Detropia (2012)

           This deeply sad documentary looks at the fate of contemporary Detroit, which in 1930 was the fastest growing city in the world. The 2010 census of 713,000 residents was down 62% from its high of 1.8 million, and the lowest in a hundred years. With 139 square miles in the city limits, 40 square miles of it are vacant land. There are a hundred thousand empty homes and lots. The state has lost half of its manufacturing jobs. People who do get good jobs then leave. The film makers look at the city through the eyes of a restaurant owner and a UAW president, and to a lesser extent through the perspectives of a video blogger, the mayor Dave Bing, the Detroit Opera, and resilient citizens who refuse to give up. And make no mistake — Detroit is hardly alone. In my own state of California, Mammoth Lakes, Stockton and San Bernadino have declared bankruptcy. Welcome to the ruthless economy of global capitalism.