Urban Politics Brick City -

Urban Politics

Brick City - Season One, Episode Four: Circus

"Circus," the fourth episode of the documentary television series Brick City, contrasts the garish entertainment of the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus with the gritty, daily existence of life in Newark. Newark's Mayor Corey Booker has been attempting to revitalize the reputation of Newark, which has often been stereotyped as crime-ridden and depressed. Attracting major entertainment figures, particularly 'family' entertainment figures such as the circus to Newark, is part of Booker's campaign. The episode contrasts the circus with images of the city's residents, to show the distinction between the image that Newark is attempting to project to the world and what is real -- both the images of a former gang member turning his life around as well as that of urban residents talking about the costs violence has had upon their lives and families.

Brick City contrasts hopeful gestures, like the measurable reduction in homicides by the Newark police and the attempts of characters like to forge a new existence, with the fact that deaths still happen. The video shows how both gang members and police officers alike mourn the deaths of members of their group and also how members of the circus dare to do the impossible -- just like the residents, everyone lives in hope. One of the greatest strengths of this video is the humor and the evident earnestness of Corey Booker as he welcomes the animals and performers to Newark. The contrast between the beautiful elephants and the highways of Newark is poignant and effective, illustrating how the circus and the constructed, urban environment of Newark both look unnatural. However, as well as tragedy and difficulty there is also joy. The image of a tightrope performer, suspended over Newark's buildings becomes a symbol of Booker's attempt to walk a tightrope between sensitivity to the crime that still exists and his desire to create a new and better Newark. "Every day my life is a circus," the mayor admits.

According to one reviewer of Brick City: "There is tragedy aplenty in these five hours, but also comedy and political intrigue and, yes, black people having a good time" (Sepinwall 2009). The mayor's staff is shown relaxing and interacting with one another as human beings and ordinary residents are shown in a full manner, in their strengths as well as their weaknesses. One of the most powerful feats of strength shown on the video is not that of the elephants or even the Newark police, but when a former gang member receives a literary award for his memoirs and talks to the camera about the importance of family in his life.

In a fictional film, it is unlikely that a successful former member of the Bloods would be shown as triumphing over his life on the streets. The messiness of nonfiction allows the filmmakers to embrace human complexity. While Brick City was criticized for lacking an "entirely satisfying narrative through-line. It's an involving, often moving, slice of Newark city life, but in the end, the stories of both the city and its spotlighted residents feel very unfinished," this is inevitable because of the fact that it is more interested in showing the different sides of the city than simplifying the resident's experiences to simply tell a 'good story' (Sepinwall 2009). From a narrative point-of-view, the episode may lag at times, but the program always has a sense of 'truthfulness' in the respect it bestows to the residents on the streets and the representatives of city politics.