BBC documentary 'Requiem for Detroit?' tracks city's fall, future

[Blue_Tires]

BY MARK W. SMITH
FREE PRESS WEB EDITOR

Filled with images of Detroit's heyday projected against now-crumbling buildings, the BBC documentary "Requiem for Detroit?" aired Saturday in Britain and has sparked lots of discussion online.

The documentary, directed by filmmaker Julien Temple, tracks Detroit's past, present and future and calls it "a slow-motion Katrina that has had many more victims."

The BBC has posted the documentary on its Web site, but the player only allows people in the U.K. to watch it.

It doesn't appear the documentary was just a rehash of Detroit's storied downfall, though. Unedited posts online from people who have seen it were largely inspired by the possibilities for Detroit's future.

Temple told BBC Radio 4 that he found many reasons to feel good about the future of Detroit, citing the development of urban farming.

"This is one of the great ironies of Detroit. It's now more than 80% African American and a lot of those people came from the rural south," Temple said. "And now, 80 years later they are beginning to look at the empty land in Detroit and realize that it makes a lot of sense to farm it."

A teaser clip of the documentary has been posted to YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIgC5whSP8E&feature=player_embedded

http://www.freep.com/article/20100317/BLOG36/100317044/BBC-documentary-Requiem-for-Detroit?-tracks-citys-fall-future

[Jkid]

1. The reason why piracy exist...

...is because the product is unavailable via legal means. BBC does have BBC America, but they don't broadcast documentaries.

Regarding the future of Detroit, such as urban farming. I doubt that will happen due to the political control of the city.

[Blue_Tires]

2. ttt