Blog 20: Final Version of Major Research Essay

David Rodriguez
Dr. Luke Vasileiou
ENG 103
31 May 2011
The Siege of New York
You can read the words “Welcome to New York – The Empire State” as you commute every day into the City. From then on fourth you are surrounded by an endless sea of buildings made up of bricks, steel, and concrete. Let us not also forget the streets with pot holes so large you almost feel as though if you were ever to fall into one you’d vanish completely off the face of the earth. This is a city which has seen the roughest of times and the most momentous of triumphs, and has been depicted throughout Movies, Television, and Music, the place millions of people call home including myself.
The 90s was a time when New York City was economically sound, had a richer job market, and money was in full circulation. It was the right ingredients to perpetuate the idea of the “American Dream.” During that time a new wave of immigrants migrated to New York. This migration of new immigrants increased the population to almost double the size even among the largest of cities. Now to determine and track the growth of New York City’s population Census Bureau was brought in to survey the population. Approximately 7.3 million people lived New York City during the 90’s from surveys recorded over a 10 year period. These surveys and inquiries provided better insight into the division among the boroughs of these immigrants. Once recorded & accounted for the city would then have to devise a plan to provide and care for its new residents. This led to the renovation of housing, newer businesses, development of more educational institutions, and the implementation of newer laws to establish order within this diverse society.
New York City has always been a cultural melting pot. It is home to some of the largest Asian, African American, Italian, Hispanic, and Jewish (etc.) immigrant populations. All of whom wanted to come to America for a better life for their families as well as themselves. Since the economy was prosperous throughout the 90’s, immigrants almost immediately upon arrival sought out to create their own businesses and become entrepreneurs. This was the “American Dream” for them to be able to own their own business within this market and make a name for themselves was the pinnacle of their efforts. Even if they were illegally living here it was worth the risk just to be able to have a chance at a prosperous life.
In the United States on November 29, 1990 a new act and policy was introduced it was titled the “Immigration Act of 1990.” This act was a catalyst for the increased number of legal immigrants allowed into the United States each year. By providing a randomly assigned visa through a lottery styled program, the United States gave an opportunity to countries of which were not often granted visas. With the law in effect it would admit approximately seven hundred thousand new immigrants annually. However even though this act would simplify entering the US for some it did not stop the determination of others, some of which would pay top dollar to have their loved ones or even themselves smuggled into the U.S. With New York City being this enormous melting pot at the time smuggling rings designed to provide passage in New York became the focal point of news articles and media coverage. An article publish on December 11, 1998 by Steven A. Holmes of The New York Times depicts how young men from Fujian Province would pay this smuggling ring as much as $47,000 for passage from China. This Ring, as well as others before it, was sophisticated with its trafficking of these Chinese immigrants into United States, though bound for New York City in the end. It just goes to show the determination and lengths immigrants are willing to take just to arrive into a land of greater opportunity.
With immigration on the rise and the population changing and or increasing so did other aspects around New York City during the 90’s. The progression of higher rents, crime, salary’s and other attributes associated with tension were some of these changes which began to also build up. During the early 90’s the rent average was in between $400-500 dollars a month for location throughout 4 of the 5 boroughs Manhattan being the exception with rent estimated around $900+ a month. As time went on the rent for these location increased by double. I recall living in Brooklyn during the early 90’s and my family paying around $460 for a 4 bedroom apartment this was the average going rate at the time. Around 1991 we moved into Queens to a rent of $660. Depending on the area of town you lived at the time it could fluctuate up or down a few hundred dollars. As far of crime goes, with Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani around the crime rate in New York dropped. Giuliani took pride in the city and wanted to improve the city over all for future generation to be able to enjoy. In a report from Mayor Giuliani’s Archives he states since 1993 the overall crime in NYC had fallen by nearly 44 percent. This was a clear cut analysis at the time. The crime in New York seemed as though it was almost nonexistent. All these attributes were from incidents that escalated this change over time from both local and global events.
Operation Desert Storm, a common name however it was incorrect. This war by its true name was The Persian Gulf War which extended from August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991. It was a war waged on Iraq in response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. The United Nations in conjunction with President Gorge H.W. Bush deployed American forces into Saudi Arabia. The date at which the Iraqi Troops began to be expelled from Kuwait was on January 17, 1991 with a heavy air to surface and surface to ground series of missile launches. February 23, 1991 a strategic ground assault brought an end to this war. This could have been seen by some as an early prediction of future events to come from the Middle East.
Not long after the Gulf War; on February 26, 1993 a Ryder van armed with 2,000lbs of explosives was driven below the North Tower of the World Trade Center located in Manhattan. The bomb was intended to level the North Tower into the South Tower with the expectation of killing thousands of people. This attempt however failed with only causing 7 casualties and merely injuring a thousand people. It was later reported on several new channels that this attack was planned by a group of Islamic radicals. At the time the Muslim community was growing here in New York City and was thought to be a peaceful group. Residents in the city were shocked. They never expected a bombing attempt such as this to ever have occurred. So for the Muslim and the bombing attempt to be associated together it was beyond comprehension.
What this bombing did was wake up not only New Yorkers but the rest of the world as well. This once thought to be peaceful group of religious faithful believers was no longer viewed as such. As the weeks went on the stereotypes started to become evident. Muslims, whose only relation to the bombing attempt was the same religion, were unjustly targeted by the public. In an article published on August 2, 1997 in The New York Times it gave us a glimpse into what innocent Muslims are facing each day. During an interview a women who had given her name simply as Sarah yelled sarcastically at a mosque “Blow up New York! Blow up New York! Are they teaching you to make bombs?” Remarks such as these and much worse were being told to these innocent Muslims. For just the actions of a group of radicals it would condemn all Muslims as a whole.
