Ozone Stories

1983, 20:15 min, color, sound

Cohen echoes the guileless tone of Second Grade Dreams in Ozone Stories, a comic examination of the American dream as seen by a class of eighth graders in Ozone Park, Queens. Cohen asks the adolescents a series of questions, including "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and "Who is your hero?" The responses are funny and often startling, reflecting a mixture of calculation, whimsy, and naivete. Adolescent attitudes toward success, money, sex, and the media are revealed in the students' off-the-cuff remarks for the camera.

Assistance: Nolan Poole II.