Description
Book Synopsis This book studies a grouping of films set in New York City between 1965 and 1995, reflecting a town besieged by rampant criminality, social distress and physical decay. Fear City is a term the NYPD used to label New York as a frightening environment, incapable of securing the safety of its residents. This book not only deals with the social problems evident in New York during this period, but also provides a study of how independent filmmakers were able to capture unsettling urban imagery, capitalizing on feelings of paranoia and dread. The author explores how the tone of these films reflects upon the anti-urbanism that led to the War on Crime, the mass exodus of working-class people from the city and mass incarceration of young Black men.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments vi
- Preface 1
- One. New York, New York: Ville de la peur 17
- Two. Spaces of Fear 49
- Three. Subways of Fear: Going for a Ride 76
- Four. Sex, Drugs and Music 100
- Five. Street Gangs in Fear City 131
- Six. Fear City as a Racist Trope 150
- Seven. Policing Fear City 172
- Eight. Serial Killers, Lunatics, and Rapists:
- At Home in Fear City 190
- Conclusion 202
- Filmography 205
- References 209
- Index 225
