Nictate

SHAME & the city

Excerpt from Sean Burns’ Philadelphia Weekly interview with SHAME director Steve McQueen.

PW: I lived in New York City for years, so I’m fascinated by your depiction of Manhattan as a shimmering, steel palace of isolation.

Steve McQueen: For me it’s very strange, as a European. A lot of New Yorkers live and work in the sky. What’s amazing is that you always have a perspective of yourself and the city in that situation. You are always framed by the city. There’s always you and this huge metropolis. So what does it do, mentally? It must make you feel insignificant in a strange way. I love that the higher you go in a building, the price of the apartment goes up. That was interesting. So there’s always the character’s reflection in the glass, but also his reflection on the city. Who am I within all this?