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Caine's Arcade

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Caine's Arcade
Directed byNirvan Mullick
Release date
  • April 9, 2012 (2012-04-09)
Running time
11 minutes
CountryUnited States

Caine's Arcade is a 2012 short documentary film directed by Nirvan Mullick. The film documents a cardboard arcade created by then 9-year-old Caine Monroy, which he operated from his father's auto parts store in East Los Angeles in mid-2011. After buying a $2 Fun Pass, making him Caine's first customer, Mullick created a documentary about Caine's project and uploaded the 11 minute-video to YouTube.

Following its release, fans contributed to a college fund that Mullick established for Caine. The film also inspired the creation of similar cardboard arcades in schools worldwide and inspired the formation of the Imagination Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on fostering creativity and entrepreneurship in young people.

Background

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Before 2011, Caine would spend weekends at his father George's auto parts store. To pass the time and earn some money, Caine tried out various business ideas, selling items such as yard signs for sports teams and snacks from vending machines. However, as the store was located in an industrial area of East Los Angeles with low foot traffic and mainly served as a warehouse for online sales, these efforts were largely unsuccessful.[1]

In the summer of 2011, Caine discovered several discarded cardboard boxes at the store and asked his father's permission to set up an arcade in the front. George agreed, and Caine built the games and created a ticket and prize redemption system. Initially, he used his old toys, like Hot Wheels cars, as prizes, before switching to items purchased at dollar stores. Caine operated the games manually by retrieving balls and handing out tickets to players through slots. During a family trip to Palm Springs, Caine asked for a custom T-shirt with "Caine's Arcade" printed on one side and "Staff" on the other, though he did not know what the word 'staff' meant at the time.[2][3]

Filmmaker Nirvan Mullick first noticed Caine's project while getting a door handle for his 1996 Toyota Corolla. Mullick was intrigued by the arcade and spoke to Caine about it. Mullick was impressed by the business elements, such as the $2 "Fun Pass" offering 500 plays.[4] Mullick bought a Fun Pass and played the games, not realizing he was Caine's first customer until George mentioned it to him later, noting that Caine was happy even with just one customer.[5][1]

Documentary

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After visiting Caine's Arcade, Mullick returned a few weeks later to ask George for permission to make a short film about the arcade, which he planned to debut at DIY Days, held at the University of California, Los Angeles, in late October. George approved and mentioned that Mullick had been Caine's first and only customer. Upon learning this, Mullick organized a surprise flash mob for Caine, which would be part of the film. The flash mob was scheduled for October 2, 2011, and was promoted via Facebook and Reddit.[4]

On the day of the flash mob, George took Caine out for pizza in the afternoon to allow over one hundred participants time to gather and prepare signs. When Caine returned, the crowd greeted him with a cheer of "We came to play." Surprised and excited, Caine expressed surprise and excitement upon seeing the crowd gathered to play his arcade games.[6]

Mullick edited a 14-minute rough cut of the documentary, which was shown at a UCLA event in October 2011. The film featured an original song called "Caine's Arcade" by local musician Juli Crockett, along with a track by the band Dead Man's Bones, fronted by actor Ryan Gosling.[4]

The final 11-minute version of the documentary was released online on April 9, 2012, on Vimeo and YouTube. The film quickly gained attention, accumulating over a million views on the first day and over 5 million views within five days.[4] Mullick described the film as "having a strong emotional impact".[7]

Impact

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Following the documentary's release, Caine was invited to speak at the USC Marshall School of Business as its youngest-ever speaker.[8][9] Caine was also the youngest speaker at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.[10] The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invited Caine to participate in a summer program, and the University of California, Los Angeles, offered to help design a course curriculum for Caine when he is ready to attend college.[11] Forbes and Fast Company have highlighted Caine’s perseverance and optimism, noting their relevance to broader entrepreneurial initiatives.[5][12] The arcade was temporarily displayed in the Exploratorium in San Francisco.[9]

After the documentary's release, Caine continued to operate the arcade on Saturdays for 18 months before "retiring" on his 11th birthday, partially because he was entering junior high school, but also to start a new business, a bicycle shop focusing on bicycle repair and customization.[13][6] While open, nearby businesses and local musicians worked to create a street fair-like environment surrounding the arcade.[9] At the 2013 Colorado Innovation Network Summit in Denver, Colorado, Caine was reportedly offered a scholarship to attend Colorado State University.

