Dark Days - Stylish Sunglasses for Outdoor Adventures

"Dark Days" is a wonderful documentary and is mandatory viewing for anyone interested in those who make their homes beneath the streets of NYC. "Dark Days" offers up a visual tour of this subterranean landscape. As someone who lives in NYC, and has been interested in this phenomenon for sometime, "Dark Days" is a fascinating work. Although I must admit that I have a definite attraction to the perverse and mysterious nature of the underground, Singer reminds us that there is much humanity to be found within the sooty vermin-infested underbelly that lies just beyond the subway tracks.Singer is enamored with the people who live underground and portrays them as complete human beings. He conducts a sort of Anthropological approach in dealing with them. He is their friend, he's lived among them and has established their trust, he speaks their language, and he understands their needs and concerns. The most important element of those who live underground that Singer brings to the forefront are that they are part of a large subculture that thrives on relationships and human compassion. Yes, a lot of these people are living underground because of choices that they made, many are hiding from addiction, family, the law, and life ON the streets. Living underground in the vast tunnel network of the NYC subway system, many of these individuals have found their home. Many of them have even built their homes underground. There is electricity to be found down there, as well as water. It is not uncommon for those living underground to have TVs, cooking stoves, makeshift toilets, and multi-room dwellings. "Dark Days" shows all of this, as well as showcasing the relationships cultivated between those living underground. Through Singer, we become attached to these individuals. After watching this, I found myself wanting to know where these people are now.The DVD offers a selection as part of its special features that contains small write-ups of everyone featured in the film and where they were shortly after the film was completed. If also offers a great glimpse into how the film was made and the immense efforts on both the part of Singer and of those living underground to complete this effort. The soundtrack by DJ Shadow is great and well worth noting.Living in NYC, one of the most informative segments of this documentary were those that addressed how the city attempts to deal with this "problem of homelessness." One has to wonder why, if someone is content living underground and simply cannot make it "upstairs," it is such a problem to let them stay. Offering help is wonderful, forcefully extracting people from their homes is a horrible act of cruelty. Much along the same lines as forcing someone into a shelter where they will be robbed, raped, and beaten. The only way to "help" those who live underground is to respect them. "Dark Days" is an excellent example of giving this respect and of extending care and friendship to a group of people most of us refuse to acknowledge. It is because of people like Marc Singer that in the days since Times Square has been sanitized, and while the Bowery is shrinking more and more every day, those who live in NYC without a "proper" home will not be overlooked completely.