For several years now, Detroit – the city whose suburbs I call home – has been something of a national spectacle. Ever since people realized that the city was practically crawling with abandoned buildings, Detroit has been branded as a failed city – a dystopia only good for gawking at. Foreign photographers came to the city and photographed only the ruins; practically every newspaper in the country had a condescending series about the sad existence of a failed city. Practically no news outlet (with the possible exception of Time, who at least tried) could figure out how to portray the city without treating its demise as a foregone conclusion. The abandoned buildings coupled with the city’s struggling auto industry and the crime problems helped create a caricature of a once-great city now barely fit for human inhabitation.
This view of Detroit is the backdrop for the sci-fi classic Robocop (or I hear it’s a classic anyway, I’ve never actually seen it). Robocop paints Detroit as a wasteland of crime and violence, a problem so horrible that only a robot can solve it. Recently, what started as a joke on Twitter about putting up a RoboCop statue in Detroit turned into a reality when people from all across the country came together through the magic of the Internet to raise more that $50,000 dollars to fund the project. A lot of people think this is hilarious. I am not one of those people.
The statue reinforces the fact that the rest of the nation does not take Detroit seriously. Fifty thousand dollars could go a long way in Detroit. Michigan’s legislature recently voted to close half the city’s schools, the city’s infrastructure is literally crumbling, and there is a roughly $150 million deficit. Fifty grand would not have solved any of those problems, but it certainly could have helped. Yet I am willing to bet that if anyone tried to start a donation drive for the city, few of the people who gave money to build a joke statue would have contributed. People are more willing to spend money on a joke than the reality of Detroit, and that is infuriating to someone like me, who sees all the possibility of the once great Motor City.
All of the things that outsiders see when they look at Detroit are there. The abandoned buildings, the poverty, the struggling industry – all of that exists. What many people miss, however, are the good things Detroit has to offer. Among the abandoned buildings there are beautiful, occupied ones. Detroit is home to well regarded museums; it was the home of Mo-Town. Detroit gave the world Eminem and Aretha Franklin. And then there is the city’s greatest blessing and its greatest curse – the auto industry. The auto industry single-handedly created a middle class in Detroit where none had existed before. It gave countless people lives they never would have had without the (ultimately self-destructive) high wages and good benefits provided by the automakers. And, as Chrysler’s Superbowl ad so rightly stated, Detroit is home to people who are good at what they do. The Detroit area is populated by engineers, factory workers and executives whose lives revolve around cars; I have never been to another place where the work that people did was so engrained in their culture.
Detroit has tough times behind it and tough times ahead, but it certainly does not deserve to be made a joke. The people who live and work in that city are hardworking, persevering individuals who do not need a Robocop statue to remind them that the rest of the country thinks their city is only good for a laugh. So this is my plea to you, people of BU, to stop thinking of Detroit as a joke and start thinking of it as a place with serious problems and serious potential.
I’m also born and raised in a Detroit suburb. My family has enjoyed everything metro-Detroit has offered since before was born – Great Lakes, great sports, great zoo. I enjoyed reading your piece because it does remind me of some people back home who, unlike me, are still legitimate Detroit residents and appear to have no desire or intention to leave. Underground music and art scenes in the city are more powerful than I ever would have imagined; I am a tad embarrassed to admit that I’m only aware of this because of friends’ Facebook pictures of events they attended in the D. While I have shamelessly moved away, physically and emotionally, from Detroit, I can testify honestly that I know artists and art-lovers (photographers, painters, musicians), as well as good ol’ traditional auto industry hard-workers who wouldn’t dream of calling another city in the country home. That Detroit does not receive enough proactive attention is a valid concern, but for whatever reason I do have faith that the city will rise again.
This is the first sensible reaction to this ridiculous proposal, at least of the ones I have read.
Not only would a Robocop statue add to our “laughingstock” status, it trivializes Detroit in the eyes of Detroiters and the residents of the surrounding suburbs. There is nothing wrong or objectionable about pop-culture, but it should not be held up as something that is representative of the community. The reason is that pop-culture, by definition, does not arise out of the what made the community great. It has nothing to do with the struggles or the history of the people. Robocop, in particular, arises out of a crime statistic of which Detroit does not need to be reminded.
Those who are urging this statue have shallow agendas. Robocop is as relevant as Hostess Twinkies, and no one in Illinois is proposing a statue for those.
Annie,
As I’m sure you’re aware, not all Americans are idiots that chew buble-gum, wear tight jeans, and pray to Justin Bieber. There are more than a handful of people in this great nation that have some senses about them. I am proud to call myself one of them. Detroit has been part of the backbone of the American dream! The Steel industry as well as the automotive industry is something that Detroit can be very proud of. But most nay-sayers haven’t taken into consideration the fact that all this money was donated by honest, hard-working Americans that see a potential in Detroit’s favor. You want revitalization in Motown? You want the deficit to improve? A statue of a sci-fi icon will do that.
While Philly has a Rocky statue, it certainly hasn’t exactly been just for bringing in tourists. While it is a part of Philly’s heart, it is a reminder to people that if you try your hardest, you can succeed. The statue of Rocky doesn’t poke fun at that great city of Philly, it embrasses every part of it’s culture and mirrors it back at the people.
While I may be a big fan of the RoboCop character, I’m also an unbiased, free-thinking American. And I see nothing but positives for this Statue. The unveiling alone would bring tourists, news crews, and money back into the local economy. I also plan on attending the unveiling myself, and tour the local Arts Museums and stay the entire weekend.
Annie, I urge you -Nay, I DARE you- to sit down and watch RoboCop all the way to the end of the credits. Then come back and give me your true thoughts on the character of RoboCop. I guarentee you these qualitiesL Heroism, Courage, Strength, and a Human determination to do what’s right.
I have seen too many stories with the same misconception. You (as well as other journalists) see RoboCop’s version of Detroit without seeing the context in which it is portrayed. It is a fictional representation of what could happen in our future, even in our very lifetime. The backdrop of Detroit in the RoboCop movies is a generalization of what our future would become if our economy continues on the very course it is heading. The characters of the movie are a very victim of economics. Any business or economics student would agree. Now, while there are many factors in the movie that would take way too long for me to justify the creation of a half-man, half-machine law enforcement officer. I can still clarify one point for this statue; HOPE.
Detroit was built on it. Thrived on it. And one day will do so again. And while people are entitled to their opinions, one FACT clearly remains: RoboCop is actually helping Detroit as we speak. Everyone reading this can simply google “RoboCharity” and see for themselves. The very idea of a RoboCop Statue in Detroit has certainly inspired others to help feed the Homeless in Detroit. And I can say, without a doubt, some of the very same people who helped fund and donate the statue, also donated to this worthy cause.
So, please. Show a little appreciation for this apparently classic sci-fi movie. Because one day, you will see the change a “silly idea” has helped bring around.
Sean M Martin
Pittsburgh, PA