Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Video: "Experimental Documentary" Of NYC Is...Weird
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 23, 2011
Modified Jan 8, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 23, 2011
Modified Jan 8, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
What with all the bus beatings, iPad muggers and pigeon killers, it's reasonable to feel a bit overwhelmed in the city, in need of some outlet for all that anxiety. One NYer who felt that way decided to channel that frustration into a video project...a very strange video project, involving the ten sign semiotic system of philosopher/mathematician Charles Sanders Peirce. Watch it below:
We won't mince words: the video is weird. But as we watched it a second and third time, we were less focused on trying to figure out the overall concept (see below), and more taken by the striking, fleeting images: the disorienting flashes at the start, the violence on the floor by the L, the stillness of the Empire State Building, and the ranting of a shirtless man. There is an uncomfortable section where the videographer catcalls and "labels" passersby, and the whole thing ends with an interview with a woman with more than a bit of hair on her chin.
According to the uploader's description, the "experimental documentary," NYC I-X, adopts the city as object, New Yorkers as interpretant, and ten different scenes as the signs themselves. Each scene is labeled according to which sign was used:
I - rhematic iconic qualisign: A feeling of New York City
II - rhematic iconic sinsign: A 'model' of New Yorkers
III - rhematic indexical sinsign: Possibilites near the subway
IV - dicent indexical sinsign: onomatopoeia: New Yorkers ignore violence
V - rhematic iconic legisign: The Empire State Building
VI - rhematic indexical legisign: The layout of New York City
VII - dicent indexical legisign: "This is New York"
VIII - rhematic symbolic legisign: The New York Times in context
IX - dicent symbolic legisign: Naming pedestrians
X - argument symbolic legisign: A proposition from an interview
Tagged
experimental documentary
strange
weird
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .