>>> 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.