Detroit was once one of the fastest growing cities in the world. By 1950 the population was1.8 million, by 2010 that number dropped to 714,000.
Detropia chronicles the lives of several Detroiters trying to make sense of what is happening to their city. A blues bar owner, a young blogger, an auto union rep, a group of artists, an opera impresario, and a gang of illegal "scrappers" make up an unlikely chorus that illuminates the tale of both a city and a country in soul-searching mood, desperate for a new identity. The woes of Detroit seem emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base. Perhaps the Midwestern icon is a canary in the American coal mine.
Detropia is a cinematic tapestry of a city and its people; the documentary sculpts a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution.
Check out the trailer here: http://vimeo.com/42302316