Ryan McNeil
I’m tempted to say that what’s happening in Detroit “isn’t news”…but I don’t believe that is entirely correct. I think most Americans are aware of the trouble its manufacturing economy is in, and what that means for Motown…but I’m not sure everyone understands how far things have gone. To be clear: The population of Detroit has dwindled by 25% over the last ten years.
That’s huge.
The city is in real danger of being lost, and DETROPIA wants to tell the city’s story before it is too late.
The film is a poem focused mostly on what Detroit is now, while occasionally reminding us of what it once was. It shows us buildings that used to house corporate offices…sprawling manufacturing plants…churches…schools. People came and went through these spaces daily, and now they sit barren and condemned. This is not “Ruin Porn”, this is an honest and beautiful eulogy for what once was…and not even that long ago.
We are introduced to people still holding on to the railings as the boat continues to sink…those who believe that if they keep bailing, that they can steady the ship. There is a sadness in their voices and a defiance in their eyes, and the more we get to know about them, the more we want the city to rally. But as they discuss the erosion of the middle class, and talk about troubling plans for the city’s infrastructure, we can’t help but get that bad feeling deep down.
It’s a film that isn’t interested in presenting a thesis, so much as it wants to fully document the state of the city – and it does so with poetry and gallows humour. Hell, it even uses the The Detroit Opera Company as a Greek Chorus to underscore the tragedy. It makes us wonder how this could have happened to one of the most important cities in America’s history. If this is the fate of a once-thriving metropolis like Detroit, what’s next for Pittsburgh?…or Cleveland?…or Baltimore?
Simply put, DETROPIA is a eulogy. It might not be a eulogy for the city as a whole, but it is certainly an epitaph for Detroit’s communities. Some of the people we meet even talk about the situation being the death of the middle class. They don’t want to give up, mind you. There are thoughts that production of an electric car will help bring back manufacturing jobs, and that the growing numbers of young artists moving into cheap living space downtown can somehow re-energize the city’s cultural scene. Unfortunately, both theories have high hurdles to clear.
The silver lining – and indeed there is one – is that the people who remain in Detroit believe in hard work. That’s how many of them made their bones in the first place, and what many of them believe will pull the city out of its tailspin. They are all ready to roll up their sleeves and have at it: all they need is true leadership. In many ways Detroit is a microcosm of America as a whole, and one has to hope that something can be done soon…before it’s too late.
Great review.
I think the movie is a poem to a dying city but also an indictment of the people running the city/country, killing the middle class. How did they let this go so far? This is what happened when corporations/government fall asleep at the wheel and just look at short term greed. The message of “America isn’t making anything anymore, they are just a service country” rings throughout the movie.
Detropia doesn’t offer any solution, because there isn’t one, not at least in the short term. People are leaving the city, and it’s hard to blame them.
The Clint Eastwood “Half Time” Superbowl Commercial came to my mind as I was watching Detropia. The commercial tries to encourage the country to wake up, work hard and become a wealthy nation again. When Detropia is over, I am not sure if it’s as simple as just working hard. They are competing against other countries (namely China) which is work as harder and longer hours. The labor cost is much less than the ones in Detroit. As long as American companies decides to outsource their factories, the future is very dark for city like Detroit.
First things first – apologies for not rallying up with you at this showing. Along with the fact that I was pretty blurry by this late stage of the festival, that screening just seemed like a zoo by the time I got there.
You raise excellent points, and what I loved most about the film is the way it makes you think about those details without hitting you in the ribs with them. You can overlay what was on to what is, ask yourself how that happened and grow frustrated with the answers.
Instead, it presents itself as this elegant visual poem…which is far more unique a course to take on the matter.
It’s all good. It was a crazy screening, I don’t remember a screening like this at Hot Docs.
Is this your favorite film at Hot Docs?
It’s up there for sure. I think for an overall fave I’m still partial to BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING, with BONES BRIGADE and INDIE GAME close behind.
You?
Mine would be: The Imposter. That’s not only the best film I have seen at Hot Docs, it’s the best film I’ve seen all year. I will see it again when (I hope) it comes out in Toronto.
Indie Game is playing at Bell Lightbox on May 25, I will check that out for sure.
IMPOSTER is that one film that everybody I talked to loved a lot, but I missed. Happens every time.
Guess I’ll have to keep my eyes open for it to hit theatres later this year.
I’m afraid I don’t know much about what’s happening in Detroit other than the news on its auto industry. Your review makes this sound like a must-see, as like you said, Detroit is ‘a microcosm of America as a whole.’ Great Hot Docs coverage, Ryan!
Thanks Ruth – I hope I didn’t bore my readership with all of this non-fiction discussion.
The auto industry has a domino effect that has yet to be corrected, what it’s resulted in is much of the population of this (surprisingly sprawling) city to leave town for other options. This makes it difficult to operate what’s left behind.
In short, the reach of the downturn in their lifeblood is shocking. This film should start hitting screens in September. When it comes to MN, be sure to check it out.