Some of you may know that some folks got the idea that Detroit needs a Robocop statue. That inspired all sorts of debate about the best use of money, charity, tourism, etc. In the end, after only 3 days, the statue got the funding it needed (and then some) from its Kickstarter campaign.
Anyways, a little twitter discussion a bit ago between Gary Whitta and Ron Marz about this topic yielded the idea to try and raise some funds for a group doing good in Detroit.
If you can kick in a few bucks to Forgotten Harvest, they’re a great org, doing great things in Detroit, and if you can take a sec to share this with your networks and try and spread the word I’d appreciate it.
I’ve been hearing about this for the last few days, and on the way to work NPR said that the mayor is resisting. It occurred to me that you could build a Universal Studios-like theme park in Detroit set around Robocop that would be awesome. Take some of the blasted industrial areas, get actors to act out several scenes from the movies with a Tram tour going through, and you’ve got an attraction. Have four or five Robocops to keep the thing moving, pyrotechnic dummy weapons, etc. Between areas you could have post-ironic banter and huckstering from the “I’d buy that for a dollar!” guy.
I doubt the mayor is resisting Forgotten Harvest. Why would that happen? Do you mean that the mayor doesn’t want to continue the Robocop theme? That seems more likely.
Robert, I think what Houngan had heard was the mayor was resisting the statue, not the charity thing. The charity thing is about 3 hours old now. :D
The mayor didn’t resist per se; actually, the whole situation got started when he responded to a totally random tweet about how cool a Robocop statue would be.
The bid was also helped out by a $25,000 donation from San Francisco businessman Pete Hottelet, owner of Omni Consumer Products, the real-life company that shares the same name as the opressive corporate presence in the 1987 film.
Seriously guys, even if you can’t donate, please like the Facebook page and spread the word (hashtag #robocharity if you’re on twitter!) We’re gonna see what kind of reach we can get outta this.
Yeah, if I was mayor of a city, I don’t think I’d want to officially sanction my city’s mascot being the anti-hero in a gory R-rated social satire about a Frankenstein monster gone haywire because it was deprived of its identity by an evil corporation hired by the city to privatize important social services.
Rocky is a pretty safe hero as far as heroes go. Robocop? Not so much. Seems to me the mayor – or more likely someone advising him – is pretty hip to Veerhoven.
On the other hand, one of the Superbowl ads this year was something or other about how Eminem was saving Detroit by driving a car with dramatic intensity. And that car wasn’t nearly as cool as the 6000 SUX. I also doubt Eminem’s adherence to any of the non-classified prime directives. So on balance, Robocop statue is better.
Annnnnd it made the local nightly news. I put Gary in touch with Stephen Clark and the story aired a few minutes ago. I’m sure there’ll be video here soon:
But he BEAT THE EVIL CORPORATION. And broke free from his programming!
If that isn’t a metaphor for Detroit, breaking free from its dependence on the auto industry and beginning to innovate in new industries and demonstrate an entrepreneurial spark that had been suppressed by decades of high-paying, easy-in jobs, then I don’t know what I’d buy for a dollar!
I love the story and interest it’s brought to Detroit. However, I think it’d be a terrible icon for the city as it would represent a city’s final demise into chaos. Robocop’s lone battle against corruption, greed, and insane criminal populace. I’d like to think Detroit is becoming a better city, not a needing to be a police state.
Now a statue of Detroit-native Bruce Campbell? I’m all for it!!!
That thinking is far too subtle for getting people to rally behind a rah-rah-our-city-is-aces commemorative statue. Plus, yeah, the movie doesn’t really paint Detroit in a favorable light. If I was on the Detroit Chamber of Commerce, I wouldn’t be freely pointing out to people that Robocop is about Detroit.
Eminem, on the other hand. Well, let’s just say he’s a Grammy Award winning artiste.
