When it comes to the city, many people today think of all
the popular places that have the most tourist attractions or what has the best
sites to see. Of these highly sought out locations, people tend to forget that
not every city is glistening with appealing visuals. Even the great New York
City of the United States of America has its areas that require necessary
attention. However, across NYC and over the Hudson River lies Newark, New
Jersey. What was once a largely industrial and populated city now lays an urban
landscape with several stretches of poverty and crime. For those who are not
familiar with Newark intimately, their viewpoints unanimously converge on the
assumption that Newark is a place nobody should visit. Yet for filmmakers
Jerome and Marylou Bongiorno, they have a much different mentality about New
Jersey's Newark. The Bongiornos are not your typical set of documentary movie
makers. In this documentary, they cover how Newark changed after 1967.
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| Not much needed to be said here.... |
One of the biggest advantages the Bongiornos have in their
favor versus numerous other filmmakers is that they live in Newark. What better
way to get in contact with the people who know the city best, to immerse
oneself in the culture and to gain an understanding of the city's history? Yes,
research is needed but a disconnect will still exist unless the people involved
actually experience the neighborhood itself. The year of 1967 was a time of
change for Newark, in its social and political issues. Audiences are reeled
into the enticing story of how things got so uncontrollable so quickly. Now of
course just giving the reason is not all that is reported. As viewers are
explained the set of events that brought about such an uproar, the next step
was giving more food for thought by elaborating on the socio-economic history
that plagued Newark before any of it even happened. In short, Newark was a slow
cooking pot boiler that had unresolved problems.
What's intriguing to know, is that the infamous riots of
Newark in 1967 were a culmination of circumstances. These quandaries had been
brewing decades before and they span from subtopics about the housing
commission, discrimination among people, corrupt city leaders, freeway
construction, poverty and much more. Along with that are several clips of
people being interviewed that were either indirectly and (more importantly)
directly involved with this tragic set of events. This list of people that help
give the audience a richer understanding of the complications at hand range
from activists, historians, former politicians, public safety officials,
journalists and others. Of these individuals, Tom Hayden, Ronald Smothers,
Sharpe James, Amiri Baraka, Nell Irvin Painter, George Richardson are just some
of the people who help relay this information. What's even more surprising is
to see and hear how much of a disadvantage other races had compared to working
white folk.
Yet if there was one group of people being interviewed that
should have had more time to explain their side of the story, it should have
been for the veterans of the National Guard. It's definitely important to have
your audience understand the topic at hand and receive the message the film
conveys, but it is also important to have equal amounts of information on both
sides. This is not to conflict the overall comprehension, but to see the
viewpoints from both perspectives equally. There are nonetheless some very
disturbing statistics displayed throughout the film that can resonate for quite
a while. Another aspect to this documentary that really helps the atmosphere
and tension feel all the more authentic are the numerous snippets of 8mm videos
that were taken during the violence that occurred that day. During those
particular pieces of recorded history, one can only imagine what it would've
been like to see the National Guard advancing through local streets.
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| Just one of the many interviewed |
In wrapping up, the last segment updates viewers on Newark's
current status. There are things going on in Newark, but it still needs the
right guidance. For Jerome Bongiorno working as cinematographer, the camerawork
was fine. For the interview elements, the camera is rigid much of the time and
that's how it should be when filming a classic documentary. Then again it would
have been quite stimulating to see more shots that caught today's Newark in action.
For those who don't live in Newark, just having the camera pass through
pedestrians or by sidewalks doesn't show Newark's other surroundings. The music
was an enjoyable added touch though. Composed by Yotam Rosenbaum, the music is
a callback to the days of early jazz when the instruments at the forefront
consisted of piano, organ, and light brushes on the snare. These sounds all in
some way assist in reflecting the time and tone of that era. This will actually
help the viewers be more engaged. It's very appropriate.
Aside from not having enough stories from the National Guard
end and missing some contemporary shots of said location, this documentary on
the history of Newark New Jersey should be seen not just to educate, but to
understand. The facts, the people interviewed, the music and historical
evidence shown through pictures and video all mingle to form a cohesive
empathetic break down of this misunderstood city.
Points Earned --> 7:10
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