In American cities today, community does not appear to be an important aspect of everyday life. As society has changed, so too has the emphasis that we put upon the sense of community and interaction. In today's Manhattan, there is a preconception that the city cannot provide community for its inhabitants. It is seen as a cold and hostile city, where each person must fend for his/herself. The only community within the city that we see represented in film, literature and television are bleak interpretations, where those in need, danger or merely lonely come together to make up a new community that offers a way out of the loneliness. They are largely the poorer districts of the city, and nearly always have problems with drug addiction. This essay will explore this idea in great detail, and draw conclusions from the evidence of a lack of a positive image of community in New York City.

In recent years, more and more films have been made that depict New York in

this way. In particular, Herbert Selby Jnr has written two very useful books in

an image in his/her own psyche, in order to look at the form of unity and the

made into feature films. The films construct a beneficial representation of the

portray of the group of people in his novels.

The character that I feel is most isolated is Sarah Goldfarb, protagonist of the novel and the film, and mother to one of the other central characters, Harold. Before the demise of Brighton Beach as a community, she had a sense of worth; she had friends that listened to her, a husband whom she doted on, a son who meant the world to her. As the film opens all she has is the television as company. There is still a group of similar ladies in her building, each looking for the same outlet, yet each one of them is either too scared to be the first to reach out to the group, or defeatist in their attitude that this is all life can now offer them.

xit to Brooklyn, and Requiem for a Dream. Both have been

Some common words found in the essay are:
Brighton Beach, City Choose, Requiem Dream, American TV, Coney Island, Island Queens, , Sarah Goldfarb, York City, Selby Jnr, brighton beach, novel allows reader, creating stories whilst, allows reader create, feel isolated, lack community, creating stories, stories whilst, whilst novel, novel allows, stories whilst novel, allows reader, reader create, chat gossip, whilst novel allows,
Approximate Word count = 870
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)