Detropia

All I ask for out of a documentary is that it teaches me something and makes me feel. Although Detropia doesn't belong in the trash heap, it did not live up to these simple expectations I have put in place. Detroit definitely has an interesting story; in the 1930's it was one of the most populated states in the country, certainly the easiest place to find a good job. Slowly (with the passing of NAFTA in the late 90's- thanks Clinton) jobs left, followed by people. Detroit has seen the largest mass exodus in the country. The film informs us that almost 10,000 houses per month are torn down because they have been abandoned. The city is in ruins. I thought this would make for a good documentary.

First of all, why is the city going through such problems. I think the directors blame the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is fine because it's probably true. However, they assume that the viewer knows all about NAFTA and exactly how it effected the Detroit auto industry. All they explain is that NAFTA happened and CEO's moved their jobs to Mexico, which caused factories to shut down. I would have appreciated a little more depth into NAFTA; maybe a 90 explanation of why NAFTA meant that companies could move down south, why it passed, who was for it, who was against it? Maybe an interview with a proponent and an opponent. Maybe try to get in touch with spokespeople from these companies. Instead we are left having to pause the movie and do our own research.

As a drifter in his early 30's, I'm interested in cities like Detroit. I think places like this are where the revolution is gaining steam. The documentary spends a few minutes describing what is happening. Very briefly they say that there is a plan in the works to move people who live on the outskirts into the city, in order to create more density. Then, they would convert the outlying area to potentially urban gardens. This is a fascinating idea, revolutionary even, yet that's pretty much all we hear about it. We are shown clips of what appears to be a town hall meeting about the proposal, and then we hear three elementary school dropouts saying, "they be playing gardens? That's dumb yo. People be shooting each other over tomatoes." That's it. That's all we're told about the future of Detroit.

Finally, I understand that a city that poor obviously has a pretty dismal education system (although that doesn't explain why the older people, who lived most of their lives during the boom, are also dumb as cow poop), but surely they could have found someone to interview who had the ability to put together intelligent sentences. The main characters are a video blogger (the closest of the bunch to an average IQ), a burned out owner of what appears to be a Blue's club, and a union leader/pimp. Are there no professors? Are there no community groups? Talk about lazy; it seems like the directors had a few friends in the area and interviewed them. Or maybe they just found the first few people they saw, and mic'd them up. Regardless, the documentary sucked. The only positive is that I'll now to more research on the city.

May contain spoilers: It has some interesting images,anecdotes and stories but for the most part it is nothing but ruin porn. I didn't hate the movie but it really did not go too far in depth about the complex nature of the cities decline. These things include racial tensions, mismanagement, population declines, real estate practices, recessions,public schools, politics, crime and outsourcing. I know they covered some of these things but they barely scratched the surface on many of these issues. I think if you really would like to know some of these issues in a more intimate matter than your better off researching it and watching a show like The Wire. I think that show does a great job of examining many issues that the big cities face and to a lesser extent many cities.

An opera singer calmly walks thru a large room inside a beautiful piece of architecture, a deserted and dilapidated building being devoured by nature. His beautiful song bounces off walls littered with graffiti. Broken windows, piles of rubble, lost jobs, a city in decay, nowhere to go but up, welcome to Detropia.

This movie briefly takes us around Detroit and into the hearts & minds of its sparse population. We see that the only thing surviving and thriving is the indomitable spirit of its citizens. Most documentaries take the approach of inundating us with information. Don't expect to talk to economic experts or politicians, we talk to the ordinary citizen. We watch them live with their difficult day to day existence as they watch the city decay around them, all the while trying to understand complex causes to a complex problem. Solutions seems so distant all they can hope for is a miracle.

Detropia shows the viewer a microcosm of the human condition through conversations with ordinary folks amidst a sea of ruins. The lovely cinematography continuously compares and contrasts beauty with ugliness, despair with hope. We see small flowers growing among the rubble, a bird rests upon a heap of garbage, people smiling and clinging to what little joy they have as they struggle to make ends meet.

This is a wonderful and calm film that will require the viewer to have patience and be in a sombre mood. Expect sadness tinged with brief glimpses of hope and the answer to the question of whether your cup is half full or empty. I'm left with the feeling that the spirit may be strong in Detroit's citizens, but the realities of the world are slowly crushing them. Let us hope the spirit conquers all.

This film is interesting to watch, especially the tour through the ruins of Detroit, a fascinating graphic representation of the collapse of a major American city. The haunted landscape with its empty houses and buildings (often very large buildings) evokes emotions of loss and decline, both sad and romantic at the same time. I was thoroughly entertained while I was watching those scenes. This documentary also interviews some of the residents of those devastated areas, and while those survivors are likable and interesting in themselves, they seem to have little insight into what's going on around them or why. This video provides a paucity of information about what brought about those alarming conditions, instead focusing on allowing the pictures to tell the story.

There are a couple of major omissions that are quite glaring, as if the videographers just had to avert their eyes from the truth because of ideology or just a personal aversion. First is the alarming crime rate. Only about 21% of the homicides are solved. There is no indication here about how dangerous Detroit has become. Another omission is the abysmal condition of the public schools. Without decent schools there is literally no hope for the kids still having to live in the Detroit area. My understanding is that it is not due to lack of money because Detroit schools receive more per pupil than the national average. Only 25% of high school students graduate. A young student is more likely to wind up in prison than in college. A third glaring omission is the fact that the city has been ruled by Democratic politicians for 50 years. The city's problems are to a large extent the result of bad politics, misspent money and cronyism. Without a viable opposition who was there to keep the politicians honest?

I don't mind that much if the documentary was just meant to show the wasteland that was once Detroit as a series of visual images for their own sake. However there seems to be something under the surface that is hinted at but never developed. Why did Detroit take such a nosedive in the last decades? I would have preferred a more in-depth analysis. Why couldn't Detroit adapt to changes in the global market? Auto plants in other parts of the US are doing okay. Did the unions kill the auto industry in Detroit? This is a question that is never asked in "Detropia." Perhaps because the filmmakers didn't want to face the answer.

This movie is phenomenal for all the wrong reasons. Upon watching this film, I found myself laughing at idiocracy of the residents. They constantly miss the point. The UAW bosses, workers, the citizens of Detroit, and the mayor they elect are just classic showings of people who simply do not understand. The opening scene of the movie sums it up. They won't close the plant down on us, we need to be paid a fair living wage above $13.00 an hour. The basic understanding of supply and demand economics are simply lost, and that is what truly makes the film great. I am sure the director did not intentionally do this, but it becomes clear immediately the disconnect. $13 an hour in Detroit is a living wage. Compare that to China for $2-$3 an hour, the Chinese will soon be able to demand $9 an hour, which will make you middle-class to upper middle-class in China.

The citizens do not understand they are the ones driving away the jobs. GM needs to make profit, and they haven't in years. Even now, as they are doing a little better, we all know it is just another recession, another crappy brown sedan, before they are bankrupt once again. The best part of was the mayor, as he was watching his redistricting plan, and then denied any tax incentives or tax cuts as a way to stimulate job growth. The citizens simply demand things, and then blame it on everyone but themselves. The best part was when one of the citizens in the film begged for more government services, not realizing that in order to provide those services they need revenue.

This film is hilarious to anyone that knows the basic fundamentals of the economy. "Please, please don't take our transportation away". Sums up their just misunderstanding for the basics of business. This movie is able to highlight this on all levels, and is only for the truly intellectual to come to that conclusion. Everyone else will continue the tradition of mediocrity. Don't expect a statement from the film either way, all it takes is common sense.