Directing a City: Susan Seidelman’s New York

Susan Seidelman’s work spans the neighborhoods of New York City, capturing its people and locations across several decades. From Smithereens to Sex and the City to Musical Chairs, viewers are taken through an always transitioning city that retains its instantly recognizable character. Seidelman layers the physicality of interior spaces, exterior shots, and characters unique to their surroundings, establishing the eras and locations of each piece as a narrative element. She moves skillfully from her early guerilla-style shots to the carefully sourced New York streets and interiors that solidified her place in television history. Seidelman’s New York changes scope drastically between stories yet retains the quintessential character that defines the urban space. Her city is not unobtainable or pristine, but rather focuses on what is accessible to characters now, what those spaces mean to them, and how that changes as they interact and react. From Roseanne Barr to Madonna, she has caught stars on the rise and added notable works to the credits of well-established names. She allows these performers she has a hand in casting to infuse their unique abilities into her oeuvre while expressing themselves in the spaces of New York and evolving with their surroundings.