Chop Shop Meaning

I agree with A. O. Scott, from the NY Times, on many of the statements he brings up about Chop Shop, he starts off talking about how the ending “ is as quiet and matter-of-fact as most of the rest of the film”. Throughout my viewing of Chop Shop, I did realize how much the director, Ramin Bahrani, utilized an almost quiet tone. He lets the expressions and actions of the actors and even the landscape tell the story. From the reactions, both physically and expressively, of Ale, Alejandro Polanco, to the gritty, dirty, noisy backdrop of Queens, New York. There was a constant reminder of where they were and the quality of life these children were growing up in. A. O. Scott goes on to explain how the movie focuses on the “hard, marginal labor

O. Scott as he goes on to explain how the movie focuses on the “hard, marginal labor that more comfortable city dwellers rarely notice”. In this case, more comfortable city dwellers can apply to many of us. Or, even as Dennis Schwartz says “What Chop Shop does well, is take us into America's hidden Third World for a bit of culture shock.” This sentence furthers how Chop Shop serves to be a cross cultural film. One comes to realize this other world in the backstreets of our very own world, one which existed back then and continues to exist to this day. And lastly as Todd McCarthy, of Variety.com, writes “the sort of sociological study far more associated with Third World cinema than with American movies”. Not many people view the plot of this film as a possibility in America, but not many people see the ugly side of America and a light needs to be shined on the many topics in this film, the number of orphan children in the US and the absence of positive role models. Another topic which is represented in the film is underage prostitution. Isamar comes back to Ale and starts working at the food truck outside of the chop shop in order to make some money for themselves and to put towards the food truck they want to buy. Later on in the movie Ale finds out Isamar is earning more money by ways of prostitution. Isamar is only sixteen and represents a problem with underage prostitution in this country. Many, like Isamar, are immigrants who are trying to make more money to survive

Multiple scenes there's a reminiscence of everything associated with New York, or city life in general. The sounds and sights of the subways, the trash outside and around the chop shop, the many rusty bridges in the film or even Shea stadium. Many shots use what appears to be a hand held camera, which gives a more documentary effect and makes the film more easily immersible for the viewer. There is one shot in which Ale and his friend are watching the Mets game from the Shea stadium parking lot, the whole scene is one shot, where the camera is set up behind them, yet it still has a hand held effect sway to it. Ale and his friend talk about the game and how it can be best seen from their angle and you almost forget you are watching a scripted