Live stream preview

Watch this video and more on OVID.tv

Watch this video and more on OVID.tv

Start your free trial

Already subscribed? Sign in

Downtown Dream

United States • 44m

Directed by Aaron Matthews • Documentary • 2013 • 45 minutes

For decades, small town life in the United States has been quietly eroding. But there are overlooked stories amidst the talk of America's economic decline: the stories of individual men and women in the 'Rust Belt' community in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. Once one of the country's largest steel manufacturing centers, Lewistown lost its manufacturing base and industrial might a generation ago and has since become a 'ghost town.' DOWNTOWN DREAM follows the lives of five dynamic men and women living in Lewistown who refuse to be counted out and instead struggle to reinvent their lives and their dreams in America's chilly economic climate.

The situation in Lewistown mirrors the fate of the nation at this critical point in history. How do Americans make sense of economic and political forces beyond their control? Will they make a go of it and if so, how? In DOWNTOWN DREAM, Jon, Bernard, Pam, Barb and Katie reinvent their dreams in the face of devastation and decay.

"A thought-provoking look at urban struggles in a depressed global economy."—Video LIbrarian

Tags
american studies, americas, anthropology and archaeology, business, doc, downtown dream, econjustice, economic anthropology, economic decline, economic history, economic theory, economy, expository, icarus films, labor and economics, lewistown, mid-atlantic, ovid, ovid_ca, pennsylvania, politics, politics and political science, rust belt, s_0034, s_0035, s_0081, s_0083, s_0084, s_0231, s_0263, s_0280, s_0306, s_0544, small town life, social studies, sociology, the, title_d, title_defgh, unemployement, united states, urban studies, usa, world regions

Up Next in United States

  • Sensei Fran Kicks Ass
    19:37
    Sensei Fran Kicks Ass

    Sensei Fran Kicks Ass

    Directed by Simone Fary • Documentary • With Fran Vall • 2019 • 19 minutes

    Octogenarian Fran Vall holds a 6th degree black belt in Judo and a 5th one in Naginata (Japanese sword fighting). In addition to mentoring at three martial arts clubs she still finds time to work as a ski and snowboard in...

  • I Am Somebody
    30:31
    I Am Somebody

    I Am Somebody

    Directed by Madeline Anderson • Documentary • 1970 • 30 minutes

    In 1969, black female hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina went on strike for union recognition and a wage increase, only to find themselves in a confrontation with the state government and the National Guard. Featuring An...

  • An Injury To One
    52:52
    An Injury To One

    An Injury To One

    Directed by Travis Wilkerson • Documentary • 2003 • 53 minutes

    AN INJURY TO ONE provides a corrective-and absolutely compelling-glimpse of a particularly volatile moment in early 20th century American labor history: the rise and fall of Butte, Montana. Specifically, it chronicles the mysterious ...

×