Reflective Essay
Aleanna Siacon
Dean Herron/Dr. Harrison
Honors 1000
3 December 2015
As a student in Wayne State University's Irvin D. Reid Honors College, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the city of Detroit from multiple analytical perspectives. Before taking Honors 1000: The City, it was easy to just instinctively empathize when acknowledging Detroit's struggles as well as blindly rejoice in the notion of its rennaissance following complete municipal decay. However, I realized that Detroit is more than people's perceptions of it - whether they be good or bad, idealistic or disillusioned. The city of Detroit has been shaped and scarred by its past and as it is coaxed into the future, history cannot be erased. Instead of foregoing the difficulties of the past in exchange for an ideal future, one must understand why the city is the way it is and why the things that happened, happened. Looking at the significance of the city of Detroit as an urban form has facilitated a greater understanding of the past, appreciation of the present, and a projection of hope for the future.
Throughout the semester, the Honors College has presented its students with a variety of ways to explore and learn about Detroit. Some of the most memorable instances that have particularly resonated with me and supplemented the growth of my understanding of the city include the following: the Redford Theater's showing of Modern Times, the analysis of The Great Gatsby followed by WSU's Hillberry Theater production, and my investigation of Campus Martius while writing Essay #2. The experiences that I have had researching and analyzing these specific instances and sites have allowed me to gain a deeper perspective of how and why Detroit and the people who are connected to it, have changed in the manner that they did. Subsequently, I was able to derive from this knowledge, an understanding what must be kept in mind in order for Detroit to grow in cohesion with its past as opposed to completely detaching from its history.
Watching Charlie Chaplin's preformance in Modern Times instilled within me an awareness of the factors that drive desire and transformation. Chaplin's character was often discontent and driven by his desire of an ideal, throughout the movie he continue to want more. Chaplin pushed himself to obtain a steady income and to survive in a busy city by working in factories, but he was bothered by the loss of individuality. Everybody in the city lived the same, acted the same, and wanted the same things. Chaplin ultimately left the city for a life where he felt he could be free and this helped me to understand why many people decided to leave Detroit. Chaplin sacrificed his past and the foundation he had built his life upon in exchange for something else.
Except, it is not always easy to leave the past behind and much like Jay Gatsby of The Great Gatsby found, there are consequences. Gatsby took the premise of dissociating from the past to an extreme. He not only wanted to develop away from his history, he wanted to erase all of the bits that hurt and inconvenienced him. As the city of Detroit continues to develop in the face of its debilitating hardships, the people living in the city and working to improve upon it, cannot forget the past like Chaplin and Gatsby. There is a difference between relinquishing the negative weight of the past and attempting to escape from the past as if it is an infection. The past may not seem like an ideal, but an ideal is not the reality.
Efforts to develop the city of Detroit should be made in acknowledgement of its history so that the same mistakes are not made. For example, upon researching Campus Martius for Essay #2, I was able to gain an in-depth look into a popular staple of the community that exists in downtown Detroit. Although Campus Martius is able to serve as a public space meant to promote social events and community gathering, the area is not necessarily inclusive to all of Detroit's citizens - unfortunately, indivduals specifically still reeling from the wounds of Detroit's difficulties. Those who are unable to afford the amenities offered at Campus Martius nor reliable transportation to get there, are not included in those downtown festivities despite being citizens of Detroit. One must acknowledge the past in order to properly grow from it and because there are Detroit citizens who have been directly hit by tragedies in Detroit's past, they cannot remain unresolved issues if Detroit is to hope for the best in the future.
Throughout this course, I have ultimately learned much that Detroit is more than just its landmarks and its reputation. Detroit is a grandiose example of an American city, its struggles are the same struggles that all big cities in the United States have faced. However, Detroit is a product of rapid extremity - it rose quickly, expanded swiftly, and fell fast. As it begins to rise again, my studies have elicited the belief that current decisions to further develop Detroit must be made in acknowledgement of the past. All of the failures and all of the triumphs of the past are a foundation that must be built upon, not forgotten out of convenience. After reflecting upon the lessons I've learned in Honors 1000, I feel that I have been fortunate to have been equipped with the necessary tools to conduct research effectively and seek out a variety of perspectives. With these skills in mind, my personal perception of the city that I live and learn in has thus expanded. I have been able to integrate what I have learned with what I already knew, and I have a developed great respect as well as great hope for Detroit.