Close to Home

Close to Home is a Frontline documentary about the Upper East side in New York City and how it is affected by the economy. Most news channels and documentaries have been focusing on the lower and middle class financial problems. The fact that this documentary was about wealthy New Yorkers made it unique. Another very interesting point of the video that made it unique was that it was filmed in a hair salon called Deborah's. Customers were interviewed while getting their hair done. The idea of the documentary was to capture what Deborah, the hairdresser, heard daily about the day to day struggles her clients were facing due to the economy. Deborah said people often tell her about their economic troubles "Somebodies willing to listen. Somebodies willing to hear the problems that they are facing because of this economic crisis." Many clients had lost their jobs and even businesses. One young couple lost their coffee shop because they were not getting enough customers. There were some people I was very sympathetic for such as a man who had been out of work for months. He had sent out more than 200 resumes and gone on many job interviews. He seemed worn out from the stress. He constantly was attending support groups for the unemployed where members help each other improve resume and interview skills. There were other people who I thought were very dramatic and not thankful for what they still had. One woman was at the salon for a touch up because she was going out that night. She said she had to sell her beloved Porsche to pay for her health insurance. She said giving up the Porsche was harder than getting a divorce. During the interviews the clients were getting their hair cut. This was a different perspective that showed a different side of the upper class.