Otis Johnson was jailed in 1971 for the assault and attempted murder of a police officer.

Recently released, he is attempting to keep up with New York in 2015 – something even the city’s inhabitants struggle to do.

For Johnson, who re-entered an alien world with no family, friends or user manual, the journey is lonely and overwhelming, but fascinating.

• ‘The most awful thing’: band discuss Paris attack
• Body recovered from NSW river
• NRL set to announce Fox Sports rights deal

Broadcaster Al Jazeera made a film about Johnson’s recent ‘re-entry’ – following the ex-prisoner as he navigates New York from Times Square, the subway and the supermarket.

Johnson is impressed at how we manage to walk and text. Photo: Getty

For viewers, he serves as a kind of time capsule, a reminder of how ridiculous modern society can be and the difficulties of re-integration.

“I went to prison at the age of 25 years old and when I came out I was 69 year old,” Johnson says in the video.

“Prison affected me a lot. And my re-entry was a little bit hard at first because things had changed.”

Standing in one of the world’s most overwhelming spaces, New York’s Times Square, Johnson marvels at how advertising has changed since he was “out” in the 1970s.

“I’ve never seen nothing on the windows before”, he says, pointing to video advertisements that scroll across clear glass.

Technological advancements we take for granted – such as hands-free phone conversations – also startle Johnson.

“I seen that everybody was talking to themselves,” he says.

“I looked closely and they seemed to have things in their ears … iPhones they call them.

“I thought everybody had become CIA agents.”

Similarly, Johnson is amazed at how phone users manage to walk around without running into each other.

Gatorade is one of Johnson’s new favourite drinks. Photo: Flickr

“Some people are not even looking where they’re going. So I’m trying to figure how people do that,” he says.

Down in the subway, Johnson learns public pay phones now cost considerably more than in the ’70s.

“And then I found out people don’t use those things anymore,” he laughs incredulously.

The supermarket is a more enjoyable (and less mind-bending) place for Johnson, who can’t believe the amount of choice.

“I eat different things now because I see all this crazy stuff, so I’ll try it out,” he says.

He refers to Gatorade as “that ‘gator’ stuff” and says he’s making his way through all of the flavours.

As for sandwich spreads, he’s shocked to see peanut butter and jelly in the same jar, but happy to see the brand Skippy’s is still on the shelves after all these years.

On a more sombre note, Johnson describes his loneliness after losing touch with his family around 1998.

“When I got out of prison I didn’t even have a birth certificate. It bothers me a lot because I really miss my family.”

In the end its Johnson’s philosophical approach to this brave new world that gets him through. That, and appreciating the little things that were out of reach for so long.

“You can only go outside at certain times [in prison], so I like going in the sun,” he says.

“You gotta let things go because holding onto anger will only stagnate you. I try not to go back, I only go forwards. And that’s how I survive.”

Watch Otis Johnson’s reactions below: