Response 4: A Shout-Out From The Motor City

In the documentary “Detroit Lives,” Johnny Knoxville cruises around the city of Detroit, exploring what seems to be a city that has been constantly brought up in the media through a negative light. Knoxville goes about meeting various local people living in Detroit, asking them about their life in the Motor City, their occupation, and at some points, would go exploring ancient and abandoned buildings that bring about the history of Detroit. The documentary overall focuses on the people that inhabit the city and ignores the politics and government that surround it, while also creating a sense of hope as the documentary demonstrates how the young, new and lively generation see the city in a different perspective- as one filled with creative potential, wide open roads, inspiring architecture and a lot of gaps and empty spaces to fill. Overall, “Detroit Lives” is aimed at everybody who fears Detroit or has been a victim of recent media and online websites that only focus on the horrible aspects, and uses interviews of the local people of Detroit, historical landmarks, well-known music artists and a celebrity host to create an objective analysis of what some call the “Death of the American Dream”.

Personally, when I think of the city of Detroit, I think of the Fox Theater, the Monument to Joe Louis, the Renaissance Center etc., thus, the colorful night clubs, music performances under abandoned buildings, flamboyant designing companies and incoming small businesses aren’t what I’d look for in a city. However, I can clearly see how a jocund group of anti-conformist would enjoy it. My experiences of downtown Detroit is very limited, yet I have been through the outskirts of the city numerous times and have seen many rundown houses and neighborhoods doused in spray paint- which is how I know that I’m in Detroit. But after watching several news reports, shows and the “Detroit Lives” documentary, I am starting to see graffiti more as a form of art and expression of self rather than a warning sign to turn around, lock your car doors, close your windows and avoid any eye contact.