Since the events of the World Trade Center bombing and the Gulf War; Muslims have been portrayed throughout movies, television, and even video games as religious extremists, more so the “Other” in this case meaning those whom are against us. The constant conveying of this message is essentially placing a poor understanding on this religion and its followers. In 1998 a controversial film titled The Siege was released to the disgust of the Muslim community, however to the average New Yorker it was a sort of surreal feeling, Years had passed since the events of 1993 and most people either forgot about it or were too involved in their own personal affairs to even have time to remember it.
The Siege was based on New York City during 1998 and portrays a state of terrorism which was unimaginable at the time. The film depicts New York as being a very heavy culturally diverse state. The image of the city was that of a city which never slept, having constant movement round-the-clock and extremely congested. Every minute every turn you were surrounded by lights, traffic, people, and buildings. It provided a glimpse as to how populated the city was at the time. This led to the understanding that any terrorist act of any kind would have an enormous and detrimental impact on the city. The movie begins with news segments of terrorism in the Middle East. Bombings throughout Saudi Arabia on United States bases killing soldiers and innocent civilians. The report then goes on to say these bombings are the acts of radicals. Following the footage a clip of President Bill Clinton states “We take care of our own.” As the story progresses we are carried over the New York City skyline. Below endless rows of people, lights, and traffic all showing us exactly how busy the city is. A Muslim man singing on a roof top (in the middle of this enormous city) signifying that even though he was in a distant land he stayed true to his religion. Minutes later a call to a police precinct is made, there was a bomb on a city bus with people onboard. This is when we are first introduced to our main character in the film Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) as he races off in hopes to save innocent lives. Now this series of terrorist attacks is in response to the abduction of a Muslim leader by the United States. Anthony Hubbard remains on the phone in constant communication with the anti-terrorism task force, which is in the process of making way their way the bomb on the bus. When they approach the bus and use surveillance equipment the bomb detonates and releases blue paint everywhere as if almost a joke. At this point there is a sign of relief but remains a more profound level of concern. Who would be doing this and why? Another similar call was placed later on in the film however this time it would be the real deal. A bus carrying innocent bystanders was being held hostage. Anthony Hubbard was able to talk the terrorists on the bus to release the children. Next he asked for the elderly to be released. The bus doors open up after a long drawn out pause. An elderly couple begins to make their way off the bus, at that very instant the bus erupts into a ball of fire. No one would survive the blast.
A state of fear and panic was conveyed throughout the film, However at the time in the city even though there were previous terrorist attempts, one of which the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the people were not as fearful and weren’t living with a panicked state of mind. Always having to look over their shoulder and cringe at every vehicles back fire. The presence of law enforcement was not as massive and robust as the film depicts. As the bombings persisted, throughout the film, the military was brought in by order of the president and the use of a policy known as Martial Law was instituted on the borough of Brooklyn. This use of Martial Law was to be able to detain a certain profile of man as declared by Major General William Devereaux during a press conference. The profile they were after in the film was that of Muslim relation. In reality at the time New York was not on a man hunt of Muslims the biggest concern had to have been the allegation which arose about our president at the time Bill Clinton.
The portrayal of Muslims within this film was extremely negative. The media was broadcasting its propaganda throughout a different array of outlets. A scene in the film of Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) flying overhead into the city while a radio station had a caller phoning in with the statement of “This is the kind of shit these towel heads do in their own countries and now they’re bringing it here” a statement which shows major concern, fear, and judgment. Granted there is tension and will always be tension among different ethnic groups but at the time 1998 New York City was not on a “Witch Hunt” of the Muslim community.
The message this movie presents is almost a foreshadowing of events that could happen in New York City at a not so far distant future. A widespread panic and a lack of knowledge of other cultures driven by mediated propaganda led to the quick isolation and persecution of innocent Muslims. When detaining Muslims in the film they used concentration style camps to hold the captive innocent alongside the guilty. In reality no concentration camps of any kind were created to withhold any Muslim. Though there still remains a stereotype on Muslims based on previous events in history none were being detained and herded in like cattle into metal fenced enclosures. In reality it may just be easier to point the finger at a whole group rather than on a single individual or single group of individuals.
The questions of could this truly happen in New York City, and would we be in so much fear that we would persecute Muslims or any other ethnic group arises after viewing this film. The views expressed of Muslims, the depiction of the city with its massive builds to its crowds of people which cover it like ants on a hill, are all possibilities yet we would not be able to truly know until placed into such tragic incidents. I feel this movie was truly ahead of its time for 1998, it does make us think about how we would punish an ethnic group as a whole rather than punish those who are the sources behind a terrorist attacks.


















Works Cited

Atkinson, Rick. “Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War"
Mariner Books, 19 October 1994. Print.

Housingnyc.com. “Is Net Operating Income Rising in Rental Housing?"
Housingnyc.com, 24 February 1997. Web. 9 May 2011.
http://www.housingnyc.com/downloads/research/pdf_reports/tcie.pdf

Nytimes.com. “In Park Slope, Stereotyping Breaks Out"
New York Times, 02 August 1997. Web. 9 May 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/02/nyregion/in-park-slope-stereotyping-breaks-out.html?pagewanted=2

Nytimes.com. “Ring Is Cracked in Smuggling of Illegal Chinese Immigrants"
Steven A. Holmes, 11 December 1998. Web. 9 May 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/11/nyregion/ring-is-cracked-in-smuggling-of-illegal-chinese-immigrants.html

Sklar, Helen. “Immigration Act of 1990 Today, 2010-2011 ed."
Clark Boardman Callaghan, 4 August 2010. Print.