Mullick established a college fund for Caine, with an initial goal of $25,000. Contributions quickly surpassed this amount, reaching over $60,000 on the first day[4] and exceeding $170,000 one week later.[1] The total fund has raised over $240,000, with an ultimate goal of $250,000.[14] With a matching grant from the Goldhirsh Foundation, Mullick started the Imagination Foundation, a non-profit seeking to initiate programs fostering creativity and entrepreneurship in children.[14]

The Caine's Arcade has received endorsements from parents and teachers, including photos and videos of cardboard arcade games created by children inspired by the film. One such clip included actor-musician Jack Black and his children.[15] Later, Mullick and his team would work with volunteer teachers to create an open-ended curriculum, which hoped to enable students to develop similar projects from scratch.[15]

In September 2012, nearing the first anniversary of the surprise flash mob event, Mullick released a sequel: Caine's Arcade 2, comprised mainly of footage of children inspired by the original project.[15][16] Upon launching the Imagination Foundation, Mullick organized the Global Cardboard Challenge to encourage creativity with cardboard. Three weeks after the follow-up film, volunteers organized over 270 Cardboard Challenge events across 41 countries, including one at Caine's Arcade in Boyle Heights.[14] The event became an annual event, with initial sponsorship from Mattress Firm, which learned of the story after Mullick and Caine spoke at a Mattress Firm event.[17][18]

The Imagination Foundation has since expanded its programs, adding Imagination Chapters in 2014 and an Inventors Challenge in 2016.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Medina, Jennifer (April 19, 2012). "A Boy's Fast Fame, Built of Cardboard and Tape". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  2. ^ Gianatasio, David (April 13, 2012). "L.A. Adman Helps Bring Caine's Arcade to the World". Ad Week. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  3. ^ Lopez, Lolita; Brayton, Julie (April 11, 2012). "Caine's Arcade Goes Viral". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cross, Allison (April 12, 2012). "Caine's Arcade video about inventive L.A. boy raises $100,000 for scholarship fund". National Post. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Harrison, Sam (April 13, 2012). "If You Want To Get Creative, Take A Page From Caine's Arcade". Fast Company. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Woods, Arthur (September 17, 2012). "5 Questions with Nirvan Mullick, the man behind 'Caine's Arcade'". YouTube. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Goodale, Gloria (April 13, 2012). "Why 'Caine's Arcade' moves grown men to tears". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  8. ^ Stone, Chelsea (April 26, 2012). "Young local business owner Caine Monroy shares story with Marshall class". Daily Trojan. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c MacQuarrie, Jim (June 21, 2012). "Wired Catches Up With Caine's Arcade". Wired. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  10. ^ Nudd, Tim (June 18, 2012). "Caine Monroy of Caine's Arcade Wants You to Be a Kid Again". Ad Week. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  11. ^ Isaacson, Andy (April 24, 2012). "The Perfect Moment Goes Perfectly Viral". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  12. ^ Maeby, Caleb (April 12, 2012). "9 Reasons Why The 9-Year-Old Founder Of Caine's Arcade Will Be A Billionaire In 30 Years". Forbes. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  13. ^ Lopez, Lolita; Avila, Willian (July 13, 2013). "Caine's Arcade Is Closing as Boy Pursues New Dream". KNBC. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c Arnold, Shayna Rose (September 17, 2012). "A Second Super Inspiring Update On Caine's Arcade". Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2012-10-30. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  15. ^ a b c Crotty, James Marshall (June 7, 2012). "Caine's Arcade In East L.A. Inspires Curriculum". Forbes. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  16. ^ Frauenfelder, Mark (September 14, 2012). "Caine's Arcade 2: The Global Cardboard Challenge & Imagination Foundation". Boing Boing. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  17. ^ https://www.thestreet.com/story/11996355/2/mattress-firm-announces-national-sponsorship-of-imagination-foundation8217s-2013-global-cardboard-challenge.html [dead link]
  18. ^ Gorden, Ken (October 2, 2013). "Cardboard Challenge / Global Day of Play fosters creativity at any age". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
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