RoboCop statue in Detroit. I thought this was a joke.

[fryar]

The fact is that some ideas are just pointless. You will need city approval to get something like this on City Land. No one is going to give it to you.

It is being put up on land owned by Imagination Station, the people behind this project. This image is on their Kickstarter site describing the project:

"The Location: Detroit, silly!

Specifically, the Imagination Station is offering a piece of its property on Roosevelt Park facing Michigan Central Station as Robocop's new home. If this is were Robo goes, this is approximately what his view will be:


We say "if", because in our quest to choose the best location possible, if another even better location appears before installation, Robo might move. Rest assured that the absolute worst we can do is incredibly awesome.

It is incredibly awesome.

I for one hope he's looking right at it, determined to "tear that schitt down" [[not necessarily in the literal sense). To my mind, this pro-actively provides food for thought for the reinterpretation of the disaster that is MCS. Describing MCS as emblematic of one or some of the thematic elements of RoboCop is probably just the low-hanging fruit.

MCS is a marvel. The image is out there, and will continue to define the story of Detroit. Any reference to it obviously pours salt in an already gaping wound. But since it's out there to begin with, let's inject some thoughtfulness into it as well.

The real story behind it has nothing to do with the locals whom its "exploitation" so offends. Other than that they have continued to let a local tycoon run wild as a slummy speculator, letting his assemblage of broken windows blight an already put-upon neighborhood and city. One day, he apparently hopes to tear it down and put in an off-ramp [[facepalm).

A prompt to tell that story is a constructive contribution.