Victoria Hurley

1. In the prologue to Taking the Train, Joe Austin introduces two stories that promote hiding graffiti, known to be part of New York’s culture. These stories introduce major themes including hiding the painted trains form the public eye. A quote from Jaime Bryan is included, “what kind of city do the people want to live in?” If they are always changing the subway or art in order to impress a group of people, how will the city find a stable identity? Who do the people of New York City want to be or accomplish? Many tourists first see New York city when coming to America, how does that effect the way New York wants to symbolize America?

2. Why were the “mass mediated public stories” so important in bringing out the esoteric culture of New York City? Why was New York the “iconic” urbanized city culture that these framing stories attempted to decode?

3. When Sanford D. Garelik, president of City Council, proposed a “War on Graffiti,” he decided to include a monthly “Anti-Graffiti” day. The day was modeled on Earth Day, designed to inspire awareness to the environment, including the prevention of pollution. On what scale was this model appropriate for New York City? The council president mentioned that the graffiti was “polluting the eye and mind” and ultimately violating purity within the citizen’s mind. How rational was this? Was the context of the word “war” suitable for the situation and circumstances? Is polluting the mind with pictures as serious as polluting our planet as the model of the celebration of Earth Day.?