Historical society trailer encourages ‘perspective’
In a short trailer to “Detroit,” a ’60s-era TV speaker announces, “There is a great temptation to become shrill about what happened here in Detroit in July,” to a montage of scratchy, granular shots of the riots.
Next, Ike McKinnon, former chief of police and deputy mayor of Detroit, appears on screen, saying: “The movie you are about to see is a dramatization.”
What isn’t a dramatization is the Detroit Historical Society’s “Detroit 67: Perspectives” exhibit, which he encourages audiences to visit for the proper context to the city’s civil unrest that resulted in the events at the Algiers Motel made larger-than-life on screen.
“We are pleased to partner with Emagine Entertainment to offer audiences of this film another opportunity to understand this story and many others through a variety of perspectives,” said Detroit Historical Society CEO and Executive Director Bob Bury in a statement.
“At a time when this important dialogue is happening across the city and region, we have crafted an exhibition that provides visitors with an extensive history of the events leading up to the uprising in 1967, the many different events that happened during those seven days, and the city’s efforts to move forward since that time. Significantly, we have employed a broad outreach strategy to ensure that these stories incorporate as many different perspectives as possible. This context is critical to anyone interested in understanding the 1967 uprising and its lingering effects on the region.”
The exhibit opened June 24 and is part of a five-year community project to improve historical understanding of the crisis and move forward from those events.
Emagine Entertainment’s film producer, Sam Logan Khaleghi, created the trailer.
“We are proud to be part of the Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward project,” said Emagine Entertainment CEO Paul Glantz in a statement. “The ‘Detroit 67’ exhibition provides an opportunity to engage and learn more about our region’s history.
“Showing this trailer in our theaters is our way of helping advance that conversation and we hope other exhibitors follow our lead.”