If you travel via mass transit, especially within a busy
city, you know the routine: most people hop on their train/bus, stare at the
floor, and internalize their struggle or whatever is going on in their lives.
Sometimes, people may dance or play music in the hopes of getting a few spare
dollars, but usually people are just trying to stay in their own zone until
their stop comes up. In the above video, it looks like someone transformed the
dynamic on the train, and one man's Luke Cage-inspired
story is catching fire on these internets.
The video, which was captured by a Brooklyn man
named Crispin Booker, starts with one man walking through the crowded train car
asking for people to share their stories, mentioning that "we all have
something we can celebrate." Soon enough, a tall, bearded man in a navy
blue hoodie dropped some intriguing darts on the people surrounding him.
"Just about a month ago," he starts, "I'd be
considered a scary guy with a hoodie; black, beard. But just a month ago on
Netflix, Luke Cage made it cool!" Luke Cage showrunner
Cheo Hodari Coker told Complex that the idea of Cage rocking a
hoodie was, in a sense, a way to take the power of the hoodie back, stating
that while the perception of a hoodie-wearing individual might be one thing,
"You can even be a hero."
The man went on to say that he works in Manhattan, works for
a hedge fund, and was donating computers to the island of Grenada, saying that
he's "that new face of the black, tall, dark fellow in a hoodie."
With a beard.
That man wasn't the only one to share; a guy by the name of
James shared the good news about a job he had. One can only imagine what was
shared before the camera started rolling, but once the train hit 59th Street,
it felt like the people riding in that packed train felt a bit better about
their night, or at least their commute.