Change is happening so fast that even here in the 21's century, we have seen the loss of vibrant 20th century, culturally developed, communities. The "dig" today is not just the ancient past, but the very recent past.
Andy Sweet and Gary Monroe's The Last Resort looks at a community birthed and then erased in less than 60 years.
The Lost Resort explore the Jewish, senior community that made Miami Beach its own little social turf and built community. Featuring interviews with Pulitzer Prize winner Edna Buchanan, filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, Jewish Museum of Florida Executive Director Susan Gladstone, and photographer Gary Monroe,
Andy Sweet and Gary Monroe's The Last Resort looks at a community birthed and then erased in less than 60 years.
The Lost Resort explore the Jewish, senior community that made Miami Beach its own little social turf and built community. Featuring interviews with Pulitzer Prize winner Edna Buchanan, filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, Jewish Museum of Florida Executive Director Susan Gladstone, and photographer Gary Monroe,
Where else could one find bewigged and covered in cancer-defying tans, 85-year-old women with wrinkled, sagging skin who still felt flirtatious in bikinis on the beautiful beaches that bordered their enclave? Then came the "cocaine cowboys", the fleeing Cuban middle class after the Castro revolution and a series of US supported and then disposed of South and Central America dictators and their entourage, Everything changed and quite quickly Miami beach became the crime capital of the US. As well as the favorite spot of Euro-trash models and the fashion industry, Clickers were everywhere, As well as"working girls and boys" embedded in a vibrant nightclub invasion with a BPM culture that left the old Jews homeless and unwanted.
The Last Resort captures when it was paradise on earth for Jewish retirees and other seniors. Affordable housing and cost of living allowed a culture to grow that kept both ageism and anti-Semitism outside, And the desire for pleasure was alive among the old folks in residence.
I remember attending the 1972 Democratic National Convention. I was credentialed as a member of the Unicorn Press collective. When not on the convention floor, I was outside and exploring Miami Beach for the first time. I discovered this senior community, They were feisty, opinionated, fun, political and with a sense of age entitlement that I had never seen before. It may be gone, but the LAST Resort captures it for their adult grandchildren,.
Similar to the lesbian and gay culture that dominated San Francisco for more than 40 years as liberation was unlocking the doors of oppression. Almost completely gone is this vibrant world of "Yes, I am! You have a problem with that, Darling? A defiant and creative community that for the most part has disappeared. Gentrification, assimilation and digital capital have either appropriated or erased this self-conscious safe zone of freedom of expression. That culture is captured in a celebration, rather than in eulogy, in LGBT SAN FRANCISCO: The Daniel NIcoletta Photographs (R/A/P Reel Art Press)
with permission (cc) Daniel NIcoletta
