I absolutely loved this film. Is it a perfect film? No. But it pulled me in and held me from the jump, and that in my mind is the primary reason I gave it an 8 out of 10. I LIKED the bar owner, the union president, the 83 year old woman at the meeting, and many of the lesser characters. I therefore was invested in the issue for the first time. I'm no kid, but I am of the generation which laughed at my dad telling me to "buy American" as I happily took ownership of my new BMW. This film made me truly realize that the choices and actions of us since the 60's have truly brought the chickens home to roost.
I imagine, if anyone even reads this at all, there will be a lot of "We'll duh dumb ass" thoughts. And you're right. But if this film can reach greedy ole self concerned me, then it just might have a similar effect on someone else as well.
I have a bit of a "Utopian" idea, which is quite a reach at this time....but so was marriage equality even 6 years ago. Just as gay marriage started with single states accepting same sex unions slowly one at a time, the same thing is occurring with weed right now. Slowly, one state at a time it is being accepted as the old fundies realize that the "War on Drugs" is a most ridiculous waste of money we don't have. Likewise for the expense of imprisoning Americans for using and even selling weed.
So, instead of clearing the 50,000+ abandoned homes in Detroit and replacing the land with "urban farms" growing vegetables and possibly livestock, why not make Detroit the first and foremost urban massive acreage to legally produce cannabis?
I am sure there are some climate issues which may not be as favorable to agricultural issues....but I live in FL where we supply most of the oranges to the country. We have MAJOR climactic issues to deal with, some of which can destroy an entire season's crop and raise the price of OJ on the trade scene for months and months---but we still get it done year after year.(my granddad was an orange grower.)
Tax, manage and control the *beep* like we do alcohol. I'm not saying to create a free for all where only the owners and top investors benefit. It should provide jobs for the unemployed Detroit residents, it should allow massive state tax reduction just as the tourist industry does here in FL where we have no state tax, and generally assure that Detroit will be the greatest recipient of the potential boom.
I can dream, can't I?
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Spacer1
11 years ago
You asked me to comment here, and I like your out of the box idea, but I also don't know about the growing conditions for cannabis. The big question with this however is what will become of the people who are displaced by such massive land reclassification. This is exactly what it would take for any kind of large scale rejuventation of Detroit, another massive growth industry choosing Detroit as its home base. And cannabis is such an industry, like it or not.
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mbell-14
11 years ago
Idealistic zeal in pursuit of a goal is as often an ingredient for chaos as it is for progress. I don't know Detroit. Never even been there. I find the problems there interesting in that the same was said for New York and Pittsburgh in the 1970s and Cleveland in the 1980s, plus a few others that to greater and lesser degrees have found an economic way forward. There seems to be something stubbornly resistant going on in Detroit, though. This doc helped show it, but didn't even try to explain it. It just seemed as though something substantial is missing in this piece of work. My own home in central Appalachia is equally stubborn and no documentarian has ever really captured it's existential nature either. Things are desperately bad and those who remain seem incapable of moving forward because too many people simply cannot be convinced of the need to pull in the same direction. The filmmaker's approach in using vignettes that illustrate traits provides character but no depth, hence motive is missing. It is helpful in showing the huge social pathologies in play. The only thing I did not like was the minimalist but still somewhat jarring hum of a soundtrack. I get that it sort of matches the sound an idled machine might make, and in small sections of the film it would be perfectly appropriate, but every thought or rather comment the film makes seems to be backed by the sound of an electric motor humming somewhere.
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tgemberl
11 years ago
I'd endorse the pot-growing idea. I don't think it would displace a lot of people, because there are few people left in the proposed growing areas anyway.
Huge areas of the city are almost empty, from what I understand.
I suppose you could offer anyone who didn't want to vacate their property a stake in the growing operation.
"Extremism in the pursuit of moderation is no vice."
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