An Uncompromising Point of View
The real stars of the film are the cockroaches--from the opening title sequence where a cockroach is perched on the very top of the Statue of Liberty's torch to the final display of human care the cockroaches display for Joe. In what turns out to be a genuine voice demonstrating man's indifference to other living things, especially insects that infest your home, Payson presents an uncompromising point of view. "Oceans Becoming Watery Deserts" reads a Geneva newspaper headline. And there are countless other examples of how human existence on the planet has decidedly changed the way all life co-habitats. In Joe's Apartment, the cockroaches turn out to be the most uncivilized of civilized beings. They represent a community committed to the survival of the species, but not through the elimination of other species as the human species is famous for. The film characterizes the insensitivity and necessary obviousness of human existence through various demonstrations of shootings and muggings that occur right in front of Joe. There is even a scene where Joe, after stumbling out of a burning building, is lying on the street smoldering and two pedestrians walk right over him, unimpressed. Joe soon learns that it is part of a normal day in the city--something one lives with. And living with that kind of violence and inhumanity is better than living with bugs in your home.

Joe's Apartment. © Geffen Pictures.

Early on in the film, the distrust and resentment the roaches feel toward humans is clearly established. "Another stupid human," says one cockroach. But the roaches do not discriminate--they are not racist. They fully embrace Joe after he eats a stale piece of toast where a cockroach once stood, accepting him on the understanding he is not one of them, but is similar enough to be one of them.

Despite their difference in size, Joe and the cockroaches live quite well together, discovering the new opportunities their relationship offers. This theme was made famous by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels, which Payson pays homage to when Joe finds himself tied down by the roaches the same way Gulliver was by the Lilliputians. And it is a direct comparison between the interpretation of "little people" and cockroaches that Payson is making. The terms virtually mean the same. Both species are squashed and the less seen the better. Are the poor and low income families living in tenements not seen as undesirable insects subject to the desires of housing committees lobbied by developers wanting to profit from gentrification of a neighborhood?

Rebirth and Hope
Payson, who continues to live in New York's East Village believes strongly that good things grow from rubble. Near the film's end, a once promising garden that was destroyed is suddenly transformed into an even better paradise. A fantasy element only possible through the cinema, it underlines the director's sense of enchantment with rebirth and hope.

The cockroaches in Joe's Apartment are avatars for humans. They watch a TV program called Alternative Life with Charlie Roach. Charlie, a cockroach, hosts a table discussion with a city pigeon, a squirrel and a rat. The discussion breaks down and feathers and fur begin to fly, prompting the host to implore, "Can't we all get along ...?" (a little reminder of the Rodney King incident that continues to illustrate the self-righteousness of those with power and influence over the less well off).

Payson keenly observes the lack of understanding that exists between different cultures. When it comes to human behavior, contemporary TV shows rely on pulling aside the curtain of truth when it comes to human behavior. The irony here is that city animals and insects live hard lives as well, but do not exceed the interest of television executives.