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Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A Masterpiece!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Anthony Ochoa Professor Ivis Zambrana UPP101 TR 23 October 2013 Project 2In Detropia, Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady take a look at the fall of the once prosperous Detroit and more generally speaking the United States. Detropia is a combination of the words Detroit and either utopia or dystopia. Their main arguments or points conveyed throughout the film are the apathy of foreign manufacturers, the decline of manufacturing plants in the past few decades in the United States , and that the accustomed standard of living is closing the gap between wealthy and poor in America. They present these arguments through the stories of various community members who are affected by the loss of population in Detroit and provide social commentary. I would have leaned towards more statistics or studies to make the arguments seem more objective or balance out the subjective-ness of the community members' stories. Detropia uses vivid imagery, humanized effects of the decay, and allusions to the possible future for the rest of the United States.Detropia opens up with a contrast of opera music against the unmaintained Detroit streets leading into the demolition of homes and observations by Video Blogger Crystal Starr. Crystal Starr is a Detroiter who looks for stories and beauty within the abandoned and wrecked buildings. She and a couple other Detroiters offer personal insight and reminiscence in coupling with the heavy use of imagery and statistics. The imagery in Detropia is so vivid and devoid of human presence that the sense of abandonment becomes very apparent to the viewer and contrasts the traditional use of the video medium. The use of audio is limited to the use of contrast against Detroit's prosperous past and for the use of the continued sense of loneliness throughout the documentary. The majority of the quotes are presented in text across the screen to further limit the use of audio. If background music is present it is from the eras prior to the decline and is accompanied by people's fond memories of prosperity. Other background audio is usually somewhat soft and eerie with the sounds of the dying city. The persistent imagery is often heavy with visual juxtaposition such as the beautiful view from an abandoned or vandalized buildings.While Detropia's vivid imagery is lacking in human presence, it places emphasis on the use of a few chosen community members to humanize the decline of Detroit. Along with aforementioned Crystal Starr the other prominent speaking community members are George McGregor and Tommy Stephans whose titles are Local 22: United Auto Workers Union President and owner of the local business The Raven Lounge, respectively. George McGregor is introduced by announcing the latest proposition from an auto manufacturer to the union members, who consider the pay cut proposition an insult. After their refusal of the proposition, the plant was closed and the manufacturing jobs outsourced to Mexico. George McGregor speaks about how the country is losing manufacturing jobs to foreign markets and how there is a growing absence of American-made products. Tommy Stephans speaks about how Detroit is an example of how when jobs are lost, people leave in pursuit of work, which further hurts the businesses by loss of customers. He also speaks about the Americans' choice to choose comparable foreign products at a cheaper price and how it hurts the global economy by supporting foreign markets and their workers.George McGregor and Tommy Stephans speak about the negative effects of outsourcing jobs and buying foreign products. In line with what they have said, it is reasonable to assume and partially alluded to by the directors, America is following suit with Detroit by our continued choices to value competitively priced foreign products over the positive effects of buying American-made products. It is a well known issue in the automotive industry and is showing specifically in Detroit's automotive based economy. If more American jobs and products are given or lost to foreign markets for cheaper production, those American workers will lose their jobs and we will see similar situations to Detroit. Capitalism is the economic system that drives American businesses to compete in order to offer the best product at the lowest price. After WWII, we had spread American ideals and systems, such as Capitalism, to foreign countries. This created competitors in the global markets as we consolidated our emerging industries. Then, we began to move away from manufacturing as labor laws prevented US manufacturers from producing cheaper than foreign manufacturers where different or no labor laws exist. As the director alluded to in the case of the automotive plant in Detroit, Americans have become accustomed to a certain standard of living. The American automotive employees were struggling, refused to be paid less, and were laid off as their jobs were outsourced to Mexico. As shown in the automotive show, the worst part of the cycle of destruction we are enabling is that we further support it, whether through ignorance, apathy, or financial priorities.Overall, Detropia uses vivid imagery, humanized effects of the decay, and allusions to the possible future for the rest of the United States. It is a powerful documentary that outlines the variety of issues that caused the decline of Detroit and is currently harming the USA. Works Cited 1. Detropia. Dir. Heidi E. Ewing. Perf. George McGregor. New Video, 2012. Film.

I watched this flick because people kept telling me it was shot well and it really wasn't. I've seen better urban spelunking videos (or even photos) come out of media censor friendly China. This film looks like it was shot without a budget (like most documentaries, that's not meant to be a strike against it) but also without any permits. I'm not really one to complain about that unless it seems to show in your work.The somewhat bland videography aside the point of this documentary is to talk about and expose people to the problem in the "D". With no history. No context. No real explanations at all. People used to make cars there and now they don't so we get to listen to people whine about how bad things have gotten in the city.I'm not looking for a piece that might match my opinions but you can't take a movie talking about economic hardships in Detroit seriously without discussing pension liabilities, government mandates, unionism in general or any other myriad economic problems that lead businesses to flee to other states or countries and consumers to buy cheaper goods.We hear a lot about China. Nothing about Ohio where cars are still being made. Or any of the "Right to Work" states. I'm not advocating here for "right to work", I'm pointing out that the filmmakers don't even discuss the very economic issues that the "Rust Belt" has been grappling with for more than a generation. Art snobs can afford to move in so we'll show them taking photos and being all artsy, that will take the place of any real expose or discussion.There is a scene in this flick, seriously, where a union refuses to negotiate with a company that is threatening to move the last of their plants to Mexico. This isn't a bluff or standoff, this is a take-it-or-leave-it issue. The union "doesn't even vote on it" because they "have nothing to lose". Can we discuss THAT mentality for a second? How do they have nothing to lose? We're told the plant closed and nothing else of note. Did they all go on unemployment? Why was the plant closed? We see the union meeting with their "greed" talking point but what was the reason from the company? We don't even get the tried and true documentary trope of "nobody from company 'x' would talk to us".I watch a lot of documentaries as they help my wife sleep from boredom and they keep me up at night seething with rage. This was just another in a long line of "what a cool idea" that quickly turned into "86 minutes of movie, 4 hours of my life wasted because now I'm on IMDb complaining about it".

