Posted on 07/11/2013 11:08:55 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Whoever thought a film that was rated “X” would inspire a city so much that it would feel the need to build a statue in its honor? As much as I’m a fan of the original Robocop (and am eagerly awaiting the upcoming reboot), I never in a million years would have believed that things would get so dire in Detroit that the city would go to a fictional character for hope. Needless to say, this is what has happened in one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.
Two years ago there was a grassroots initiative to have Detroit mayor Dave Bing fund a bronze statue of the pop culture icon, but the city wouldn’t fund it. However, through a Kickstarter campaign (I feel like this thing is growing in popularity by the week) the funding for the $60,000 statue came through and now the project has come to fruition. Two years of planning, constructing, scanning, and fabrication has finally led to the nearly finished project that will sit in the city of Detroit.
In case you’re not aware of the controversy that the first Robocop film conjured up, allow me to give you the cliff notes. When the first cut was sent to the MPAA for a rating, the violence was so over the top that it was slapped with a firm “X” rating (this is before the NC-17 that we have now). Today, you can buy the unrated version of the film, but anyone that has seen the “R” rated version of the film knows how gory it is. We’re talking close-ups of blown-off hands, bullet-riddled bodies, and a toxic liquid spill that produces some disturbing results, even if it does happen to one of the villains.
At 10-feet tall, the massive RoboCop statue is about to be bronzed before finding its resting place by 2014 in a city that is in need of some hope. Despite my surprise, I think this is awesome and hopefully it is a way to begin turning a once-great city back to prosperity.
True enough, William Ayers was right down the highway in Ann Arbor at the time of the riot.
The blind pig incident provided a spark. However it is important to note that the blind pig was above some type of community organizing office.
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