Photo Courtesy of the NYTimes
After watching Detropia I immediately thought that this documentary can be considered as a continuing part to Michael Moore’s Roger and Me. Detropia follows the similar angle that Moore did in his film by exposing the town of Flint insufficient lack of income and government support. Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady bring the city Detroit to a modern halt by showing their viewers that what is happening in Detroit is not a tale of a mishap where a knight comes to save the day, but a reality of what was once a shining star town is now a town consumed in unseen flames.
Detropia follows Crystal Starr: a video blogger, Tommy Stevens: a local bar owner and George McGregor the president of a workers’ union. These individuals give their perspective on their everyday lives and struggles to make ends meet. Stevens, who is trying to make his business stay afloat and McGregor tries to keep a smile on the union workers who know they will soon either face a pay cut or a lay off. We see families lose their homes due to foreclosure and then eventually have the house they once called a home torn down by demolition; erasing the memories that once existed.
We can take this as a wake up call in the sense that Detroit is just the beginning piece to fall in this domino effect. The poor keeps getting poorer and the richer keeps getting richer.
3 responses so far ↓
yl146984 // Oct 10th 2012 at 11:54 am
I like how you described Detroit, “a reality of what was once a shining star town is now a town consumed in unseen flames.” This metaphor gives us more than just the condition of Detroit but the feeling of hopelessness and depression.
ra125058 // Oct 10th 2012 at 4:10 pm
I like the way you start the blog by comparing Detropia with Michael Moor’s film Roger and Me, and give readers a descriptive essence of the documentary. The only thing I say would add a plus to your blog is to talk about the directors’ effectiveness of making the documentary.
Juliya Madorskaya // Oct 11th 2012 at 1:30 pm
How is this movie different that Roger and Me? I liked Roger and Me but the approach to the story seems different by virtue of the photo. What does this continuation add to the story told by Moore?
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