Requiem for Detroit? Julian Temple
The Film opens with shocking footage of Detroit now, abandoned factories and palaces, empty roads, fires raging. Built by the car for the car, with its groundbreaking suburbs, freeways and shopping centres, it was the embodiment of the American dream. The 3 big car manufacturers fought it out there: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Detroit was once America’s fourth largest city.
The most encapsulating image was the footage of the ground breaking Ford Assembly plant in Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), which gave the foundation to Detroit’s ascendancy. At some point it became a mock baroque Theatre, which failed, unbelievably because it offered no parking. Abandoned now, it is just that a parking lot, cars parked under what remains of the rococo ceiling, the stair case Ford would have used, a crumbling spiral into air.
They’d found a remarkable older woman to interview, who gave the last lines of the film.
‘You can either see Detroit as a crumbling edifice of the American Dream, or you can see Detroit as the place to grow from now.’
Or words to that effect, as claiming Detroit are the hip artists and musicians of today, finding a living, planting urban agriculture. Organised recyclers, cottage industries.
But the image is of acres of falling factories, abandoned mansions.
The panel discussion at the end included Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press, Julian Temple the films producer.
The Big Three were in denial (during the Japanese car industry rise they carried on making gas guzzlers. Single product town) and continue to be in denial, more shock with denial these days.
When China Met Africa by Nick & Marc Francis
Innately observational this film describes the relationship between the two cultures, in Africa. The question is: how different is China’s expansion into Africa to the other colonial powers (like ours) who came to Africa in our recent past?
Their motivation is known: resources for the ever expansive native land. We saw the exchange systems in action, they’ll build roads, if they can access the copper.
Their secondary motivation is, like any other eastern Tiger whose fundament is based on low wages and huge volumes, is to creep up the quality ladder, the value chain.
Three lives are followed in one country (Zambia): a Chinese farmer expanding to his third farm, a Chinese road builder having to negotiate with African government, and an African Minister of Trade, keen to engage the Chinese.
In the film at least, the Chinese do appear to be a different colonising power. Arguably more effective, from both sides. They come from a more humble stock and are equally struggling. Unsentimentally, they keep their clear distance, operating behind bars to check the workers of the day. They are hard working. Their homes have as many plastic chairs as the workers, there is not a stick of luxury to view.
The minister says: The Europeans come with their power point presentations, flow charts, and demands for human rights. The Chinese just get on with it, they build the roads, hospitals, etc. And with an impressive speed. The only demand a Chinese asks is what’s the incentive?
It is not the paternalistic form of Governance, a top downer, with demands of corrections to Human Rights. (China’s is as diverse as Africa’s, you could say).
For the manual worker, it is not part of their narrative. The Chinese give wages which give makes sustainability possible. They are the bottom of Maslow’s table.
The Middle ground African, however, are angry. Why doesn’t the African Government give the same breaks to indigenous entrepreneurs? None were interviewed in the film.
The panelist, Isabel Hilton, was fascinating She knew China, and made this point at the end:
We forget, China is a new country. Back in 1911, there was no China. People would say they were from such and such province, or Tibet. (Like Germany). One Chinese province is the size of the country, African or European. Their recent identity is new. Only 50 years since independence.
Migration is observable. Now marriages are taking place between Chinese and African. Watch this space. We (the English) are out of the picture (except as observers)
Leslie Woodhead
I imagine he is the same generation as Bob, and lived in the same climate, of Granada coming to the university to seek out talent, rather (than todays climate where the talent has to knock hard at the doors of producers) and a golden age of no competition (ITV was the exclusive commercial channel, of the 4 existing) enabling him to find relatively easy funding, for imaginative projects, and managerial structures so transparent and singular, (a head, programme director and another) that swift decisions were made.
His voice, from the north, reminds me much of Parkinson. Straight, northern, no bullshit.
His first film was commissioned as a comparison between two music movements contrasted: the Brig House Brass Band and a little known but rocking Liverpool band that played in the Cavan. Indeed the young Beetles. (Ironically it was the Brig Band Union that held up the programmes airing) His was the first film of the Beetles, just around Love me Do, their first single. Ringo had just joined the band. He talks much of the physical constraints and imaginative use of the technology available to them then: a huge brick of a camera on and equally weighty and cumbersome tripod. Must have been tough in the limited space of the ca. The lights that scorched the beehive hair.
LS Laurie
The first film shot without the tripod, following the footsteps, with panoramic shots of men on park benches. First direct cinema.
Martin Luther march
So began Leslie’s time time with World in Action, with weekly documentaries, cut and spliced together over the weekend for Monday at 9. The urgency is there.
Why are you marching, asks a BBC voice
‘I’m marching for my colour’ says a black boy.
Stones in the Park
Great luxury of setting the scene. I found the loitering on the face of Mike Jagar a delight after the compulsory quick cutting of today. ‘We had such arrogance’ he said ‘We were masters of the universe. ‘This machine kills Fascism’ was a note on a camera.
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Using the innovative drama method of conveying documentary – rein-acting, so fleshing out, adding a possibility of fiction to dampen the shock, like Death of a Princess (1980)
Massacre at Srebrenica
I delve into my paltry knowledge of the Yugoslavian war. 1995 Srebrenica under Dutch UN soldiers protection, who did not prevent the segregation of men and women, and later some 8,000 were shot (shooting practice in the forest, locals were told) Women returning to the site.
He continued to make films for the Vanishing World, a fantastic footage of Eythiopia tribes men and a ritual. Was there any chance of your life style influencing them? None at all, he said, they considered us stupid, we could not look after ourselves, we knew nothing of the natural world. No they were not at all envious of us.
We were 6 weeks there, dropped by a plane, and had no contact for that time. I have never before or since, felt as if time before or after existed, while I was there. We were utterly emerced in this living.
Kalikellett 