Marek Rybakiewicz Detropia takes a look at the current state of Detroit, the prime example of a remnant of the industrial revolution that has gone awry. Once the center of the automotive industrial upsurge, the film presents a shell of a city that is being torn apart from the innards, allusory towards the infrastructure of Detroit along with the well being and morale of the citizenry. The audience is provided with case studies from similar walks of life that establish the framework for the city itself and the film. To entertain some initial conceptions that the American populace has of Detroit, we are presented with Crystal Starr, a local personal documenter, as she ventures through a wreckage, describing the beauty within and posing the question of how could all of the destruction and abandonment happen, which becomes the focus behind the film. Since the city is known for its automotive industry, the audience is then introduced to George McGregor, head of the local Automotive Workers union, which claims to have to some extent built Detroit. A drive throughout the city with him showcases the idea of past prestige and reputation of sprawling automotive factories, while the camera presents the complete juxtaposition, with abandonment and rust-laden fences lining the former compounds. With no industry to provide a backbone, the film makes Detroit seem destined for failure.The only administrative action shown in the film proves that even the bureaucracy knows that Detroit is crumbling, with lower populations leading to even less job availability, and those with a semblance of higher income moving away as quickly as possible. The potential plans for the future are met with strict ridicule and disdain by the residents, and the film seems to almost highlight ignorance on behalf of the population as an underlying problem, with residents using loud voices and jokes, all in the midst of disjointedness and no organization. To provide a heightened perspective, another local named Tommy Stephans, a jazz club owner, becomes a focal point of the documentary with insights into how the Detroit issue is simply a microcosm of what will most likely happen to America. Now that automotive workers are far and apart, his club has seen a relative downturn in business activity. He believes that workers follow the jobs, and while, for the time being, companies have moved out of Detroit, soon the case will be similar for the country. Purporting that America cannot survive without a strong middle class to buffer between the rich and the poor, the disparity only increases and due to lack of innovation and our desire for a higher quality of life, other countries such as China will dominate the United States in the long run. While there is factual data laced among vivid speculation, the artistic direction of the film seems to be the dominant focus. An elegance and style in decay is shown in the buildings, allowing an introspection on behalf of the viewer, forcing us to revel in the former beauty that the film projects. To energize this beauty, interwoven throughout are scenes of the opera, presumably taking place at the Detroit Opera House, which, along with the factories, was a staple in the vibrant city of the past. These scenes are paired with relative desertion that can now be seen on the streets and buildings, as well as sentimentally in the citizens, creating a contrast between the past and present, and adding depth to the emotional appeal that the visuals as well as the case study reports provide. Towards the finalé of the film there is a fusion of these two themes, as an opera vocalist sings inside of the ruins of a sizable building, showcasing an allegorical longing for the past that all of the citizens seem to make very evident. Apart from all of the emotion of Detroit's story, opposing arguments are virtually absent from the plot line, possibly due to the heavy reliance of the film on the personal viewpoints of a select few, but also as a probable result of the director's obvious bias and artistic strategy. Opening and closing the film with the Crystal Starr's investigative reporting, the audience is dragged into an opinion of Detroit, rather than being allowed to form their own based on data sets, although they are presented throughout, albeit to a much less pronounced extent. It is up to the viewer to decide whether the artistic direction of the film should be allowed to undermine the real world issue at hand, in a film where presentation of a broad picture of the crumbling Detroit is only second to the personal stories of job loss and the foreign market scare.All of this critique is overshadowed, therefore, by the heavy reliance upon appeals to emotion and opinion that are prevalent in the older generation of workers and citizens as present in the film. No form of a long term solution is proposed to this problem, and the glimpse of urban planning solutions we get do not substantiate what should be at least mentioned in the film itself. Even if no solution is ordained or on the horizon, it is my opinion that mentioning the actual state of affairs should have been a key focal point, although there is merit in the artistry and evocation of emotion, as those could potentially breed a sense of activism. Detropia paints a picture of a city that has been through an economic collapse and is dependent solely upon the citizenry to allow for a fresh start, rather than writing an analysis of how to achieve this revitalization. Focusing on emotional appeals and a few stories intertwined with facts, the film adds character and humanity to an issue that needs multiple aspects and perspectives in order to achieve some sort of conclusion, in order to possibly restore Detroit, and ultimately the American economic dream.

Anthony Ochoa 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.

topidea "Detropia" is a voyeuristic snapshot of Detroit as it is today but offers little insight into how things got so bad so fast. Its creators, like most of America, seem to accept Detroit's condition as the inevitable result of auto companies migrating out of the city. They entirely miss the point that citizens of Detroit have made poor decisions that CAUSED the auto companies, as well as most of the hard-working population and the good teachers, to abandon the town.What everyone misses is that Detroit's decline began at the height of the U.S. auto boom, when everyone was doing so well here that they thought they could afford to give everything to everyone and it would last forever. Some landmarks: -- The big 3 agree to strike demands that are obviously unsustainable including pensions, wages and even a guarantee that workers will get full salaries when they're laid off!-- The white majority, wishing to be "progressive", elects the first black mayoral candidate that comes along...never mind that he's not qualified, hates white people and is blatantly corrupt (Colman Young)-- The same white liberals move out of the city, taking their limousines with them-- Detroit enacts a City Income Tax, driving the remaining productive people and businesses out of town. This money is supposed to be for education but ends up in the pockets of school administration, union leaders and mayoral appointees-- The (now) black majority continues to re-elect Coleman Young for 20 years because he promises freebies for all-- Like a vulture sweeping in for the remains, Quame Kilpatrick gets elected mayor and sucks up every dime left in the Detroit treasuryThese are all DECISIONS made by Detroit voters (white and black) that have brought the city to its knees.The directors of Detropia similarly avoid suggesting any CURES for the city. They blame the suburbs for not supporting Detroit when, in fact, surrounding counties have voted many tax millages upon themselves to fund the Detroit Zoo, the Detroit Institute of Arts, etc. In fact, the city has been largely supported by its suburbs and the state and federal governments for many, many years.The appointment of a Financial Manager by the state was an absolute necessity (no one WANTED it). After 50 years of waste and corruption, someone had to become the adult in the room. One of Detropia's directors(dreamily) said on CSPAN this morning: "It does no good to look at the past, we must look forward." (GAG!) I offer this quote: "He who does not learn from the past is doomed to repeat it".

JoeZilch 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".