Film Blog

Fight for Survival is about the struggle of middle and lower class businesses in the Lower East Side to adjust to socioeconomic changes in the Lower East Side. Through interviews with long-time business owners, like El Castillo Restaurant, Katz Diner and a visit to the tenement building. We will see how people cope with and try to fight ethnic and economic changes in the neighborhood and how it affects their businesses.

Our movie is mainly going to focus on the struggles of business owners and how society and economics are changing the way things use to be. They're going to talk about how they're surviving with the way things are going. They mention all the businesses that are being closed down around this area, and they talk about how they still attract people and how they're trying to keep up with the economy.

The research I have to do is compare what the people on camera say to see if they have the same struggles in common. This quarter, we're going to visit the tenements to see how it compares to it's past looks and how it looks now. The Lower East Side is becoming more modern, and not many antique businesses are around anymore, and we want to portray this idea of gentrification through our film.

Photo Essay Blog

Gentrification in the LES became a very large issue as the years go by. The topic of our film "Fight For Survival" is about the socioeconomic changes that are causing for old businesses to close down because they aren't able to afford the rent. Some don't even want to be around no more because nothing is the way they use to be, and many people here are old fashion.

The topic of my photo essay is the surroundings of Katz Diner & El Castillo because it allows us to see the different types of people that go around this area. I'll even take pictures of the walls because it shows all the different people that has passed by there since they opened up their story. I would want to also take pics of the employees because it can help show the different race and how it changed. This diner is a very busy diner and has been in business for a long time, so the place itself has made a mark on the LES.

For me to bring our film alive, I'm planning on interviewing the workers/owners of the diners since they've been there the longest to see how it has changed around them. I'll be taking pics of the area too to show the busyness of the Lower East Side.