IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
A documentary on the city of Detroit and its woes, which are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base.A documentary on the city of Detroit and its woes, which are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base.A documentary on the city of Detroit and its woes, which are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base.
- Awards
- 9 wins & 6 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn a 2012 interview with That Shelf, Heidi Ewing detailed how her personal connection to the Detroit-area gave her insight and inspiration: "...I'm originally from Farmington Hills. My grandmother was a lifelong Detroiter. My parents left for the suburbs during the riots, so I lived about five miles outside of the city. But really my closest connection to the material is that my father had a manufacturing business. So I had a front row seat to the difficulty of keeping a manufacturing business alive, especially during the 80s when I grew up. Japan was rising. Global competition was starting to bite Detroit in the butt. A lot of my father's colleagues went out of business and he was able to stay in business by continuing to reinvent himself and making new products. So really, I've always understood the importance of maintaining a manufacturing base because it put me through college, you know?"
- Quotes
Tommy Stephens: Capitalism is a great system - I love it; but it exploits the weak. It always does. Unfortunately.
- SoundtracksI Am Coming For My Things
Written by Missy Mazzoli
Performed by Victoire
Courtesy of Missy Mazzoli Music and Good Child Music, Domind Publishing, New Amsterdam Records
Featured review
Nice pictures, short on information.
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.
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.
Helpful•82
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $390,024
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $17,414
- Sep 9, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $390,024
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
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