Being homeless is not merely a housing status; eventually, it is a way of life. Hamada and Sinkler's searing documentary takes us to the heart of this societal crisis to show us, with unflinching honesty, the struggle for dignity among the ruins. Inside Life Outside intimately observes the inhabitants of a New York shantytown built upon the rubble of an abandoned lot. Here dwell the disenfranchised in a cluster of ramshackle huts. But to call these people "homeless" is something of a misnomer: after two and a half years, this shantytown is their home. What unfolds in the videotape is a passionate drama of the forsaken Other, punctuated by violent arguments and acrid memories of childhood. We see in their daily existence the erosive monotony of poverty as they scavenge for the day's food money, withstand the ridicule of their "homed" neighbors, and watch "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" on a jerry-rigged TV set. What is most chilling about the documentary is the vivid revelation that homelessness is vicious and self-perpetuating. Marginalized by their economic status, these people have been abandoned by the supportive structure of society. Yet the dreams and desires of that same society still dwell within their hearts. Inside Life Outside shows us people desperately trying to move-beyond the contradictions. Jem Cohen's This Is a History of New York chronicles the seven ages of mankind from Prehistory to the Space Age. The five boroughs are the source for this historical excursion. In the age of Hunters and Gatherers, stray dogs patrol the streets while the homeless forage for food. Later, in the Medieval Period, crazed street preachers pace frantically before ominous gothic architecture. The richness of Cohen's vision is found in his haunting imagery and the perception that the thriving city of New York is really the accumulation of humanity's failures, as well as its greatness. Steve Seid