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.

I read an article not long ago that cited the TruTV program Hardcore Pawn as one of the biggest boons to Detroit's failing economy in a long time. The pawn shop depicted in the show, American Jewelry and Loan, located in the 8 Mile, has become famous in the town of Detroit and has become a notable tourist attraction, receiving hundreds of customers a day. I can't help but find it somewhat depressing that one of the town's biggest economic successes in recent times is thanks to an exploitative, unsubstantial Television program with almost no redeeming merits when it used to not need any assistance because of its unstoppable job growth thanks to its many factories.Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's new documentary Detropia opens with a frightening statistic; in 1930, Detroit, often labeled "Motor City," was the country's most booming city because of its auto industry and manufacturing plants all across its land. Today, it is one of the fastest declining cities with over 100,000 vacated homes and lots. Its economy is in shambles, its townspeople exhausted and underpaid, and overall appearance mirroring that of a desolate wasteland. Clint Eastwood starred in a Super Bowl commercial about two years ago that informed citizens of the world that it's only halftime in America and our second half was to begin shortly. Tell that to the locals in Detroit who, in 2013, still, are waiting for the buzzer to go off and for the game to resume."We're not in a recession, we're in a depression," says retired public school teacher Tommy Stephens, now owner of the Raven Lounge in Detroit. "They're just not saying it cause it would scare the American people." I would've loved to have this man as a teacher for any subject. He is one of the most friendly, charismatic, and intelligent documentary figures in recent memory and his final scene where he discusses the greatness of capitalism, yet recognizing its unfair treatment and exploitation of the poor is terrifically compelling. Stephens later attends a car show where he himself is being taught about how China can make an electric car appearing more stable than an American-made car for $20,000 and America makes and sells one for around $41,000. He informs the gentleman selling the $41,000 car, who is anything but happy. It is then he and we, as the audience, realize that the future may be outsourcing, but then where does that leave the United States? Looking like the metropolitan area of Detroit, I suppose.We are not given a central moral or theme in the film, but we do not need one. We have been bombarded with news about the economic standing of Detroit for several years now that we have subconsciously blamed whoever we feel responsible, rather it be the political left, right, the town's mayor, the unions, the townspeople, whoever. Ewing and Grady aren't here to give us a moral but a somber experience with little light at the end of the tunnel. We focus on various townspeople in Detroit, including a stressed and frustrated union manager whose American Axle plant has just been closed, townspeople who sit on their porch and mock all efforts of the politicians who are trying to bring Detroit back to its roots, a Vlogger on Youtube named Crystal Starr who attends many town hall meetings and explores the ruins of the town (she goes into an empty building and looks out at the desolation that has consumed the entire town and tells us, "this place used to be bangin'"), and even the mayor, Dave Bing, who is completely at a loss, unable to cope with the ruins of the town or the immense decrease in population. He proposes solutions, like relocating people to replace some of the urbanization with farmland, to which many people are understandably disgusted at. It's the unwillingness to input change and the unwillingness to carry out change that is ruining Detroit, yet where do you go and what do you do when you're bankrupt and desperate? Had it not been for the narration and statistics, I would've went out and assumed this was a film done by the filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, whose Titicut Follies I don't hesitate to call one of the finest American films ever made. The filmmakers do not put us in a position to judge, blame, or accuse, but simply give us an unbiased, objective look at the guttural decay and hopelessness Detroit has accentuated over a period of several years. Ewing and Grady's approach to this delicate material is similar to the way I believe Wiseman would've approached it, by letting the townfolk tell their stories and share their opinions and do not plan on sharing your own, even if you have the liberty to.The only faint light that we are provided with is the idea that Detroit will soon become the area of idealistic young people who want to emerge in careers of technology and the fine arts to hopefully revitalize the American spirit in the currently hopeless town. The marketing points for the film are the Coys, Steven and Dorota, respectively. They are two local artists who wear gold-painted gas masks and walk listlessly along the landscape of Detroit (which is photographed bleakly but beautifully) and hope to spread their creativity and vision throughout the land. More power to 'em.The question we are left with is the same one we emerged with and that is how will we keep Detroit alive in these rough times? The documentary doesn't provide an answer and neither can I. Better make some more reality TV shows. Hopefully one starring Tommy Stephens.Read the more complete review at http://stevethemovieman.proboards.com