With STREETWISE, director Martin Bell, producer Cheryl McCall, and photographer Mary Ellen Mark created a singular documentary, one that gave voice to Seattle’s street children, rather than pumping in a ton of voiceover and context.

The fact is that Seattle was hit pretty hard in the 1970s, with unemployment reaching as high as 13% in the early ‘80s (three times the national average) and weakening labor power driving more and more people out on the street. Gen X was barely coming of age when many of them saw the lives their hippie parents led — one where post-World War II affluence afforded them a safety net while they railed against ‘the Man’ — and rejected it wholesale, often choosing a life on the streets instead of falling in line.

The affected youths in STREETWISE are cynical, strong-willed, wise well beyond their years, and, in an uncomfortable way, wildly entertaining. It’s impossible not to empathize, even though our perspective is inherently voyeuristic.

Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota:

• https://mn50501.org/donate
• Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
• @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot
• @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid
• ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2
• Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis

References:

• "Streets of the Lost: Runaway Kids eke out a mean life in Seattle" by Cheryl McCall and Mary Ellen Mark for LIFE magazine, July 1983: https://www.maryellenmark.com/bibliography/magazines/article/life/streets-of-the-lost/L
• Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/
• Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/

#GimmeShelter #DCP

Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch!

Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Take Care Of All My Children" by Tom Waits from the STREETWISE soundtrack.

Timestamps coming soon