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Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air

Name: Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air
Director: Phillip Warnell
Released: 2014
Duration: 71 min

Representation Score

5.7/10

Fair

2014

Director

Phillip Warnell

Runtime

71 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air transforms a sensationalist news story into a sophisticated philosophical exploration. By focusing on a Black family in Harlem, the film avoids the usual outsider perspective and offers a nuanced look at human-animal interactions. The documentary challenges conventional urban narratives by using an experimental format to examine the boundaries between domestic life and nature. While the film excels in its racial and cultural depth, it lacks specific representation of LGBTQ+ identities or disability. The primary focus remains on the interplay between humans and exotic animals within a particular social context.

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Category Breakdown

Does Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on the domestic lives of the Yates family in social housing. There is no explicit depiction of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight relationships.

How does Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air portray gender?

Fair

The narrative emphasizes household management and shared responsibilities. It does not delve into specific challenges to traditional gender roles or gender stereotypes.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air?

Excellent

The film significantly represents a Black family within the Harlem setting. It gives a underrepresented community a powerful role by reinterpreting a sensationalized news event.

How does Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air represent religion and culture?

Good

The film challenges Western ideas of civilized living by incorporating philosophical texts. It questions the urban authorities' definitions of danger and normality.

Does Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no specific evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the film.

Present on Screen

Centers a Black family in Harlem, providing a powerful role and disrupting traditional urban narrative clichés.
Uses a philosophical framework to elevate a sensationalist premise into a complex study of human-animal relations.
Effectively critiques systemic definitions of danger and normality imposed on underrepresented communities.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight relationships.
Does not address gendered power dynamics or the subversion of traditional gender roles.
Provides no evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the Air is an only-in-New-York account of Ming, Al, and Antoine Yates, who cohabited in a high-rise social housing apartment at Drew-Hamilton complex in Harlem for several years until 2003, when news of their dwelling caused a public outcry and collective outpouring of disbelief. On the discovery that Ming was a 500-pound pound Tiger and Al a seven-foot alligator, their story took on an astonishing dimension. The film frames Yates’s recollections with a poetic study of Ming and Al, the predators’ presence combined with a text by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, reimagining the circumstances of the wild inside, animal names, strange territories, and human-animal relations.

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