>>> COLLAPSING COMMUNITIES, THE
BREAKDOWN OF THE NUCLEAR FAMILY,
STAGGERING AND CHRONIC
UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG WORKING AGE
MEN.
DECLINING LIFE EXPECTANCY AND
EXPLODING OPIOID ADDICTION.
JUST SOME OF THE REALITIES
AFFLICTING PEOPLE OF ALL RACES
TODAY.
WHAT DID THIS HAPPEN?
WHAT ARE THE REAL HUMAN COSTS
BEYOND THE STATISTICS, AND WHAT
IF ANYTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT
IT?
NEW DOCUMENTARY, "AMERICA
LOST," ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER THOSE
QUESTIONS THROUGH A MOSAIC OF
DEEPLY MOVING STORIES FROM THREE
OF AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN CITIES.
THIS IS PART OF OUR "CHASING THE
GREEN INITIATIVE."
>> I WAS BORN INTO THE AMERICAN
DREAM.
MY FATHER EMIGRATED TO THE
UNITED STATES WITH NOTHING AND
WORKED HARD TO PROVIDE US WITH A
BETTER LIFE.
BUT FOR MILLIONS OF POOR KIDS
GROWING UP TODAY, THIS ISN'T
AMERICA ANYMORE.
ACCORDING TO CENSUS DATA, MORE
THAN 50 MILLION AMERICANS NOW
LIVE IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES
WITH HIGH RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT,
ADDICTION, CRIME, AND VIOLENCE.
I SPENT THREE YEARS EXPLORING
THIS LOST AMERICAN INTERIOR.
I THOUGHT I WOULD BE TELLING AN
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL STORY.
BUT OVER TIME, I DISCOVERED THAT
THERE'S A DEEPER HUMAN STORY.
WE'RE COMING APART ECONOMICALLY,
TO BE SURE.
BUT WE'RE ALSO COMING APART AS A
CULTURE.
>> JOINING US NOW IS THE
DIRECTOR OF "AMERICA LOST,"
CHRISTOPHER RUFUM.
CHRISTOPHER, WELCOME TO THE
PROGRAM.
>> GREAT TO BE WITH YOU.
>> SO CHRISTOPHER, THERE ARE
UNFORTUNATELY MANY CITIES ACROSS
AMERICA SUFFERING THE SAME KIND
OF DEVASTATION THAT YOU DEPICT
ON THE FILM.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CHOOSE THE
THREE THAT YOU DID, YOUNGSTOWN,
OHIO, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, AND
STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA?
>> I WANTED TO REPRESENT AND
SHOW THAT THE PHENOMENON OF
THESE LOST AMERICAN CITIES IS
NOT LIMITED BY GEOGRAPHY AND
ALSO NOT LIMITED ANYMORE BY
RACE.
SO I HAVE A NORTHERN,
PREDOMINANTLY WHITE WORKING
CLASS CITY IN YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO,
A SOUTHERN, PREDOMINANTLY BLACK
URBAN CITY IN THE DEEP SOUTH,
AND THEN IN STOCKTON YOU HAVE A
CITY THAT IS LATINO, ASIAN,
AFRICAN-AMERICAN, AND WHITE, IN
KIND OF A NEW AMERICAN
DEMOGRAPHIC THAT'S GOING THROUGH
THE SAME CHALLENGES.
SO WHILE THEY ARE IN SOME WAYS
VERY DIFFERENT CITIES, THEY'RE
ALL SUFFERING FROM SOME OF THE
SAME FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS.
>> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOUR
FILM DOES SO WELL IS TO
DEMONSTRATE THE REAL PALPABLE
HUMAN SUFFERING THAT THESE
PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING BEYOND
THE STATISTICS THAT WE HEAR
EVERY DAY.
HOW DID YOU CONNECT WITH THE
PEOPLE THAT ARE FEATURED IN YOUR
FILM?
>> IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT TOOK A LOT OF TIME.
FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS IN EACH
CITY, I ACTUALLY WENT WITH NO
CAMERAS, NO CREW, JUST GETTING
ON THE GROUND AND MEETING WITH
PEOPLE, WORKING WITH COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS.
IN EACH CITY I PROBABLY MET MORE
THAN A THOUSAND PEOPLE BEFORE I
CHOSE THE SPECIFIC CHARACTERS
THAT I WANTED TO CAST IN THE
FILM.
AND DEALING WITH THESE
SITUATIONS, OFTEN TIME THAT'S
CHAOTIC
CHAOTIC, PEOPLE ARE VULNERABLE.
YOU HAVE TO BUILD TRUST.
ONLY THEN CAN YOU GET A TRULY
AUTHENTIC WINDOW INTO THE
EXPERIENCES PEOPLE ARE HAVING IN
THESE FORGOTTEN CITIES.
>> HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU TAKE IN
THE WHOLE PROCESS?
