Movie review: Detropia

While it doesn't say anything particularly new about the sad state of Detroit, Detropia is worth seeing. The movie is sort of a collection of stories about people living in Detroit. We meet an optimistic tavern owner, a young video blogger, a talented opera singer, some factory workers who lose their jobs when they refuse to accept huge pay cuts, and a couple of artists who are delighted with all the open spaces available in the city for displaying their public artwork. One of the most interesting scenes involved the tavern owner at the Detroit auto show comparing the Chevy Volt electric car with a much cheaper Chinese version. (The promotional video for the Chinese company is mesmerizing in its "over the topness"--and the voiceover sounded like it was written by someone who was still learning English.) As the friend who went to the movies with me noted, similar stories could be found in a lot of other American cities these days and we really need to start thinking of some viable solutions.