Detropia

Over 1.8 million residents made Detroit the fifth largest U.S. city when its population peaked in the 1950 census. Now, over 700,000 people live among 90,000 vacant homes within the Motor City's 139 square mile border—which encompasses more land than Boston, Manhattan, and San Francisco combined. DETROPIA offers a voice to gritty Detroiters amidst the setbacks of the automobile industry bankruptcies and foreclosure crisis. Raven Lounge proprietor Tommy Stephens keeps his business alive by working in his kitchen, tending bar, and chatting up loyal patrons. Detroit Opera House leaders exhibit their fortitude as corporate funding has evaporated. UAW workers dispute pay concessions while their neighborhoods suffer as jobs bleed out of the country. Mayor Dave Bing holds public meetings to talk about his struggle to provide basic city services with a declining tax base. Meanwhile, opera singers perform throughout the film and exemplify the city's artistic vitality. But we are left with the question, “Is Detroit a canary in the coal mine that indicates the future of Midwest American cities?” – B.G.