfect example of how "art" imitates "life."
extras outfitted like big-bag girls
11 comments:
Very disturbing.
I guess some yunnie in whatever advertising agency has that account finally thought up an ad campaign that aptly expresses the bleackness of yunnie culture. Either that, or the director (most likely a yunnie also) is utterly incompetant and forgot to tell the kids to smile, which wouldn't surprise me either (constantly being high as a kite can lead to mistakes like that).
they look sad and starving, but would ya look at those bags!
i shrug for my lost generation. american beauty indeed.
these are the progenies of a nanny state.
I wonder how many of the kids in those pictures are from the midwest?
....from the midwest living in an apartment that daddy bought them now that New York is "safe".
When the revolution happens it will not be televised and the giant Marc Jacobs handbags filled with useless paper money will be thrown aside like the brown paper bags wrapped around the cheap beers that the moved on homeless population of the park once threw aside.
Oh I know sweetie can you believe that this park
(here Tinsley gestures a Chanel bangled pilates thin hand towards Jackson Square from her penthouse roof terrace) was once full of homeless drunks? (some of the professionally skinny guests swanning on the terrace giggle at this point) Yes I know what you mean Tinsley daahhling thank god what's her names husband at Halliburton was able to use some of that new experimental equipment they've been working on over at Homeland Security to take care of the problem! Indeed, indeed it's nice to know that our investments in this area are safe!
Some of those kids appear to be teenagers, possibly still in high school, natives maybe. I agree with a large percentage of the rantings on this site, but cringe a bit at a lot of the generalizations. Is everyone under 30 a scourge on the city? Is everyone who talks on a cell phone while they walk down the street?
the kids in this post are tv commercial actors. of course, not all young people are a scourge, many are great. but the good ones do get overshadowed it seems.
as for the cell phone walkers, sure, some people keep their voices down, vigilantly watch where they are going, or stand off to the side to make brief or important calls--i do that myself from time to time--but how often do you see that compared to the countless who are weaving, screaming, and bumping as they talk or text for blocks and blocks?
generalizations are limiting and there are always exceptions to them, so i understand your cringe. sometimes i make myself cringe. but i also think generalizations are useful when talking about trends and when using humor.
it doesn't always work out, but that's what i am aiming for.
Jeremiah,
Thanks, I think you are actually a little less vitriolic that some of your commenters. Like I said, I agree with what you are doing. But it's hard to completely get on board when I think that you could easily snap a picture of me, a woman in her 20s with a cell phone, and use it as a representation of everything souless in the City. I realize you've developed a shorthand that works for you and your readers, but it rubs me the wrong way. One commenter, I think in response to my comment, wrote that, in fact, most teens and 20-somethings are scourges. That doesn't seem to be a very farsighted attitude, especially if you want to effect any type of change.
hey 20-something anon, thanks for giving me some food for thought and presenting your viewpoint in a reasoned way.
this blog makes a space for the anger and alienation felt by many in the face of the city's shifting dominant culture. and that leaves little room for looking on the bright side, it's true. i have mixed feelings about that at times.
you make a good point, re: the snapshot potential, and i understand your not getting totally on board.
so...what if i catch you munching magnolia cupcakes in manolos while shouting into a phone and pushing a double-wide stroller loaded with shopping bags down a narrow sidewalk?
If you ever catch me in that situation (doubtful) feel free to snap away. But I reserve my right to enjoy nouveau frozen yogurt (it's finally tangy like real yogurt and I think it's delicious).
Thanks for responding. You seem like a very reasonable person and your running really interesting site, both in terms of the content of the posts and it's function as a forum.
i don't know what nouveau fro-yo is (like pinkberry?), but as long as i don't catch you eating it while talking on the phone, pushing that stroller SUV, etc., we should be just fine.
thanks for reading and for staying engaged and interested, even when you're rubbed the wrong way.
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