NYC's hipster clichés come under the magnifying glass
- Text by Robin Nierynck
Brooklyn: For Real, a video project by aspiring screenwriter and filmmaker Daniel Solé, explores the lives of four archetypal Brooklyn characters: Artist, Activist, Meditator and Comedian.
Self-defined as a “curated vérité glimpse into the non-linear lives of innovators and change makers,” the new Vimeo series creates hilariously recognisable caricatures of some typical inhabitants of NYC’s epicentre of hipsterdom.
“Calling yourself an artist is so pretentious. I prefer to say I’m a poet, whose primary medium of expression is crime,” says street artist Stick in the Artist episode. Proclaiming the city is his canvas, he adds, “Where a regular person might say: That’s not a canvas, that’s my garage… To that I say: Are you my fuckin’ dad?”
Check out the episodes below.
Artist
‘Artists, they move to Brooklyn and right away they wanna make their mark… But that’s insulting to the local scene that I’ve been a part of ever since I moved here, 14 months ago.”
Activist
“My mission is to raise awareness about what happens every day out there in the wild: Animal on animal violence.”
Meditator
“I attained enlightenment a few years ago and I believe it’s a process that every individual has to discover on their own. I teach a class on exactly how to do that.”
Comedian
“I don’t believe in catering to your audience. Trying to get the crowd on your side is so hacky.”
Get the low down on Brooklyn: For Real.
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