This book studies a grouping of films set in New York City between 1965 and 1995, reflecting a town besieged by rampant criminality, social distress and physical decay. "Fear City" is a term the NYPD used to label New York as a frightening environment, incapable of securing the safety of its residents. This book not only deals with the social problems evident in New York during this period, but also provides a study of how independent filmmakers were able to capture unsettling urban imagery, capitalizing on feelings of paranoia and dread. The author explores how the tone of these films reflects upon the anti-urbanism that led to the War on Crime, the mass exodus of working-class people from the city and mass incarceration of young Black men.

Roger A. Salerno is a professor of sociology at Pace University in New York and a practicing psychoanalyst.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments deletevi

Preface

One.¿New York, New York: Ville de la peur

Two.¿Spaces of Fear

Three.¿Subways of Fear: Going for a Ride

Four.¿Sex, Drugs and Music

Five.¿Street Gangs in Fear City

Six.¿Fear City as a Racist Trope

Seven.¿Policing Fear City

Eight.¿Serial Killers, Lunatics, and Rapists:

At Home in Fear City

Conclusion

Filmography

References

Index