the pink politic

A robot in Columbus Circle

This is an observational reporting piece I wrote today for Reporting and Writing 1 (RW1). The assignment was to write a story without talking to anyone. Here's what I found while venturing around the city today:

A man is doing “the robot” in Columbus Circle.

It is lunch hour on a fall Monday in New York and the slender young man, wearing a crisp, light blue shirt tucked into navy dress pants, black shoes and sunglasses, is dancing to music only he can hear. The buds in his ears connect to a music player in his pocket. His light brown hair is stylishly spiked with gel.

The robot dances with snappy movements facing the southwest edge of Central Park on his own personal stage, the base of a huge stone statue that features several human figures with arms stretched upward. Though the platform is less than a foot tall, it lifts the robot above the rest of the world, and the statue makes an impressive backdrop. The inscription reads, “To the freemen who died in the war with Spain that others might be free.”

Around the robot, tourists tote I Heart NY plastic bags, snap photos on their cell phones and are hawked by men selling carriage rides. Pigeons scrounge for their daily sustenance amongst the loungers who lunch. A man approaches everyone sitting in Columbus Circle, some twice, some even three times, begging them to “help a homeless man.” On breaks from begging, that same man imitates the robot, laughing loudly and shouting with a group of men sharing a bench behind one of the food vendors.

But even as New York swings and sways around him, the robot’s movements remain stiff and precise. He is most impressive when he moves several body parts at once, pivoting back and forth on his heels, while keeping his upper body, head and neck perfectly aligned and immobile. He does a surprising Elvis-like hip gyration without ever coming out of robot mode. When he loses concentration, which is rare, he shakes his hands out like a weight trainer preparing for a big lift.

A man who had been sitting beside the robot reading the newspaper suddenly notices him. He looks around with wide eyes and shares a glance with another newspaper reader. Both try to go back to their papers, but keep quickly glimpsing up at the robot. People passing by give the robot extra-long looks, but generally keep moving. Few stop to openly gawk.

When he pauses to take a short call on his cell phone, the robot becomes human. He chews on the gum in his mouth and paces, pausing occasionally to do an abbreviated robot move.

The robot moves from the left to the right side of the statue now, perhaps to get out of the hot sunlight. He settles into a spot behind a man sitting and smoking a cigarette. The man doesn’t seem to notice the robot behind him.

With his arms out to the sides and bent downward and his legs firmly planted, the robot begins to shake, as if malfunctioning.

Suddenly a man approaches. He appears about the same age as the robot and wears a sideways navy baseball cap, a denim jacket and black athletic pants. The robot takes out his earbuds and speaks to the man, who seems to be a stranger to him. While they chat amicably, the man tries his own robot move. This is the first time the robot grins.

Then the robot’s new fan walks around to the other side of the statue, but is back quickly, drinking from a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi, to watch the robot as he begins his dance again.

The robot is more adventurous in his movements now. He shuffles his feet back and moves his arms as if he’s rowing a boat. He does the moon walk.

Then he stops.

The robot is frozen for several long seconds.

A gust of wind makes his button-down shirt billow in the back.

Then slowly, he begins his movements again. Feet shift, arms snap into place.

The dance ends, and the man, who had been watching the robot with intensity, applauds. The robot doesn’t notice or if he does, ignores him.

The man approaches the robot again and this time a lengthier talk ensues. After awhile, the new mentor seems to grow tired of his protégé. He fingers the earbuds dangling at his chest and steps back when the man, doing another imitation move, gets a little too close.

“Well, I gotta get back…” the robot’s voice drifts to a bench across the walkway. The protégé gets the hint, and walks away shaking his head.

Earbuds in, and the robot comes to life again.

posted by Tina @ 11:58 PM