Birth of a Zoo

The 1970s was a pivotal decade in the United States, a moment that marked the end of the Civil Rights Movement, and the shadow of the Vietnam War hovering over the national consciousness. The 70s was a moment of racial divide and solidarity.These social tensions manifested very powerfully in the social lives of the inner city of America, living in segregated, impoverished, overpoliced, and yet multiethnic hubs that became the birthplace of the larger genre and political movement that was to be Hip Hop. Birth of a Zoo is a short screenplay that chronicles the emergence of graffiti in New York City in the early 1970s through the story of a young graffiti artist: Hector Feliciano (known as H-R-MORA), and his close associate Alexander Harrison “AL” Harrison (tagging as FAT-ALEX), and their friend Maxine Joseph, an aspiring singer. One night after escaping the clutches of the Police Officers for a Graffiti Tag co-orchestrated with Al, which AL got pulled in for. Hector goes and tags Murphy's Bar with a group of friends he barely knows, unbeknown to Hector Murphy Bar belongs to Irish Mobster Declan Fitzgibbon, who is the father of Naomi Fitzgibbon the most beautiful girl at Tennessee Williams High school and Hector's long time crush. After discovering that Hector is responsible for tagging the Bar, and other sites in Hell's Kitchen, the Fitzgibbon mob family has it out for Hector. This is happening in the backdrop of a blossoming relationship with Naomi, a significant literature research paper on whether cities or Zoos, and a tumultuous moment of social upheaval. Hector’s rebellious attitude and the trap that was to be the 1970s became a victim of the moment by association as he is finally beaten to death by corrupt police officers who are affiliated with the Irish mob. The film comes to an end through the memorialization of Hector's art with graffiti by his friend AL.