Wall Street Warriors
WALL STREET WARRIORS- JOHN DIETRICH
When the cover of the guide for a soundwalk through WALL STREET in Lower Manhattan, purposefully lists only four slogans and nothing else; STOCKS, BOOZE, GREED, COLD HARD CASH, you immediately get the sense that this is not your typical historical, educational, or cultural lesson in the growth & development of a popular destination. In the opening CD track, the soundwalk philosophy is stated, set against the sounds of a barroom brimming with Wall Street profiteers; “Soundwalk is a unique experience set in the real world, so use common sense, be ready for the unexpected as you do in real life, if you have a life.” A mood is established; EDGY. Soundwalk immediately sets out to make YOU a player in an R-rated version of the reality show, “The Apprentice” meets the film, “Wall Street”, all set against the backdrop of these, “Canyons of greed”. Immediately a distinct tone is set, all revolving around the four slogans earlier stated. Our storyteller, Johnny T, a once certified public accountant for Goldman Sachs, states his mantra early on, quoting Michael Douglas in “Wall Street”; “Greed is good!” What this adventure is, is story-telling, giving you the participant a featured role and expecting you to adhere. David Pinders’ article expresses the concept of this kind of experience perfectly, “contesting proper orderings of space to allow something ‘other’ to emerge.” The “other” is what I didn’t expect. I was initially turned off by the severe style of the presentation and the abrasive, pretentious and ego driven world being created. Money was the church these people worshipped in and it wasn’t appealing. However, by the end of the tour I felt an inside connection to a place I had once looked at from a distant balcony, and there was something intriguing about being part of this movie. There was a sense of being. Yes, it is theatrical yet believable, the cast of characters seem highly exaggerated but are actually real. In a very short period of time, you are expected to be initiated into this world and if you don’t get in quick you’ll be out because the only thing that matters are winners; ordering a double Johnny Walkers for lunch (“Liquid-gold”), smoking cigars at Barclays, having a spa treatment at John Allan’s, listening to tales of surviving the fight. Interspersed are occasional slices of historical intrigue, personal stories relating to 9/11, and glimpses of Wall Street past, but you never stray far from being Johnny T.’s latest broker buddy Steve Pile speaks of “attending to imaginative, fantastic, emotional aspects of city life” and this tourist production manages to embody them all. It is a perfect example of the “exchange of narratives.”
Buying into the soundwalk experience all depends on expectation. It may not have been what I initially expected or wanted, but the result was a colorful journey filled with mood and ambience, that did introduce me to a slice of “every-day life”, not my own. You must find a way to connect to it and accept it, in order to find its’ reward. When raising the question, “Does this reach out to a wide audience?” The answer is no. The packaging has no disclaimers, when it comes to things like profanity, and doesn’t clearly suggest whom the experience is particularly targeting. However, even more intriguing, it does ask you to “challenge your preconceptions” and implies that it is bringing together both legend and reality. Johnny T. sets up the “in your face” challenge from the start, “Are you a winner or a loser?”