Brick City: The Daily Drama of Newark

• by Rahul Chadha, June 19, 2011

This post was written by STF blogger Aaron Cael.

“I’m not the kind of guy who wants his ship to rot in the harbor. I’d rather be sunk at sea than be timid and meek. Let the show begin.”
-Cory Booker

Ending with that quote, the opening sequence of Season 2 of Brick City sets up the real-life drama of this documentary series. Comparisons to The Wire are apt as Brick City follows the action at the mayor’s office, the police department, the courts and the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Viewers familiar with the documentary feature Street Fight will recognize the main character in this drama, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, as well as the venomous politics that hang in the air of every scene like drifting smoke. Characters are the true strength of this series with Booker, Newark Police Department Director Garry McCarthy, and gangbangers-turned-community activists Jiwe and Jayda giving the cameras inside access to their lives at home and in public life. In the first two episodes, these characters grapple with the issues of Newark’s street crime, and the shifting winds of political change while dealing with the simple tasks of life—like putting the kids to bed (Jayda) and getting a date (Mayor Booker).

Series creators Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin were on hand to answer questions about the Sundance Channel series. Levin said that for Season 2, they shot over 1000 hours of footage. Instead of having separate teams tracking each of the main characters, they mostly ended up using one primary crew because “each character could only stand us in their presence for about 3-5 hours.” The basic idea of Brick City came out of being approached by a posse of Bloods with an interest in filmmaking, explained Benjamin. When they pitched the idea of doing a doc about “de-ganging,” though, no one was interested in funding it. Later, Sundance signed on when they changed focus. “We sold the series with only Cory Booker cast,” Benjamin said. “Cory is the only politician in the United States that would allow this [level of access] to happen,” added Levin.

[Photo: From left, Brick City creators Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin, courtesy of Simon Luethi]

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