The other day my friend Leila posted this article on Facebook which led to this interview
and it describes what I suspected and felt what was missing as well as exaggerated, in the film “Kids”. Mel Stones and High are interviewed here; two of the real ‘kids’, so, out of the mouths of babes, or kids in this case, who are technically not kids anymore. Mainly, it was the love and the looking out for each other that Larry Clark's interpretation totally misses here. The one gesture of not even all-out love, but random kindness that I remember from the film was for a few seconds when Casper handed a little girl on a stoop some candy or an apple, something like that- that was about it. And yes, Ruby’s concern for Jenny was clear. Maybe I’ll see it again because there are probably a few more examples.
But New York streets were very different pre-Giuliani and pre- 9/11 as these articles point out, and the instant communication that we have at our disposal these days makes a huge difference in ways both big and small. If these kids had Facebook, MySpace, or cell phones for example, Jenny would be able to track Telly down a lot quicker and there probably would be no movie, or at least not that plot.
I wasn't a 90’s club kid growing up. Going to ‘The Tunnel’ one night with my aunt Ydalia at 19 hardly counts, wouldn’t you agree. I didn’t smoke blunts, drink 40’s, and I never really tried my luck or honed my skills with a skateboard. A lot of kids in my school hung out and got high in Central Park’s Sheep’s Meadow or just called, “The Meadow” because LaGuardia is in the Upper West Side, though they wouldn't shy away from downtown’s Washington or Tompkins Square park at times.
NYC Church of Christ’s Manhattan sector got a hold of me in my early teens (which was also the early 90’s) and so I was more involved with their youth groups and outings at the time- which for the most part was fun and felt good, both socially and spiritually. Nevertheless, in April of ' 93 I broke away from them. I’ve been writing about that intense turning point in my life lately and I’ve brought it up in therapy over the years, so I don't feel the need to get off track and divulge here. But basically, I started cutting school more and hanging out in the city- sometimes alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes with a guy. Also from about 1990- 94 I often hung around my Titi Janis when she was putting out her off-off Broadway plays, helping her out backstage and through that, got to know Greenwich Village, the East Village, and the Lower East Side a bit more.
In late ‘94, my mom and I had a meeting with an LaG counselor who felt that the best thing for me would be to transfer to an alternative high school. Feeling determined and hopeful about this change, I got into City-as-School which happened to be in Greenwich Village. Internships from all over the city were available to us as well as classes in the building. The Film Forum movie theater is right near the school and movie nerd that I am, loved going there.
When ‘Kids’ turned 20, I wrote something about it and eventually posted it here. Even though I wasn’t part of their scene, I was still a NYC teenager from the 90’s who walked away with something the day I saw it- it still spoke to me in a big way, as these post discussions do from the actual kids themselves. I love that they've come out with this photography book, That’s A Crazy One and that the proceeds are going to go to New York City public schools’ art and photography programs. I ordered my copy last night right after reading the first article. Mel Stones says that getting into photography saved her life and so now they’re dedicating this book to their “departed” as they put it. They point out that they continue to love and support the friends who are still around today too. Which I love.
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I feel like a lot of people there now have watched too many movies about New York, have this perception of what it is to be a New Yorker, and carry around a certain attitude that doesn't correlate with what a real New Yorker was. It's not this portrayal of tough, everyone-for-themselves New Yorkers. When people are poor, they support each other. Locals, natives, they support each other.” -Mel Stones
I feel like a lot of people there now have watched too many movies about New York, have this perception of what it is to be a New Yorker, and carry around a certain attitude that doesn't correlate with what a real New Yorker was. It's not this portrayal of tough, everyone-for-themselves New Yorkers. When people are poor, they support each other. Locals, natives, they support each other.” -Mel Stones
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