Every year, some sixty-five million tourists travel to New York City. Due to the corona crisis, there are now a lot less. Martin Scorsese saw a gap in the market and set to work Pretend it’s a City, a seven-part documentary in which, together with author Fran Lebowitz, he brings the sticky subway benches, smoky cafes and beautiful views of their very own metropolis to your Dutch living room. Fancy a mini-vacation? At least you don’t have to pack your suitcase.
Who exactly Fran Lebowitz is, does not matter. All you need to know about this humpback grunt is that she represents the ultimate New Yorker. As the writer paces the crowded Times Square, her dark aura collides with the bright billboards and happy tourist headlines that stop for selfies every now and then. “Pretend it’s a city,” Fran barks, annoyed by the asos who then block her footpath. “A city where other people also live, who are not on holiday, who simply have to go to work.”
In Pretend it’s a City can you seeing the city from the point of view of someone who has lived there all his life. The relationship between citizen and visitor is quite sensitive in New York, because the nicest neighborhoods are built for the enjoyment of tourists, not the convenience of residents. Fran is therefore far from the only one who looks back nostalgically on the seventies, when New York was still dirty and criminal. Despite the graffiti on the buses, the city had a rebellious character that has largely been lost over the decades.
A city like no other
As a young lesbian, Fran left her intolerant New Jersey hometown for the indifferent-yet-welcoming Manhattan she left behind. “Why do people come to New York?” she asks herself. “Because New York is not where they come from.” Frank Sinatras New York, New York is still sung at full throttle, but faith in that good old ‘American Dream’ has faded; fame and wealth are no longer waiting for newcomers. Developing a personal identity, independent of the traditions in which you grew up, the city can still lend them a helping hand.
Although Scorsese hopes to enrich tourists with French knowledge, the typical Dutch person can recognize herself in her incessant complaining. After all, New York was founded by our Republic and that Dutch love for grumbling remains anchored in the DNA of the American metropolis to this day. For example, Fran, who hates traveling herself, would most likely feel quite at home in a Jordanian cafe. Especially if she can talk about things like the gentrification of the Oudezijds Achterburgwal with Youp van ‘t Hek-types there or the king’s speedboat.
Pretend it’s a City is not only amusing, but also includes valuable travel advice. If you stay in a hotel with a view of Central Park and spend your days in shopping centers, you don’t get much of the culture. At the end of your visit you may have some nice photos for your Instagram profile, but you know just as little about your destination as when you left home. Thanks to Scorsese’s documentary, you can finally really explore New York without even getting out of bed.
This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
– .
