By Darlene Donloe
For obvious
reasons, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
has always felt a bit ambivalent about directing a movie about some incidents that
happened during the 1967 Detroit uprising.
In case those
obvious reasons somehow are lost to the reader, it’s because she’s a white
woman.
She’s heard
everything from she can’t understand, to she shouldn’t, to she doesn’t have the
sensibilities. With all of that being
thrown at her, Bigelow, who also produced the film, powered through. Now her latest film, Detroit, which opened in limited release
on July 28, will open nationwide on August 4, 2017.
The promos for
the movie ask - Do you know what happened in Detroit? Do you know what happened
at the hotel? Do you know why it’s been
silenced til now?
Some of those
questions are answered, while others are still a bit murky. If you believe Mary Jarrett Jackson,
Detroit’s first black female Deputy Police Chief, then what the movie reveals barely touches
the surface of what really happened at the Algiers Motel in the summer of 1967
that resulted in the horrible deaths of three black Detroit teenagers. The truth is even more sinister.
Detroit is written by Mark Boal and stars Algee
Smith, Jacob Latimore, Anthony Mackie, John Boyega, Will Poulter, Jason
Mitchell, Chris Chalk, Tyler James Williams, Peyton Alexander Smith, Laz
Alonso, Ben O'Toole, Jack Reynor, Joseph David-Jones, Leon Thomas, Miguel
Pimentel, Ephraim Sykes, Samira Wiley, Malcolm David Kelley, Nathan Davis Jr.,
Kaitlyn Dever, Hannah Murray, Austin Hebert, John Krasinski and Jeremy Strong.
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| Kathryn Bigelow Photo By Darlene Donloe |
I recently caught up with Kathryn Bigelow (KB) and
Mark Boal (MB) (Zero Dark Thirty) at the Foundation Hotel in Detroit to talk
about the intense and controversial film.
Q: So, you’re a
white woman telling the story of the Detroit uprisings.
KB: Yes, I’ve
heard that I’m a white woman telling a black story. I had to have a very
lengthy conversation with myself. I really obviously analyzed it long and hard.
Am I the right person, absolutely not. On the other hand this story needed to
be told. It overrode everything else. I have this opportunity. It needs to see
the light of day. I took advantage of this opportunity. It's a concern and a
challenge.
Q: Kathryn, what
kind of research did you do for this film?
KB: There was a
fair amount of research and court records and eyewitness accounts. Some of the
information was in the Freedom of Information Act. The trial was three trials
over a year and a half. The last trial
took place in Macon, Michigan. It was
moved out of the city into an exclusively white area. That outcome was a
product of moving it to that city. The judge actually took manslaughter off the
table. It was either first degree murder or an acquittal. I don't know if that
can happen today. You took off an option that may have made the outcome
different. We did our best.
Q: Talk about
your musical approach and your choices.
KB: The song
choices were a product of the culture at the time and the period. It was about
digging deeper than my using more well known pieces. I wanted to keep it
intriguing. Not everyone is well known. It added to the tapestry. You can’t
tell the story without music. It's the DNA of the city at that time.
Q: When did you
first learn about this story?
KB: Probably in
early 2015. A screenwriter (Mark Boal) came to me with this story. I’m
listening to it. A week earlier there was an acquittal of the officer in the
Michael Brown shooting. I heard that
story and thought it was 50 years ago, but it’s today. This has to stop. I
don’t know how – but to create a platform to encourage meaningful dialogue. I
thought it was a tragedy that needed to see the light of day. Outside of
Detroit no one knew about this.
Q: It’s been 50 years and…
KB: And, nothing
has changed. It’s like the acquittal of the policeman who shot and killed
Michael Brown in Ferguson. It has been 50 years and this is still happening. It
happens again and again and again. I said to myself, ‘this has to stop. It
really does have to stop.’
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| Mark Boal |
Q: Mark, there
is some concern from local Detroiters that a movie like this would create
tension with a changing Detroit. Is that something you heard or were concerned
about?
MB: As far as
what I’ve heard, I did a radio show this morning and some people called in and,
the thing that struck me was everybody that was alive then has a memory from
1967 and one of the caller’s brother had been friends with some of the people
killed at the Algiers. His brother was supposed to go that night, but their mom
stood at door and said, “You can’t go out.”
Somebody else said the riot didn't start the way I showed it. It started
the day before. The thing I’ve heard from the people that lived through ‘67 was
a whole range of human experiences. The movie can only do what it can do. I
also heard from people who didn't know this story. If it’s true that some
people in Detroit didn’t know this story, then it’s definitely true in the rest
of the country – that this story had been forgotten. When you talk about ‘67
usually the cultural representations are the summer of love and the hippie
movement, exploration and rebellion. Meanwhile you have an urban strife going
on. That‘s not part of our cultural awareness. To me this is an important
story. This is an important piece of history.
Q: Mark, what
kind of feedback are you getting?
MB: For the
people who experienced this first hand, it was still fresh and emotional, even
though it was 50 years ago. It’s a unique experience to see your life on
screen. It’s disorienting. It’s been painful, but there is now acknowledgement
that this happened. I don’t want to put words in their mouths. To be honest, I
haven’t had these conversations. I’m not an expert on Detroit today. I’m really
not. I can say that what I like best about the city are the people in it.
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