>> THE WHOLE PROCESS WAS ABOUT
THREE YEARS.
I SPENT ROUGHLY A YEAR IN
YOUNGSTOWN, A YEAR IN MEMPHIS,
AND A YEAR IN STOCKTON.
I THOUGHT AT FIRST I WOULD BE
TELLING A POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
STORY.
WHAT I DISCOVERED IS THERE'S
ACTUALLY A DEEPER HUMAN CRISIS
AND IT GOES WAY BEYOND SOME OF
THE PUBLIC POLICY QUESTIONS WE
HAVE.
I WAS TRYING TO DIG INTO SOME OF
THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS OF OUR
TIME.
>> AS YOU MADE CLEAR IN THE
DOCUMENTARY, THE DEVASTATION
WE'RE SEEING HAS BEEN 40 OR 50
YEARS IN THE MAKING.
BUT IT SEEMS, AND I DON'T THINK
I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD SAY
THIS, IT SEEMS THAT WE ONLY
BECAME AWARE, AND THE SITUATION
ONLY BEGAN TO BE COVERED AFTER
THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
WHY IS THAT?
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT
HAPPENED IS THAT IN 2016, BOTH
OF THE ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATES
FROM BOTH PARTIES WERE OFFERING
SOME OF THE SAME SOLUTIONS THAT
WE'VE BEEN HEARING SINCE THE
LATE 1990s.
SO WE'VE BEEN STUCK IN THIS KIND
OF RIGID AND PARALYZED POLITICAL
DISCOURSE.
AND WHAT YOU SAW IS BOTH ON THE
LEFT WITH BERNIE SANDERS AND
THEN ON THE RIGHT WITH DONALD
TRUMP, THEY WERE STRIKING A MORE
POPULIST MESSAGE, SPEAKING TO
PEOPLE'S FEARS AND ANXIETIES AND
THROWING OUT THE ESTABLISHMENT
PLAYBOOK.
AFTER THE VICTORY OF DONALD
TRUMP, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF
FOCUS ON THE RUST BELT.
YOUNGSTOWN IS A LONG TIME
DEMOCRATIC CITY THAT FLIPPED FOR
DONALD TRUMP.
AMERICANS ARE STARTING TO
REALIZE, HOLD ON, BOTH THE FREE
MARKET -- THE FREE MARKET
ORTHODOXY AND THE KIND OF
WELFARE STATE ORTHODOXY ARE NOT
DELIVERING RESULTS AND WE HAVE
TO START FIGURING OUT A THIRD
WAY AND A NEW SOLUTION.
>> SO LET'S BACK UP.
SO YOU SAY THAT POLICIES HAVE
NOT RESOLVED THE SITUATION.
BUT LET ME ASK, WHAT CAUSED THE
SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE?
WHY ARE THINGS AS THEY ARE IN
THESE CITIES, IN ALL THESE
COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY?
>> YOU KNOW, I SPENT A LOT OF
TIME TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WRITING
OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES.
THE BEST WAY I CAN SUMMARIZE IT
IS THAT THESE CITIES FAILED TO
MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM THE
MODERN TO THE POST-MODERN WORLD.
WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS ALMOST
EVERYTHING.
ECONOMICALLY THEY FAILED TO MAKE
THE TRANSITION FROM THE
INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY TO THE
POST-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY AND THE
TECHNOLOGY ECONOMY.
SOCIALLY THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH A
DEVASTATING EFFECT WHERE YOU SEE
IN CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS FOR
EXAMPLE IN YOUNGSTOWN WERE 78%
OF KIDS ARE BORN TO SINGLE
PARENT HOUSEHOLDS, OR IN MEMPHIS
IN CERTAIN ZIP CODES, 91% OF
KIDS ARE BORN TO SINGLE PARENT
HOUSEHOLDS.
AND THIS HAS A VERY DEVASTATING
COMMUNITY-WIDE EFFECT.
THEN POLITICALLY, ALL THREE OF
THESE CITIES HAVE A HISTORY OF
POLITICAL CORRUPTION.
SO IN ALL THREE WAYS, ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL, THEY
FAILED TO MAKE THIS MAJOR
TRANSITION.
AND WHILE CITIES LIKE NEW YORK,
LIKE SEATTLE WHERE I AM TODAY,
ARE THRIVING, UNFORTUNATELY FOR
MORE THAN 50 MILLION AMERICANS,
THEY'RE NOW LIVING IN WHAT ARE
DISTRESSED ZIP CODES.
>> CHRISTOPHER, WE'LL HAVE TO
END IT THERE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR FILM AND
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
>> GREAT TO BE WITH YOU.
>> "AMERICA LOST" PREMIERS THIS
SPRING ON PBS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION LOG ON TO
OUR WEBSITE AT METROFOCUS.ORG.