For the start of the RCS module we watched a short film called Terminal Bar.

Terminal Bar (2002) is a short documentary film centred around ‘one of the toughest’ bars in New York City, directed by Stefan Nadelman. The documentary presents a series of photographs taken by bartender Sheldon Nadelman, Stefan Nadelman’s father, from 1972 to 1982, the photographs taken are black and white portraits of the bars hard-drinking, gritty regulars each assigned a number which they are often referred to throughout the film-this gives the documentary a very systematic feel and paints a picture of an ‘old’ New York.

The people who appear in the portraits visibly age over the 10 year span that the photos were taken, making the documentary seem more authentic, and the kinetic quality of the documentary creates a fast paced atmosphere which could mirror the environment of the bar in the past. Depth and movement within the film appear to be important as the flow from photograph to photograph is smooth and uninterrupted as they move to the beat of the music this acts as a visual break as the music leads us through the stills making it purely visual.

Towards the end of the documentary, we are shown what was once the Terminal Bar as they revisit the old location, images of the bar from the past and present are shown which evokes a nostalgic atmosphere stating that ‘nothing has really changed’.