Member review

‘Detroit’ is an especially thought provoking and excellent film about the Detroit civil riots and is based on a true story that brought millions of white and black Americans to outrage against the justice system.

In the summer of 1967, rioting and civil unrest starts to tear apart the city of Detroit.

Days later, a report of gunshots prompts the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Army National Guard to search and seize an annex of the nearby Algiers Motel. Several policemen start to flout procedure by forcefully and viciously interrogating guests to get a confession.

The film is based around the real events of the Algiers Motel, which was when 3 black Americans were killed by Detroit police and 7 others brutally treated. It is known as one of the worst cases of police brutality in american history. The case was taken to trial because by 1967, black African Americans had been given civil rights and it was illegal to own slaves, however there were still riots such as in the Detroit where people would smash up shops and buildings, destroying their own neighborhood, and this was due to police brutality and underlying conditions including segregated housing, schools and rising black unemployment. This film holds more of a narrative on today's society than most people think, yes, it was based on events in the 1960's, however, it mirrors how black people are still treated by the police in today's society, especially in america, statics say that if you're an African american in America you are more likely to be blamed for a crime than a white american, and even though everyone is accepting of each other, there is still the stereotype of the ‘black thug’.

The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, a female american director, producer, and writer. It is a stereotype in the film producing business that women producers make light hearted films, which would refer to comedies or romances, but Bigelow goes out of that spectrum since she tends to make films based on true stories throughout history, going within the spectrum of drama or mystery and other of her films include, ‘The Hurt Locker’, and ‘Near Dark’. However, Bigelow and the film ‘Detroit’ in general has received controversy around the amount brutality shown on the film in people questioning if the rating of the film, which is R rated in the UK, is appropriate.

After examining the film, I can say that it is not surprising that the film made 24.1 million USD in the box office, and I don't believe it deserves controversy, because this was a horrible event that actually happened and hasn't been given the recognition it deserves and to produce it now in the time that we are in, in the state of America especially, I believe it was one of those choices that was hard to make, but needed to be heard.