Oliver rants about blackouts as if they are common and happen all the time in New York City.
Charles (Steve Martin) selfishly pushes the close elevator button to prevent Oliver (Martin Short) from getting on the elevator even though Oliver, who's juggling three decent boxes of mail, clearly asks Charles to hold the elevator for him.
Charles (Steve Martin) narrates that "New Yorkers have a special way of communicating" as he walks past an older woman who scowls and gives him the middle finger without so much as saying a word.
Mabel (Salena Gomez) narrates in the opening scene of the series that "New York can be a f*cking lot" while she walks past a man who catcalls her. She proceeds to narrate that "2,000 women report assaults here every year, so it's a place that makes you binge Dateline to find out how not to end up on Dateline."
The Bronx in NYC at night is depicted as overly dark and dangerous with nobody on the streets and no ways for Castle and Beckett to get help after losing their phones and wallets. There are many references to the fact that nobody walks out on the streets there at night because it is not safe.
Staff Aside
The Bronx in 2012 when this episode aired had the
lowest murders seen since 1963 and a 70% decline over the prior 20 years with a rate of 8 per 100,000 which was lower than Boston and 11 other major cities for the year. This trend continued up until present time. Yet, writers like to perpetuate conservative stereotypes of overly scary and dangerous crime ridden cities in liberal states.
Yuri quips, "It's like parking your car in certain neighborhoods in the Bronx. You don't do it." before African locals completely disassembled his crashed cargo plane for parts overnight.
On the subway, a man turns to Al Pacino and asks him "what the fuck are you looking at?" and pulls a knife on him after telling him to get out of *his* subway car.
Rural devoutly religious mother tries to save her son from Satan and demons who run a law firm in New York City that represents a wealthy triple murderer.
Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) blames a female victim who was assaulted for "walking alone at night."
A businessman enters the cab and Zeus (Samuel Jackson) says he is not open (he's busy dealing with terrorists). The man rudely responds, "Your lights are on. Look, I'll make this very simple. 112 Wall Street, or I'll have your medallion suspended" and when Zeus pushes back, later follows, "What? You don't like white people?"
Young NYC doctor Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) thinks a child needs an emergency operation and ridicules the small town Dr. Hogue for suggesting he take a Coke instead. Before they airlift the kid to a hospital and cut him open with a very invasive operation, Dr Hogue comes to the rescue and discerns that the kid just drank too much homemade antacid and gives him a coke and charges 60 cents to emphasize his point.
Staff Aside
Screenwriters created a scenario where an old school rural doctor outsmarts a younger, highly skilled city doctor depicted as condescending by simply prescribing a can of coke.
Also in the summer of 1988, Coming to America constantly depicted crime as a problem in Queens with all their stuff stolen in broad daylight and Samuel Jackson attempting to rob the McDougals again. It frames things that crime is such a big problem, it's become a joke. Robberies in NYC peaked in 1991 but steadily dropped on average every year until it was six times less in 2019. But the movie still airs on TV networks and is streamable as a classic.
Detroit is depicted as an anarchical hellscape hopelessly beset by anarchy.
Brenda cries out to her friend Chris on the phone that she's seen "three people shoot up, a bald Chinese lady with no pants on and there's this old guy outside who wants his bedroom slippers" as the camera pans down and focuses on filthy slippers along with a toiletry bag filled with false teeth and a can of SPAM mixed in with a hair brush and deodorant.
An overarching theme of the film is that cities are dangerous places filled with unscrupulous people of color who want to harm you and that it's much safer to live in the suburbs. Every role played by a black or brown person depicts them as thieves, criminals, gang members, or poor.
Chris (Elisabeth Shue) and the kids she's babysitting are riding in an empty L-Train cart in Chicago when rival gangs enter from opposing sides ready to fight with switchblade knives during which Brad (Keith Coogan) has a knife thrown into his foot which Chris then grabs to make their escape.
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