Rom Commerce:
Birrean Visions of a Funny City

In the decade following the attacks on 9/11, the mayoral administration of NYC incentivized film production in the city. During this period, the romantic-comedy genre thrived, effectively transforming New York’s image from a zone of trauma into a playground for the rich. As the image of the city changed, so too did its architecture and social fabric. Wasteful icons were built as symbols to the parody of late capitalism the city had become, including The Vessel, Little Island and The Oculus. During this transformative period, I created Birrean, an invented language spoken by urban bird characters in New York. As an invented language, Birrean can pierce through the normalized depictions of NY of the rom-com era, and offer parody and critique of its hometown.